Witty, vibrant, and so much fun.

Rating: Null/10 (26 December 2015)

As someone who's a fan of the original trilogy (Episodes 4-6. I never saw the more recent prequels nor have any plan to) but who's not obsessed or in complete love with them, I went with this with good enough expectations but not expecting to be blown away. Those expectations were entirely met. Like the original Star Wars films (mostly A New Hope, which was always my favorite) this has a complete sense of fun and energy that vibrates not just with the action (and there's a lot) but with the characters and their interactions. In comparison to most Hollywood blockbuster, it's pretty standard in its structure. There's nothing here that is any huge risk, but then again none of the Star Wars films were ever incredibly challenging or unformulaic. Like the originals, this one just has such a positive energy and its formula completely works. They did such a great job casting the new characters, and in particular Daisy Ridley and especially Adam Driver (who steals every scene he is in) do some great work here. I don't think J.J. Abrams has brought anything distinctive or different in style than the originals, but I don't think that was his aim at all. He does a great job handling everything as a package, and that is no easy feat. In a time where Hollywood is filled with unimaginative, repetitive, dull blockbusters (Hello Marvel!) this joins Mad Max: fury Road as really standing apart from the flock, even if it's different to Fury Road in that it follows the formula a lot more. But if it works, don't break it, and this is surely one of the most purely entertaining, and lovable, films of the year. The praise is deserved.