Star Wars: The Force Awakens

So where were you when the Science Fiction cinema sensation ‘Star Wars’ took shape and captured the imagination of the massive global moviegoers’ escapist expectations back in 1977? Regardless of whether you existed thirty-eight years ago or not, the legend of George Lucas’ highly-heralded SF blockbuster that shattered box office records worldwide was automatically engrained in your cinematic psyche. Now nearly four decades later, the motion picture phenomenon that took place in ‘a galaxy a long time ago…far, far away’ has come to expand its entertaining promise and prominence even after numerous servings of movie sequels, television specials and other fanfare attributes that promoted the ‘Star Wars’ agenda throughout the countless years.

The modern-day arrival of yet another ‘Star Wars’ edition in the millennium movie-making age of technical and tactical brilliance is quite fitting and filmmaker J.J. Abrams is the right choice to helm this sacred film franchise and present a whole new litany of continuing adventurous narratives for a new generation of ‘Star Wars’ personalities dipping their tenacious toes into ‘the force of goodness’ battling ‘the dark side’ of authoritative evil.

In Abrams’s reboot ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’, the anticipation of enhancing and enlightening the reputation and respect of the Lucas landscape of stormtroopers, light sabres and of course the iconic ‘Star Wars’ returnees from the treasured trio of Harrison Ford (Han Solo)/Carrie Fisher (Leia) and Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker) registers with a nostalgic blast of appreciation and exhilaration. ‘The Force Awakens’ is a sheer big screen celebration of majestic impishness and intrigue that will fortify the hunger of both casual and rabid ‘Star Wars’ fanatics. Indeed, the hype is warranted and Abrams, the mastermind of the big-budget movie sequelitis, is in top form as he triumphantly presents ‘The Force Awakens’ on a prized silver platter designed for its surging golden moments of ch...

A very entertaining film filled with immensely fun nostalgic moments and lots of laughs, but this is movie is not perfect, no it is not.

Spoiler alert!!

This movie is an exact copy of the 4th one and this frustrates me more than it should. Although new characters and mysteries were introduced, the plot was too similar to the 4th film, but hey, at least they blew up the republic so no more boring bureaucracy! One more thing that bothered me a lot is Kylo ren, not the character, the actor. I mean they couldn't pick an uglier wimp? I mean no offense Adam Driver, but bad guys need to look badass, and once you took of your helmet, you lost all hope of becoming a badass.

Summary:

Definitely a movie worth watching despite minor setbacks.

Slumber Earthquake.

There really is no point trying to do an in depth review of this, it falls in line with a number of series blockbusters that are guaranteed to garner rabid responses, pro and con.

The Force Awakens is a film of many flaws, it has a pungent whiff of safeness about it, the charges of it being a glitzy remake are fair enough, while certain plot strands are frustrating and set to be big talking points for years - and years - to come.

Yet what about its worth to someone who is not obsessed with every finer detail? Someone who just loves the Star Wars universe as a spectacle prism of entertainment, and has just wanted a Star Wars film worthy of being fit to sit alongside that original trilogy?

This made me feel 11 again, took me back to a time in 1977 when I queued for three hours to see such wonders on the big screen. The Force Awakens is, in spite of the recognised flaws, a loving homage to a past love. It's sly with humour and nods to foundations, a blitzkrieg of effects and sound work (my Blu-ray viewing had my sub-woofer doing a jitterbug in the lounge), and it doesn't shy from surprise or the dangling of the carrot.

The makers have big heart and technical invention, the cast vibrant, spunky and strongly committed to the cause - the old hands a very reassuring presence - Yeah, so it's not sci-fi perfection, or any Star Wars geeks' idea of the perfect Star Wars movie (oh J.J. Abrams you devil you!), but it made this middle aged guy shed a tear of happiness. A moment to reaffirm why - as a young lad - I fell in love with film in the first place. 9/10

The Force Awakens: A New Hope 2.0

The highly-anticipated follow-up to the Original Trilogy treads through familiar waters, taking the "safe route" approach. Though The Force Awakens has its fair share of phenomenal moments and is definitely an improvement over the Prequel Trilogy, its reliance on using the Original Trilogy (mainly A New Hope) as a template feels nothing more than an imitation of events that occurred prior.

