a worthy successor to the star wars franchise

Rating: 8/10 (28 December 2015)

So watched the film once, and was really happy with it. Watched a second time and was more inspired to write this review.
So lets start at the beginning, and that is does the film live up to the hype or is every one over exaggerating? Well it certainly has that original Star Wars feel about it, not the prequels. The use of animatronics instead of CGI really payed of big time! the feel of watching action, adventure and not some political slow paced show down was also a great plus. Everything about The Force Awakens screamed that it was made by the same people as the first trilogy, although many of us know its not the case!! So in that retrospect this is a big thank you to J.J. Abrams and the writers for making a great film.
Story: the Story of Force Awakens, is very new and some what similar to the old star wars. We are given a likable hero Luke and Ray, a loud mouth/ anti hero Han and Finn, and of course we are introduced to a great villain Darth Vader and Kylo Ren. I actually prefer Kylo to Vader, as in this one film, he has had more character exposition then Anakin had in all 3 prequels and the Star Wars episode IV. Kylo Ren is a very complex villain, because he still has light in him, he wants to prove himself worthy of his bloodline, he always measures himself against his fallen grandfather, but is still young and full impatience and to much cloudiness of judgment to realize who he really is. Ray is a very mysterious character who has had to become a very quick learner to survive living on her own. she possess the force way before we are shown it. side note for those who have seen. when she touched the light saber she the location of Luke, and Ren even said it when he was probing her. "Island surrounded by water" even though she lived on Jakku.
Acting: Th acting for this film was overall great, the only real down side for me was Carrie Fisher, i felt that she was very monotoned. The use of fairly unknown actors to lead the way as the new heroes of the new franchise felt great!! because when you saw them, you had no previous attachment to those actors and so these roles made them stand out more. Harrison Ford, who is one of the most iconic actors of not only this generation, but of all time. Does a great job and really brings home his performance as Han Solo, with all of the traits that we admired in him.
Overall: this was a great film, and you can never please everybody. but the fact that this film made you feel like you are watching one of the originals is a plus!! The fact that there was always action, comedy and a good balance of adventure where all of the dialogue is broken up by action or done through movement and not speech is also a plus! the use of real location and not green screen was Amazing! Seeing foot marks left behind in the sand, and people, droids, aliens actually stand on sand and not be CGI'd into it really made me smile. And i don't hate the prequels, but just don't think it needed so much CGI, and so badly done. The Fact that we saw the personal battle of Kylo Ren within himself, through a limited minutes in one film and not over 3 films like prequels is also a great plus!
Nothing i write will change how this film will sit with you. But i hope you enjoy all the effort that was put into making a worthy follow up to the original star wars and not the prequels.