Superior to the prequels and an overall great film, but not quite on the same level as the original trilogy.

Rating: 8/10 (2 January 2016)

Ten years after the lesser STAR WARS prequel trilogy wrapped up with the mostly solid if not perfect REVENGE OF THE SITH, George Lucas' ever-popular space opera saga gets yet another trilogy in the making, this time in the hands of J.J. Abrams, the man behind the magnificent SUPER 8 and the equally enthralling STAR TREK reboot.
This time, he reunites most of the original cast members (including Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Anthony Daniels, and yes, Peter Mayhew as Luke, Han Solo, Leia, C-3PO, and Chewbacca, respectively) while introducing a welcome host of newcomers. These include Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, and even LORD OF THE RINGS' Andy Serkis. Rather than relying on the mostly CGI approach of the prequels, Abrams also opts to use models, bizarre aliens, and lots of action as well as surprise twists out of nowhere.
Does it all work? For the most part, the answer is yes.
This is certainly a much more spirited and lively chapter than the more sluggish prequels, emphasizing humorous byplays between its characters over sometimes overdone CG effects. As impressive as the visual effects are, they never overcome the way of the story. More importantly, the acting is consistently great from everyone involved: something that could never be said for the prequels. Both Ridley and Boyega get into their roles and exchange rapid- fire chemistry in the same manner as the original, and of course Ford, despite being older, obviously hasn't lost his swagger and badassery as Han Solo. Although villains Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine are missed, the mentally unstable, bad-tempered Kylo Ren makes for a promising villain (Driver), and his big boss (Serkis) also emerges to be just as menacing as the late Darth Sideous.
Some have quibbled that the plot line for THE FORCE AWAKENS is mostly a retread of the original STAR WARS movie "A New Hope", what with the usual destructive space weapon + secret map + hidden weakness formula as well as a little bit of THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK. In that aspect, the movie is probably the least "original" of the movies. But the end result of a movie isn't measured upon its originality or derivativeness, but in its delivery. While the prequels were not guilty of repeating themselves, they still suffered from stiff acting and dialogue. On that level, this movie improves on both of those weaknesses by far. The return to the jokey banter atmosphere is more than welcome, and while there is humor, it's never of the juvenile kind.
All in all, THE FORCE AWAKENS IS better than PHANTOM MENACE and ATTACK OF THE CLONES (as well as even REVENGE OF THE SITH; good as that film was, it was still held back by flaws), but I cannot recommend it as highly as the original trilogy as I would like to because it just slightly misses the mark due to a shocking and less effective final third. Having said all this, though, you'll of course want to see this first entry in a new trilogy; even with my quibbles, it does show promise.