He's only gone and done it!

Rating: 8/10 (22 December 2015)

So when it was announced that a new Star Wars trilogy was to be released there was natural scepticism. After the dreaded prequels had all but tainted the Star Wars name, it was up J.J Abrams to prove a good Star Wars movie can be made in modern age cinema. I can happily say he's only gone and done it.
Let's start with our lead protagonists. Daisy Ridley and John Boyega are a fantastic duo and dare I say the best part of the film. They bring a fun relaxed vibe we haven't seen in a Star Wars film for many years if ever after all. Their chemistry is solid with no cringe worthy moments that make you squirm into your seat waiting for the next scene. Out of the two though I'd have to say that Daisy is undoubtedly the star of the show. Considering this is her first real major film role and the fact that she's only twenty three makes this an incredible achievement for the up and coming actress. She had so much wait on her shoulders going in but after this performance she can relax knowing she's done a fine job. Her character Rey is likable from the outset and never once annoyed me. This was crucial, if we didn't like her the whole film would fall apart.
Her counterpart and villain of the story Kylo Ren is equally impressive. He's not just another big baddie who's made to look like the next generation Darth Vadar. Yes there are similarities there but he does stand on his own. Kylo has probably the most interesting back story of all the new characters introduced, although the reveal of him being Han Solos son felt a bit familiar, it still added to this character making him more then just a villain who's been forced into the movie. The prequels failed to establish a villain who was prominent in every movie which meant the ones they did have didn't feel menacing enough. Kylo surviving was a good thing. It means he's going to return in episode eight bigger and better.
The one other character I feel the need to talk about is of course Han Solo. This wasn't old Harrison Ford playing the part for a pay check. This was old Han Solo being well, Han Solo. He's aged since episode six obviously but other then that there wasn't any drastic change and this is a good thing. We got the Han Solo we all know and love.
Hans death was without a doubt one of the biggest moments of this film. Myself and many others saw it coming as soon as he stepped onto the bridge. This suspected suspicion took nothing away from when the inevitable finally came. As soon as the light sabre was thrust through his chest my jaw dropped and the hairs on my arms stood tall. I still have goosebumps thinking about it now. I've seen the film twice now and my reaction the second time was similar. It was a death done right. Although we don't like it, it was done to perfection. I think it's safe to say Kylo Ren has become the most hated man in film. I respect J.J for doing this as it's not often any more we get to see big deaths that actually mean anything on the big screen. This is a character people have known and loved since the seventies and now he's gone. Chewbacca's rampage reaction was the perfect response for his character, he's just witnessed his best friend die and we genuinely felt that.
I can't write this review without mentioning the light sabre battle between Kylo Ren and Rey. In my opinion this was without a doubt the best light sabre belt we've ever seen. It felt real, there was now choreographed back flips, just two people fighting for their lives. It was gritty, if light sabres were a real thing, this is how a fight would go. The main problem people have with this scene is how Rey managed to get the upper hand over Kylo when she's never even held a light sabre before. I understand the frustration but to me this shows the strong force potential Rey has inside her. And what we must remember is Kylo is still not fully trained and will have had little to no light sabre fights in his time. He's almost still a rookie, we see this when he rages on the equipment after Rey initially escapes from captivity.
The only real issues I have with the film is a lot of it did feel like we've seen it before, in another Star wars film. There's a lot of throwbacks to episode four here. I believe we'll see more original content in the sequels. To me this film showed that Star Wars has still got it, they wanted to win over the fans and if that meant giving them what they already know and love then I don't see a problem with that.
This is my favourite Star Wars film and one of my favourites for the year. It did what it needed to do and that was get Star Wars back on track. The ending left me hyped for the sequel and that's all I can ask. It was cliché to have Luke just standing there when Rey arrived but what we must remember is this is still a film and will possess over dramatic tropes like this one. I can only see the series getting better from here. When all's said and done I believe this has the potential to me my favourite trilogy of all time.
I'm putting a lot of faith in what's to come. Don't let me down.