Escape now, hug later.......

Rating: 9/10 (6 January 2016)

Years after the defeat of the Galactic Empire, the galaxy faces a new threat from Kylo Ren and the First Order.
When a defector named Finn crash-lands on a desert planet, he meets Rey, a scavenger whose droid contains a map.
Together, the duo join forces with Han Solo to ensure the Resistance receives the intelligence concerning the whereabouts of one Luke Skywalker, the last of the Jedi Knights........
By now, the majority of the planet has seen TFA, and although a major plot point was spoiled to me by my beloved daughter (life imitating art??), it's a relief to know that not only is it a solid movie one has to see in the cinema, it's one of the best Star Wars movies hands down.
And yes, it is partly a re-imagining of A New Hope, but if a film is homaging something that's from its own cannon and has the respect to homage the film with the greatest respect, is there really a problem? After all, we never had any of this kerfuffle when Die Hard 2 was released.
Abrams had possibly one of the hardest jobs a director has ever had to do in the history of cinema, bring Star Wars back to plausibility after Lucas cocked it up with his prequels (ROTS notwithstanding that's a solid movie, but it cannot save what the other two destroyed), bring faith back to its legion of fans, and also convince some of the original cast to come back.
Well he did it, by Jove he did it, and although some of the acting can be a bit ropey at times, it's all about the emotional depth the film has, and it's all about one Han Solo.
When he first utters his opening line 'Chewie, were home' alarm bells started to ring a little, I really thought Ford was going to phone it in. After all, it's one of his most popular characters, so people in denial would just say 'hey he was great even though he looked a little disinterested'.
But then I realised that this was because that shot had been shown so many times in the trailer, that you became numb to one of the most important entrances from two characters in recent years.
But that soon subsides, and that wonderful chemistry between Solo and Chewbacca is as wonderful as ever, and a lot more funnier this time, especially when Chewbacca complains about how cold he is.
And this is the one big improvement for Star Wars, the humour is wonderful, and there are many laugh out loud moments through the film.
Boyega is a welcome edition as Finn, and makes a lot of the more difficult to swallow plot points more plausible, and a little more coherent. Ridley is good, but seeing as her character is a troubled spirit, she doesn't take too much time to trust a complete stranger, and change her world views.
The action is exciting, the effects wonderfully old school, CGI isn't used within an inch of its life like the prequels, so the film doesn't seem too 'cartoony', it actually feels a little raw and gritty in some scenes.
And then there's the major spoiler my daughter told me. It's heart breaking, and the final seconds are just touching to the scene. It's very poignant.........
So it's a wonderful movie, living up to the crazy expectations made by everyone, and no doubt, it will be the biggest film of all time for some time.
The only thing is, Abrams has to up his game for the next instalment.
Perhaps he will ask Daniel Craig to reprise his role as the sarcastic Stormtrooper.
Believe the hype.