"Almost there.....but it just impacted on the surface"

Rating: 8/10 (18 December 2015)

I went to see Star Wars the Force Awakens with such anticipation and glee of a new but sentimental outlook and loving thought to the original Star Wars trilogy, excluding the prequels disastrous over the top scenery and far too much CGI special effects, which was saved just by fantastic lightsaber duels.
This was far far better than Lucas's latter visions but just fell short of being up there with the original movies, which in all honesty would be almost impossible to achieve. But hats off to JJ Abrams for even attempting to take on this challenge. You can see that he has made every effort to give the fans a Star Wars experience that they were looking for. And in some ways I am being a little selfish because I'm sure that if I was 10-15 years of age now, I would have absolutely loved it, and had the same feeling I had when I watched them as a child.
Some will say the plot lacks originality and that it pays homage to A New Hope, which if you think about too much, is quite accurate. However, if you look passed that and go with an open mind then you will appreciate and love this movie for what it is.
The action scenes and battles are mind blowing and seeing the Millennium Falcon / Tie Fighters / X-Wings back in action is an absolute joy. The ground battles are all actors/extras rather than CGI and you're not overwhelmed with too much going on as with Episode 1- 3.
Daisey Ridley & John Boyega do fantastic jobs as the irrepressible Rey & Finn. And they are supported well by Oscar Isaac's Poe Dameron. However, the moment Harrison Ford reprises his role as Han Solo with his loyal sidekick Chewie is a moment that can't come soon enough, and he delivers with absolute finesse giving a true performance as one of the most lovable sci-fi characters in movie history. Carrie Fisher's Princess Leia / General Organa is a welcome site but is quite wooden, and the screen time with Ford lacks the original love hate relationship.
BB-8 is a fantastic addition to the droid sidekick and is a lovable humorous loyal droid much like its predecessor R2-D2, and its on screen time never gets boring.
My main gripe about SWTFA is the villainous Kylo Ren who looks and sounds fantastic, and his initial scene is one of evil and unconscious regards for the life of others which is what you expect of every Sith. However the character loses his evil presence and sinister ways as the movie goes on, and in my opinion is too weak even if he is not fully trained or converted to the dark side. Once the helmet / face mask is removed your fear and respect for the character dissolves even though he is involved in one of the most emotional scenes in the movie. With Darth Vader there was a much more twisted and soulless demeanour accompanied with one of the strongest voices in cinema history, and this is where Kylo Ren fails unfortunately. So much potential from the start but loses his strength as a feared character as the movie progresses.
And as for Supreme Leader Snoke well, the less said about him the better. Sitting on top of his throne reminiscent to the Cylon leader out of Battlestar Galactica, he would be more welcome in a Lord of the Rings movie. The First Order just lack that menacing appeal of the once formed Empire and thank god for the Storm Troopers who look magnificent on screen.
I haven't mentioned Luke Skywalker / Mark Hamill, and for those that have seen the movie will know why that is.
So all in all a great attempt by JJ Abrams and the cast to reprise a legacy, and by no means does this movie fail or do injustice to its predecessors. It just left me wanting more, and even though the film must appeal to the younger viewer, I wanted a slightly darker movie with less humour which at times was unnecessary. Leave the funny moments to Han, Chewie, and the droids, and that would have sufficed.
A really enjoyable experience and Star Wars has been reborn, just needed airbrushing.