It may be a reboot, but it's a joyously enjoyable one

Rating: 8/10 (23 December 2015)

The new Star Wars film must be good - only one person got their phone out during the entire running time!
Definitely a hit, SWTFA has a joyous, celebratory feel and it's a delight to see Han Solo (or Hun Solo as most people seem to call him now) et al on the big screen again. The 3D IMAX looks and sounds fantastic (a full screen shot of a Star Destroyer in particular is awesome), the John Williams score as iconic as ever, the new characters are great and the story zips along. JJ Abrams has done a superb job bearing in mind the weight of expectation and the need to match the tone to the classic trilogy.
The film is virtually a reboot in places. So much is the same as episodes IV-VI, including Stormtrooper armour that still can't protect the wearer from anything other than a light slap, and inexplicably noisy ships in the vacuum of space. A few minor changes include the fact that even small craft like the X-Wing apparently now come fitted with hyperspace drives. Well, this is set 30 or so years after ROTJ I suppose. I think JJ was wise to use so much of the iconography to be fair, it's what people were expecting. There should be a lot more scope in the subsequent instalments to break away from the template a bit more, and they ought to be even better films as a result.
Another great decision was the one to use physical sets so much; it makes the movie so much more solid and believable than episodes I-III. Hopefully this starts a trend that other blockbusters follow. There were still plenty of visual effects shots of course, but they were seamless apart from the big hologram geezer that looked like a cross between Thanos and Bill Nighy.
The script is a lot more human than probably any of the other episodes and the humour hits far more than it misses. My only slight criticism of it is that multiple characters deliver the same brand of dry wisecracks, making it too obvious they'd all come from the pen of the same writer.
Talking of criticisms, I only have a few:

I craved a little more backstory to understand the main character's motivations and mindsets - but at least I cared.

The plot is enjoyable and contains some mystery, but is ultimately lacking real drive or tension compared to the very best sci-fi. We're essentially just along for the ride.

Apparently everyone can just pick up a lightsaber now and kick butt straight away. Really?

The other little niggle was that despite certain grown men claiming otherwise, these are essentially family films and aimed at kids of all ages from about 8 to 108. So for the sake of cutting a couple of seconds of injury detail, why press ahead with a version of the film that needed a 12 certificate?
What a relief though hey? Far from being a disappointment, Star Wars: The Force Awakens is a triumphant must-see, and the wait for Episode VIII is already way too long!