The Force is strong in these younglings

Rating: 7/10 (18 December 2015)

The Force is strong in these younglings....
Predictably the latest installment of arguably the most loved movie franchise in history is breaking any and all records at the box office.
I remember seeing Star Wars at a drive in (yes I said drive in) movie theater in 1977, and experiencing a life changing event that many of you out there felt as well.
In 1980, I experienced the magic again with the Empire Strikes Back..but I was 10 years old by then, and although in my opinion this installment was superior to its predecessor, the magic had lost just a bit of its luster.
In 1983 at the age of 13 I saw Return of the Jedi, and although completely satisfied with the film itself, I felt a certain amount of detachment towards it. Maybe because I was a bit older, or maybe because I had just moved on to other things...you know 80's things; Pac-Man, Atari, heavy metal, etc.
Obviously in 1999 when Lucas gave us the prequels to Star Wars, I was that 7 year old boy all over again...awaiting to be taken not to some galaxy far, far away, but rather to a slightly humid drive-in movie theater in Southeast Iowa. Of course I was monumentally disappointed with not just the first film, but all three. The use of CGI ad-nauseum, reprehensible dialog, wooden acting, and incongruent plot lines led to one of the most maligned trilogy of films in history. True fanboys felt betrayed that George Lucas had reduced his once great empire into an infantile serfdom. Before I completely eviscerate the prequels, I will say that I thought Ewan McGregor was splendid as a young Obi Wan Kenobi, Darth Maul was the second greatest villain (falling only behind the Dark Lord himself) in the history of the Star Wars franchise, and Ian McDiarmand was magnificent as the duplicitous Darth Sidious/Palpatine.
Fast forward to 2015/2016, Star Wars is now firmly entrenched in the back pocket of the Mouse House, and George Lucas is merely a relic of this mythic franchise, given perfunctory props by all for "starting (and almost ending) it all"
JJ Abrams is now at the helm of the most powerful force in the universe, or at least in Hollywood, and has tepidly put his toes into the Star Wars galactic swimming pool.
When I watched the film, I immediately felt as if Mr. Abrams had somehow taken A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi, and placed them in the Hadron CERN Collider in Switzerland...instead of giving us the "God Particle" it gave us this movie, "The Force Awakens". The movie itself is fine. Abrams goes to great lengths...(maybe too great) to stay true to the original formula which worked so well...so long ago.
I felt the movie was perfectly cast. Daisy Ridley as Rey, and John Boyega as Finn are the heart and soul of this movie...giving us fans protagonists that we can actually root for. Harrison Ford moves in slow motion throughout the whole movie, unable to keep up with his younger counterparts. I think this was Abrams' subtle way of reminding all of us that "its not the years it's the mileage" and there is a time the torch MUST be passed.
Abrams gives us a very good BUT not great popcorn film, that just about everyone will enjoy. Besides Rey and Finn, my favorite character was that little ball droid BB8...Although I usually don't get sucked in for the "cuteness factor" that little guy melted the hearts of just about everyone in the theater...and will probably become one of the greatest selling pieces of merchandise in the franchise's history.
Abrams does deliver in this movie...TONS and TONS of nostalgia (interestingly enough, the scene that choked me up the most was seeing the Millennium Falcon taking off for the first time in 30 years with 2 "new" pilots at its controls) great dogfight scenes between the iconic X-Wing Fighters and Tie Fighters, and interpersonal conflict that as an audience we can truly invest in.
As I mentioned above, it seems that Abrams entered into this project perhaps a bit too tepidly, but with everything at stake, I don't think anyone could blame him. He's given us a great Christmas gift, as I'm thinking that this movie will be the bridge that a new and old generation can cross into that galaxy far, far away.
Here's hoping that the sum is greater than the parts of this new and promising trilogy.
Grade: B