it's true, all of it... i've fallen in love all over again

Rating: 10/10 (19 December 2015)

30 years ago the incredible Star Wars trilogy came to an end, many didn't expect the return of the characters we grew to love and cherish, but now they have returned and JJ Abrams has given us back a world which shaped so many childhoods and i could not be happier. This review will be completely spoiler-free, which will be hard with so much to cover, but i will not be revealing anything here which you didn't already know from trailers.
A very basic story outline is that we follow Rey and Finn, two characters who are quite similar in many ways, but who are so interesting to get to know. I won't be revealing anything else because if i do i will literally be treading into spoiler territory. First things first though, Harrison Ford as Han Solo. My god. Han Solo is my favourite character in the entire Star Wars saga. Harrison Ford does such a good job at bringing this character back that he alone shows us why we missed this universe so much. He wasn't shoehorned in either. He played a vital part in the plot and did the best job possible. I loved seeing him and Chewbacca, who was hilarious in this film, step onto the Millennium Falcon for the first time. When the opening title crawl came onto the screen with the iconic John Williams theme playing through the IMAX speaker system my heart swelled with nostalgia and my eyes filled with tears. This was a moment i never expected to see and it could not have been done in a better way. The same goes for Han and Chewie stepping onto the falcon. It was just that good.
That being said, the main cast of newcomers were incredible. John Boyega's Finn is such a relatable character who has done wrong and just wants to right that and Oscar Issac as Poe was just the most likable guy ever. But my favourite character in the entire film was Rey. I love Daisy Ridley, she is such a likable person and I had every faith that she would make this role her own and completely shine in this film.. which she did. Getting to know Rey as a character turned out to be the most interesting part of this film for me, which is saying a lot because A LOT happens. As well as this we have our new 'Empire' who are known as the First Order. Adam Driver as Kylo Ren was also such a joy to watch. He didn't just play this bad character who was bad for the sake of it. He had real human emotion. He played the character as someone who was fearful and had a sort of emotional vibe which set him apart from other villains in the saga. I was however disappointed by the lack of anything Captain Phasma does in this film.. she is literally the new Boba Fett. Im not saying that is a bad thing, i was just expecting her to do more.
I saw this film in IMAX. The locations and set design are stunning. There is a scene where Rey is introduced on Jakku and we see the area, it is so well shot that i felt there and was literally amazed by what i was seeing. I also like the high use of Practical effects. Almost every character we see is practical, whereas others who are CGI such as Maz Kanata (motion capture) look so real that they don't feel out of place. But a lot of praise for going back to the original route of using mostly practical effects. A lot of people say this is too similar to the original Star Wars film, whilst the last act is pretty similar, this film did feel like its own film at the same time. Some characters such as C3PO and R2D2 feel kind of like if they weren't there it wouldn't make a difference, but like i said new characters really feel at home here. BB8 had a lot of great moments which were real highlights of the film, he also played a huge part in the plot of this film which surprised me.
But all-in-all what can i say except, thank you JJ Abrams. This film makes us realise why we missed this universe so damn much. From seeing the Falcon take flight for the first time, to seeing Han and Leia reunite for the first time, it warmed my heart as a huge Star Wars fan and i smiled almost the whole time in this film. There are a few real emotionally heart wrenching scenes too though. I laughed, i cried and having the franchise in the hands of newcomers Daisy Ridley and John Boyega as well as Oscar Isaac, well i am just okay with that. They have bright careers ahead of them and they have really proved themselves. This is the best in the saga since The Empire Strikes Back and i cant wait to see where this story is heading, as well as seeing this film again. May the force be with you