There is always a light and dark side to the force, I choose to see the light in this one.

Rating: 9/10 (6 January 2016)

Being born in the 90's, Star Wars had been a staple of my childhood ranging from original trilogy's continuous VCR viewings during the holidays, Darth Vader action figures, bedsheets, schoolbags and underwear to the prequels' much anticipated theater trips and late night computer games excursions, so when The Force Awakens was first announced as the part of a new trilogy, you can probably imagine how excited I must have felt and on my second viewing, one in 3D and the other on 2D, its safe to say JJ Abrams had done justice to the name and the universe of Star Wars, by blending the timeless story line of the sequels with technological bravado of the prequels.
Unlike George Lucas' attempt to rejuvenate his original vision, JJ Abrams used the same formula but to greater effect by focusing more on the plot development and pace instead of creating more explosions, overflowing messes of troops/ships, unnecessary characters and meaningless fight scenes. The main characters are introduced seamlessly and their development felt just right, neither rushed nor dimmed to make way for progress except mainly for the role of Captain Phasma whose involvement felt insignificant. The story was a tad plain and while it was expected from Disney, it is not a rehash of A New Hope as many have claimed, it has borrowed yet injected it with a vibrant energy which has left plenty of room for developments as well as elaboration in the later movies so much so that it has generated many gossips and fan theories, a testament to how well the film was executed. The Han Solo and Kylo Ren 'twist' was done brilliantly too, it wasn't dramatic as in "oh wow" moment but was unraveled casually, which proves JJ Abrams respects the audience's intelligence, unlike what the naysayers have filed in to nitpick hitherto even now. And unlike Episodes I-III, The Force Awakens manages to prevail a sense of mystery and wonder that permeates the story throughout the whole film, not rendering the viewers into a torpor even once. And The Force Awakens ticks where it counts, in the entertainment bracket. From the start to the finish, it captivate and takes you along for a ride with action as Abrams propels the story forward at a very swift pace with lots of action, space battles, light-saber fights and chase scenes sparingly enough and not having them just for the sake of having action scenes.
Carrying the torch this time is a young scavenger from an isolated planet called Rey who is brilliantly characterized by Daisy Ridley, be it her dialogues, passion, emotional and action scenes.John Boyega does well as a Stormtrooper turned rebel which was neatly knitted into the proceedings naturally albeit hilariously, while Oscaar Isaac impresses too as General Leia's trusted pilot. From the offset, the successor to the irreplaceable Darth Vader is established in the form of Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) who shows the sort of menacing and confident presence required of a villain while he also showed the vulnerabilities and insecurities convincingly through his fears of not being able to achieve what Darth Vader has achieved, which differs from the previous installments. The temper tantrums he throws was perfectly justified, his still being an apprentice verging in between the dark and light side, while being certainly better than anything pre-Vader Anakin conjured up. And it was oh so good to see the lovable duo Han Solo and Chewbacca back, kicking asses in swashbuckling style, exchanging amusing rows all the while sharing that quintessential bond that we loved then and love now. So I'd say its somewhat poignant and sad to see Han Solo bid his goodbye at the end, finally granting Harrison Ford's longtime wish. Carrie Fisher's return as General Organa this time too made me tugged at my heartstrings, while not looking quite as chic as before, her screen presence remains as she heads the movement of Resistance against the First Order, her face off with Harrison Ford bringing back smiles and memories, it's too bad she didn't feature much. The whole movie revolves around Luke but we only see him at the very end, as a withered and apparently sleep deprived Mark Hamill makes an appearance for a few parsecs but foreshadows a longer screen time in the consequent episodes.
Now opinions have divided despite among the folklore of Star Wars community, with the negatives boiling down to unoriginal plot with holes, less story driven scenes, rushed pace, hardly believable Mary Sue moments of Rey(there is a reason for that if you had paid attention), Death Star 2.0 tons. True but that's not the point of Star Wars is it, to have a movie worthy of a Oscar win for best motion pictures or great story, to have completely hole free plot (which doesn't exist really), to have an adventure movie focusing too much on story and not development(there are plenty of other movies for that)? No! It's meant to captivate the viewers by the exhilarating adventures across the galaxy, it's about breathtaking visuals and characters you care about and root for them, it's about seeing both the dark and light sides, and understanding why they chose their sides (In Kylo's case we'll have to wait and watch). This movie has done that exactly. If everyone could nitpick, there isn't one movie that has ever been made in history that will be invincible from attacks. No other film this year came with as much pressure to deliver as Star Wars: The Force Awakens hence that it actually lived up to the hype is a mini miracle. Sure, we can quibble over some of the details, but it's great where it counts, leaving plenty of room to expand the universe, what more can you ask for?