A slightly more adult Star Wars that shows Lucas was right to let go of the series.

Rating: 10/10 (18 December 2015)

I have never been a huge fan of the Star Wars films--especially after the last three films they made. Too often, in my opinion, the emphasis was merchandising cute characters to kids instead of making the best possible sci-fi film. Fortunately, now that George Lucas sold off the franchise, Disney actually has made a slightly darker and slightly more adult addition to the franchise...and I was thoroughly impressed.
I really DON'T want to talk about the plot of "The Force Awakens"-- mostly because the movie just debuted and I would prefer folks experience it themselves. However, I don't think it spoils it in any way to say that the film is a bit of the old and a bit of the new. So, folks who loved the earlier films (particularly the great ones) will be happy that the film is clearly Star Wars and has a lot of similar plot elements from the earlier movies. You also get to see some familiar faces. But there also are several new ones and they seem to have a bit more depth than usual. I particularly liked Finn (John Boyega) and Rey (Daisy Ridley)--they were not just formulaic characters and you really like and respect them.
The bottom line is that the film very much kept my interest and Disney seemed much more focused on story and, especially, characterization. A thoroughly enjoyable film from start to finish.