The Force Awakens Fans

Rating: 9/10 (24 December 2015)

After two of the three prequels seriously bored and unimpressed audiences, and the third garnering a little more attention, the Force is back and Star Wars awakens the stupefied and disappointed audiences. No longer are we laden with inane expository dialog, wooden characters, and uneven direction. Star Wars - The Force Awakens has given the franchise a serious shot of adrenaline. It starts about 30 years after Return of the Jedi. The Empire has retrenched itself with the First Order, while the Rebellion has also has turned into the Resistance. In charge of the First Order, is Kylo Wren, Dark Jedi who is prone to fits of anger and is laden with a mysterious, dark past. Wren, along with General Leia Organa of the resistance, are searching for Luke Skywalker, who mysteriously disappeared years ago. The search begins on Jakku, a desert world where scavengers trade old scrap pieces for a day's food. We meet Ren, a loner who seems to long for someone to return in her life. A few people do come into her life: Poe, a resistance pilot looking for Skywalker, BB-8, a droid with some secret information, and Finn, a former Stormtrooper who develops a conscience and decides to leave the First Order. To escape, they must use an old familiar flying hunk of junk. Once they do, they meet the actual owner, a lonely, older smuggler we have grown to know and love. Once he learns of the quest, he decides to help. He eventually reunites with Leia and works to launch a strike against the First Order's new weapon: a Star Killer (a really, really large Death Star, which is actually a hybrid of a natural planet along with technology). It is in this adventure that draws the old and new cast together. Backstory is revealed, characters are developed, and some twists and turns spring up without it being corny or sappy. As the characters mesh with the story, direction, and effects, we are left with a thrill ride laced with great humor. There were a few strikes against the movie. In the return of Han Solo, we have another back story that evolves into a muddled mess with strange alien creatures that was forced. Another was the fallback to use another Death Star. Although it was done slightly different, the Empire or First Order should probably give up on this idea as the rebellion has been able to destroy three out of three. J.J. Abrams and his team have reinvigorated another sci-fi franchise, proving George Lucas was the biggest weakness in the prequels. In this day of bloated special effects, weak stories, and wooden characters, this one returns Star Wars to its majesty of yesterday. Now if we can just wait for the sequel.