A Real Tour de Force

Rating: 10/10 (17 December 2015)

JJ Abrams took on something monumental here, with plenty of ways he could have messed it up. With Disney ownership things looked even more shaky, but their combined failure to wreck Star Wars may be the biggest surprise to viewers.
The movie is imperfect but it tries very hard to deliver what the fans want. The entire thing sensibly ignores the prequels, in look and narrative, and takes its lead directly from the first trilogy. As such, this move connects nicely with those movies. The success of this movie begins with the script - it has the character of the original movies, with plenty of sharp dialogue and wit. The wit is often knowing, with crowd-pleasing nods to the good old days. This time around, the cast actually has things to say that are worth hearing.
Visually, the movie has a Marvel graphic novel look about it, but tempered with the look of the original trilogy. Actually, this movie never misses a chance to make connections to those great movies. From the opening moments of the movie, the audience can see exactly where this is going and, having established that mode, it stays right there throughout.
Hard to level criticism at a movie that is such a huge project, with so much hanging on it, and everyone ready to hammer it mercilessly if it failed. So what are its weak points? Rei for one. She is the same teenager that Luke was when he got started, but she lacks the grim motivation that Luke had. Fin is much more interesting a character, but he is given too little to do. he runs around. That's pretty much all he does. Having said all this, the movie is the first of a trilogy, so we don't get all the answers right here and now. Rei and Fin need time, and they'll get another 4-6 hours on screen to do that in the future.
Overall then, this is a jaw-dropping return to form for the franchise. JJ has proved that he understands what Star Wars is really about. Disney has been smart enough to not mess it up. The special FX crew has not turned it into an FX festival. The script is good. The story is good. The cast is good. Even the baddies are good. For me the success of this instalment was a huge relief. It could have been those prequels all over again, but what we get instead is a true return to form. It's a great movie. Not 100% perfect, but the best thing that has happened to Star Wars in 32 years.