Star Wars: The Force Awakens Review

     In 1977, the world was greeted by the unparalleled sensation that was the "Star Wars" franchise. The first film, "A New Hope," was an overnight success, becoming the highest grossing movie of all time as well as go on to win seven Oscars. The following two films, "The Empire Strikes Back" and "Return of the Jedi," were also huge hits and cemented the series’ place as one of cinema's greatest trilogies; and it's not hard to see why it was so beloved. Not only was it ahead of its time and influential for so many sci-fi movies to come, but it truly created one of the greatest movie universes ever. The characters, culture, lore, and story were on a level rarely reached by any movie franchises. There is history in the "Star Wars" universe that goes back thousands of years before and of the movies take place. It's a universe that one could lose themselves in, and one that stimulated the imagination of everyone who witnessed it and stayed in their hearts and minds forever. So unsurprisingly, upon the completion of the original trilogy fans were dying for more. Over the years we saw many licensed video games and books take place in the "Star Wars" universe, but they never quite satisfied that itch that fans had. So when it was announced that series creator George Lucas was working on three prequels to the original trilogy, fans lost their minds. "The Phantom Menace" was released in 1999, and quickly became one of the highest grossing movies ever; but the film suffered from one major problem, it wasn't very good. "The Phantom Menace" was a mess of a movie that most fans seemed to hate, and reception for its successors was also lackluster. "Attack of the Clones" in 2002 and "Revenge of the Sith" in 2005 were heavily panned by critics and audiences, causing fans to despise the prequel trilogy and George Lucas himself. So with the prequels done it was assumed that the series had finally been put to rest; but in 2012 Disney announced that they had bought Lucasfilm, meaning that Disney owned the rights to the franchise. Almost immediately, they announced that a sequel trilogy to the original films was in the works. So here we are, about 38 years after "A New Hope," we get another movie in a series that had long since been thought to be done and over. We get one of the most anticipated movies ever made, "Star Wars: The Force Awakens."

     A few decades after the events of "Return of the Jedi," the galaxy seems to be at peace; but out of the shadow of the old Galactic Empire a new group has risen up, The First Order. One day a storm trooper named Fin realizes that he might be on the wrong side, so he plans a daring escape from one of the First Order's ships. He manages to get out, but crashes on a nearby desert planet. There he meets Rey, a young scrapper who has found something wanted by both the First Order and the group known as the Resistance. Rey and Fin decide to take the item to the item to the resistance, only problem is that they have the entire First Order looking for them. Fortunately, they run into some old legends that are willing to help them out.

     "The Force Awakens" might be the most anticipated movie to come out in my lifetime. The hype surrounding this movie was otherworldly, with people getting antsier with every day. People have waited a long time for another good "Star Wars" movie; and I'm very happy to say that they don't have to wait anymore. This movie is everything a fan of the series wanted from a new installment; this is the type of movie that the prequels should have been. One of the more loveable aspects of this franchise would have to be its characters. "Star Wars" has several of the most iconic characters in cinema history, and a few of those characters make an appearance in "The Force Awakens." But while it was great to see these old characters again, the new ones stole the show. The new characters are great; Fin and Rey are awesome and will be great leads in the new trilogy. The movie's villain, Kylo Ren, is also a stand out. He is powerful, menacing, and ruthless, and is on his way to be one of the series’ best antagonists. But despite the introduction of several new characters, a few of them were underutilized. There was one particular character that was featured heavily in the marketing that was in very little of the movie. Many of these characters we probably be in the sequels, but I hate when movies introduce a character that seems important but barely does anything. All the actors in this movie give great performances, from the old to the new; but Daisy Ridley as Rey was the real stand out. She did a great job playing a great new character, bringing a lot of heart and energy to Rey. And not only did each actor give solid individual performances, but they also work well together. The chemistry between everyone is great, and feels a lot like that of the original trilogy. The story of the original trilogy is timeless; it is one that has been remembered for years, and one that defined the young lives of an entire generation. "The Force Awakens" has a great story, be it that it does feel familiar. But what it does is set up then next two major installments, Episode 8 and 9. It's the first part in series that will define the young lives of an entirely new generation. And if there was one thing that this movie did right, it was making be want the next movies immediately. Unfortunately, that brings me to two more issues with this movie. "The Force Awakens" will leave you with a lot more questions than answers; but not so much about what is to come, but what happened before. There is about a thirty year gap between Episode 6 and 7, and it's obvious that a whole lot of stuff happened. "The Force Awakens" touched on the important events during that time, but leaves out almost everything else. To the movie's credit, "A New Hope" also left us with a lot of questions; most of which were answered in the sequels. So I suspect we will know what happened eventually. I also feel that "The Force Awakens" has a focus issue at times. There is a lot of stuff happening in this movie, and it all happens really quickly; it can all be a little much at times. "The Phantom Menace" had a similar problem, but "The Force Awakens" doesn't have as bad a case of ADD as that one. On a technical level, the "Star Wars" franchise has already been ahead of the pack when compared to other movies of the time. The original trilogy even won several Oscars for visual effects and design. The prequel trilogy employed a variety of CGI that was some of the best of the late 90s and early 2000s. So while "The Force Awakens" isn't years ahead in terms of its technical aspects compared to its predecessors, that doesn't mean it’s still not impressive. "The Force Awakens" looks absolutely beautiful, the visual effects (including CGI and practical effects like puppets and animatronics) work great and harken back to the original trilogy, the sound design brought me back to my childhood (those old school sound effects and epic score are just what I wanted), the cinematography is top notch, and the production and world design is some of the best of any movie this year. When it comes to the more technical aspects, I suspect that "The Force Awakens" will receive a few Oscar nominations. But now it is time to give credit where credit is due; the man behind the camera who was given the daunting task of putting together one of the most anticipated movies ever made, J.J. Abrams. He was absolutely brilliant; this is his magnum opus, the movie that he will always be remembered for. He was perfect, and the right choice for relaunching this franchise. It had that sense of whit and humor he is known for, he put enough nostalgia and fan service in it to make any fan of the series to keep on smiling, and as always he made this movie entertaining as hell with awesome action scenes. He did such a great job, I kind of wish he would stay on to direct the sequels. Abrams really did bring this series back to life, and for that I can't thank him enough. Is "The Force Awakens" perfect? No, but then again neither was the original trilogy. What this movie does is revitalize a series that many thought was long past its prime. It has set the stage for a new story to entice a new generation. From the opening crawl to the cliffhanger ending, I was 100% invested in this movie. Outside of "Fury Road" this was the most fun I had at the movie theater this year, and it already has me counting down the days until Episode 8. Also, totally worth waiting in line for four hours to be the first one in the theater. "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" isn't just one of my favorite movies of 2015, it's also one of the best. 

Pros: Great new characters, nice to see old characters again, menacing villain, good chemistry, enthralling new story, impressive visual effects (practical and CGI), excellent performances from the entire cast, J.J. Abrams was the perfect director, beautiful cinematography, classic series score, great sound design, phenomenal production and world design, good sense of humor, nostalgia and fan service awesome action scenes, entertaining as hell, already has me wanting the next one.
Cons: A few characters are underutilized, feels unfocused at times, lots of unanswered questions.

4.5/5 Stars