Nostalgia, Amazing Sequences and a fantastic soundtrack.. It's Star Wars

Rating: 8/10 (24 December 2015)

So, naturally, this new instalment has generated a mixed bag of reviews... I can see why, but I'm a sucker for Star Wars, so slightly biased.
The return to the Galaxy far, far away was long awaited. Especially if you chose to ignore the prequel trilogy! The opening credits made he first blow to the nostalgia with a very classic feel. It's a return to what we loved of the old films. I'm talking costumes rather than CGI creatures, models instead of computer-generated spaceships and real scenery. It helps the very realistic feel, quite rustic in a sense. The new characters are cleverly applied to the Star Wars universe, but there are many questions left unanswered for he rest of the trilogy. Despite being a huge fan of the Star Wars legacy, I will point out a few errors that I could see people picking up on.
1) the Disney comedy, sometimes slightly out of character for Star Wars.. Not like the Han solo cheekiness of old so much. For example, there is a scene where the new character Finn gets excited about capturing his former captain (Phasma) and does the classic! '️'Yeah you want some, I'm in charge now' comedy which was slightly unnecessary. 2) the un-original 'destroy the new deathstar' , or in this case Starkiller.. And the destruction of the new Republic quite so quickly into the new film. I can hear the calls for this being slightly repetitive .. And understood that other aspects of the film also made it feel a little bit more like a re-boot than a sequel - but enough on that.
How about the good stuff? Well, there was plenty of it... 1) Kylo Ren. Although I was slightly unsure at first on how I'd come to see this new villain.. I thought he'd been handled quite well. His contrast to Vader's anger being taken out on his commanders, Ren would take part in violent outbursts of temper instead. This was a nice twist on a classic villain's trait. 2) Finn, Rey and Poe. Both characters I think many can grow to love like the characters of old. I think TFA is as much a transition as it is a new film. The transition from Luke, Leia and Han to the newbies. The characters both show great promise, especially the very strong force-sensitive Rey. 3) My most favourite aspect? The lightsaberfight duels. In the prequels it was all about the stunts, flips and force use. The original trilogy was all about the story behind the fight, the father and son, the master and apprentice. Now, we have a new type of duel. The duel of the inexperienced.. This makes for brutalistic, un-choreographed fighting. This is a nice change and suits the storyline well and makes for very interesting viewing. Relatable as both sides have only recently learnt to wield a lightsaber and there's more injury to make the fights more unpredictable.
I have faith for the new trilogy still, to be honest I really did like it. It's Star Wars. The space and wonder is there. The characters are interesting and entertaining. The nostalgia is unlike any other film series. The old characters step back into their roles very well. The force is still strong with Star Wars... Let's hope it stays that way.