Revived my excitement for the Hollywood Blockbuster

Rating: 9/10 (16 January 2016)

Star Wars holds a special place in my heart. I wasn't born for the initial hype of the original trilogy, however when George Lucas re-released them in the late 90's I lost my freaking mind. Space!! The force!! Good vs evil! Memorable heroes and villains! An awesome story! Han freaking Solo!!
Then the prequels came out.
My love for Star Wars died... not immediately mind you. I was still a young pup when the prequels came out. I liked the big battles.. those Pod races were pretty cool too.. The fancy (for the time) visual effects. It wasn't until I was a big ol' man that I watched them again and realised they were kind of horrible. I didn't care about ANY of the characters (and it didn't feel like they cared either). The "love story" was forced and contrived. The visual effects have not aged well. The story was just a mess... trade embargos?? What?? So many light sabers the film looked like a freaking Christmas Tree. Finally - giving SCIENCE behind "the force" has scarred the franchise forever. All hope was lost.
*Dramatic beat*
Enter J J Abrams.
J J Abrams is clearly a smart guy - he saw what made the original 3 great and said to himself "lets do this right" - and in the process he returned Star Wars back into my heart. He has stepped away from Science Fiction and stepped back towards Science Fantasy. The characters (old and new) were a pleasure to watch. The chemistry between all of them was palpable. Memorable villains who I cannot WAIT to see over the course of the next (however many) films. He made light sabers cool again! The space battles were epic! That score! That humour! Those practical visuals!! Han freaking Solo!! Be still my beating heart!
But not really. Keep beating. I want to see where these films go.
In short J J Abrams has revived my excitement for the Hollywood Blockbuster. I feel like a kid again seeing the original trilogy for the first time. I can't wait for future instalments. I hope J J Abrams has a huge hand in the rest of them.
Star Wars is back.