My New Favorite Star Wars

Rating: 9/10 (22 December 2015)

Why are all the reviews for this movie so negative??? Whenever I click on user reviews for a good movie like this one, why are the only reviews that come up 1s and 2s? Why does IMDb decide to put all the negative reviews at the front of a movie with a rating in the high 8's when a terrible movie like Pixels has all 9s and 10s??? I find it extremely odd.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens was my most anticipated movie of the year, and a lot of people obviously thought the same. And it definitely delivered as an excellent Star Wars film. It met and exceeded all expectations. J.J. Abrams is the director now and he brought back the cool of the original trilogy in a fresh new way. The new cast includes Daisy Ridley as Rey, John Boyega as Finn, and Oscar Isaac as Poe, and all 3 do a fantastic job. Han Solo, Leia, Luke Skywalker, and Chewbacca return in stunning fashion. Now to the villain: Kylo Ren. He is amazing. His look may not be as cool as Darth Vader, but he definitely is as menacing. Adam Driver did an excellent job as Kylo Ren.
The plot follows Rey and Finn as they encounter Han Solo and Chewbacca. They have the map that can lead to the missing Luke Skywalker. Luke is gone, and I found that kind of strange. They encounter Kylo Ren on numerous occasions, including a stunning light saber duel at the end. Han actually has a pretty big role and sadly, he meets his death. It was revealed that Kylo Ren is actually Ben Solo, Han and Leia's son, who was influenced by Snoak and turned to the Dark Side. Kylo Ren kills his father after a heated discussion. I was astonished when I saw this. Quite possibly the most awesome Star Wars character of all time had been killed. However, it was probably for the best since who knows how long Ford can continue acting as the iconic character. It was also revealed that Rey has the powers of a Jedi herself. She can use the Force and may even be more powerful than Kylo Ren. The movie begins with an action scene with the First Order and ends with a spectacular space and land battle. The Force Awakens is also extremely funny.
A lot of similarities can be seen between this movie and Episode 4: A New Hope. Here are a few:
1. Death Star space battle
2. Old, iconic character dies (Obi Wan and Han Solo)
3. Kylo Ren's back story very much resembles Darth Vader's
4. Main character is from a desert planet (Rey and Luke)
5. A droid contains information for the Resistance (R2-D2 and BB-8)
6. Han Solo is the transportation guy
Many people are disappointed by these similarities but they are really good for a first movie after a long time in a franchise. The film ends with Rey finding Luke Skywalker on a distant planet. It is a very emotional scene and speculations can be made about whether Luke Skywalker is Rey's father.
Overall, Episode 7 is amazing. It is the perfect sequel to the original trilogy and Return of the Jedi. Everyone in the theater, myself included, watched in awe as the Star Wars franchise picked itself out of the whole it dug itself into with the Prequel Trilogy. The Force Awakens is my new favorite Star Wars, but I still do think Empire Strikes Back is the best one. I can't wait for Episode 8 to come in a couple of years. From A+ to F, Star Wars: The Force Awakens gets an A.