Familiar but Still Different

Rating: 8/10 (19 December 2015)

*SPOILERS AHEAD*
I saw Star Wars in the theater as a 10-year old in 1977. I was greatly disappointed in the prequels. I was thrilled to find that TFA has the spirit of the original trilogy. There are numerous call backs for fans where the narrative resembles bits of A New Hope & The Empire Strikes Back. I have no issue with this as the bulk of the story is about a new generation dealing with the consequences left after the first trilogy. We meet a troubled Stormtrooper who goes AWOL on the First Order. We have a tough young lady who was abandoned at a young age. We have the troubled, rebellious son of Han & Leia who has gone over to the Dark Side. This movie is a great set-up for the next two in this trilogy. The mystery of "Where is Luke Skywalker" goes unanswered until the very end. Will Luke train Rey in the ways of The Force just as Obi-Wan did for him? How will Kylo Ren evolve after he believes he has achieved closure with his father to rid himself of the temptations from Light Side of The Force? Can the Rebellion hold on against The (Nazi- esque) First Order allowing new Jedi to be trained to fight? So many questions waiting to be answered. Welcome Back Star Wars, we really missed you!