At the end of Return of the Jedi, the Empire suffered a great loss, with the destruction of the Second Death Star and deaths of The Emperor and Darth Vader. It was implied that Luke, the last surviving Jedi, would restart a New Jedi Order (based on Expanded Universe media, which has been declared non-canon by Disney). That is indeed what happens; however, a rogue student of Luke's slaughtered his peers, seduced by the mysterious Supreme Leader Snoke of the First Order and adopts a new identity as Kylo Ren. In summary, the Jedi Order did indeed happen (off-screen), but gets wiped out (off-screen, again), leaving Luke the last surviving Jedi and retreats into exile (off-screen... seeing a pattern?). The Empire is basically resurrected as the First Order, with the Rebel Alliance becoming the Resistance, and once again, they're tasked with destroying a gigantic ball of death. Sounds an awful lot like A New Hope, as a modern-day "soft reboot."

Droid carrying top-secret info? Check. Villain dressed in black with mask? Check. Protagonist lives on desert planet? Check. Discover that they're indeed Force-sensitive? Check. Han Solo and Chewbacca escorting our heroes to destination? Check. A cantina featuring a cantina band? Check. Mentor figure (Obi-Wan in ANH, Han Solo in TFA) killed by villain? Check. Battle of Death Star (Yes, I'm calling Starkiller Base a Death Star)? Check. Does big ball of death get destroyed? Check.

Rey is indeed a Force-sensitive individual, but throughout the movie, she is just as good a pilot as Han Solo,...

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Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi (2017) was just released, but my time didn't yet allow me to watch it. However, I do have time to review the film that started this new trilogy: The Force Awakens. At the time, it was my most anticipated movie of the year and I placed it second on the list of my favorite films of 2015 (just a bit below Mad Max: Fury Road).

So, yes, I do love this movie and it is definitely on the top3 of the saga! The cast choices are the undoubtful proof of the huge success that this film achieved. Daisy Ridley (Rey) is a massive discovery, her talent is limitless and she embraces her role like no other. She delivers a very emotional and powerful display, showing all of her acting skills. I can feel that she is 100% committed to her character and what a character to portray at your first big movie appearance.

Rey is excellently-developed throughout the film, she might mislead people into thinking she is just a mere scavenger, but once the movie gets going, she becomes an awesome character sharing some of the most epic moments in the whole runtime. She has an oddly mysterious backstory, which is going to produce theories and plot twists that I can't wait for, in the next films.

John Boyega (Finn) is a fantastic supporting actor and another great casting. He brings just the right amount of humor with some exceptionally delivered lines and his facial expressions and timing are perfect. Finn is going to be one of the audience's favorites for sure, his journey to encounter Rey is interesting and unique in the saga. In my opinion, it is his story that carries the beginning of the movie and that sets up a lot of characters and plot points.

Adam Driver as Kylo Ren ... Oh. My. God. What a performance! Driver is so subtle in the most meaningful moments but so compelling in the most menacing ones. He elevates Ren into a phenomenal antagonist...

The following is a review that I originally wrote in 2015.

Was it perfect? No.

Was it basically a shot for shot retread of A New Hope? Yeah.

Did it under-develop characters and plots of almost everything interesting to near Boba Fett-ian levels? Sure.

Did the entire thing rely on about 47 ridiculously implausible complete coincidences that the story would have fallen apart without? Sounds accurate.

But after more than three decades, is Star Wars finally back? Damn right.

Apart from my just plain enjoying it, The Force Awakens makes me excited for the future of the franchise the first time in.. Well ever really. I liked the blend of new and old material, but I hope that moving forward, the series relies more on the new. I don't mean ditch all the original characters, I just mean we don't need endless callbacks to the past in Episode VIII. It worked fine for this one, and I totally get needing to re-acclimatise audiences, so I'm absolutely understanding of it in this case. But I hope they get away from that in future, and it seems very much as if that's the direction they're taking.

An enjoyable beginning to the sequel trilogy!

'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' entertained me. It felt like a fresh direction for the overall franchise, which I guess is little surprise given George Lucas was not a major part of this. I actually didn't notice a great deal of difference, or at least as much as I thought there'd be given his exclusion.

I enjoyed seeing the new cast merge with the old trio, even if there are only small appearances from two of the latter. Daisy Ridley and John Boyega are excellent additions, both give top performances - I will say I didn't sense major chemistry between the two, but I assume that'll come soon enough. Adam Driver, meanwhile, suits his role nicely.

Original trio Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill all feature, though - as alluded to - Ford is the only one that has a major part to play. Either way, it's cool seeing them back in the franchise.

Everything else about the film satisfied me, I'm not saying it's perfect - esp. the plot - but I found it perfectly fun to watch. For me, it's a strong start for this era of 'Star Wars'.

A meaningless continuation of a saga that was decidedly concluded in Return of the Jedi. This is a poor attempt at converting something that was created as a mythical epic into a soap opera.