Star Wars: The Force Awakens- Movie Review

The day has finally arrived. A new Star Wars has entered the galaxy. Being the most anticipated movie of my lifetime (I was two when Phantom Menace hit theaters), I had fears, expectations, and an undying hope that this film would be something special. I wanted to feel like I did when I watched A New Hope for the first time when I was young. Not only did I feel that, The Force Awakens exceeded that feeling and is truly something incredible.

Now, I will try my very best to give you a straight movie analysis without previous fanboy notions. Yes, I love this franchise and always will but as I reviewer, I have to be honest. Yet, I'm grateful to say that this movie was absolutely awesome. J.J. Abrams was given such a tremendous task and it worked out beautifully. He did his best to really make this movie feel like an original but have a new take. It combined the old world we knew with a vast new one full of questions and wonders. In terms of what this movie did best, it left you wanting so much more. Abrams brilliantly developed these characters and made you care about every single one. By the time the film ended, you mentally (maybe verbally) begged for Episode 8 to begin. This movie left you with such high hopes and let you know this franchise is in good hands.

I have to applaud the entire cast, old and new. Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher were wonderful. Thirty years have passed since Empire and they still have that undying connection. When on screen together, you couldn't help but feel butterflies in your stomach. Being a child raised by a Star Wars loving father, Leia and Han Solo's romance was the first love story I ever knew. Seeing it continue and seeing their connection was magical. In terms of original cast being in this film, Han Solo and Chewbacca have a lot of screen time. Yet again, that relationship hasn't missed a beat and is still absolutely hilarious. R2 and 3PO also appear and are as witty as ever. Now, I know all of you are begging to speak about Luke and Mark Hamill. Being he's been entirely absent from the press since the teaser, many wondered about the character. Without spoiling anything, I will say Luke Skywalker is in The Force Awakens. You will just have to see how when you see it tomorrow!

Being the old cast is so spectacular, one would think it's impossible for new actors to outshine them. Yet, the new guys stole the show. The new "big three," if you will, are absolutely fantastic. Daisy Ridley has never acted in another film before this. Please note that when you see her performance. In my opinion, she stole the show. Her performance as Rey was emotional and deep and everything you wanted from a protagonist. Her storyline is written so amazingly and I can't help but look forward to where the universe will take her. Ridley is a forced to be reckoned within Hollywood. The chick can act. John Boyega was also great. His enthusiasm and humor was executed so nicely and he also played a very interesting character in Finn. He was a definite highlight of this film and somebody who I trust with this franchise. Oscar Isaac, you've done it again. Poe Dameron is now my favorite character in the Star Wars universe. Isaac's performance as an absolute badass rocked the theater. He leads the X-Wings into crazy battles that will make you sit on the edge of your seat. Poe Dameron is somebody I want to see more of and I cannot wait to see what Episode 8 brings. ALSO BB-8 IS THE GREATEST THING EVER. HIS INTERACTIONS WITH OTHER CHARACTERS ARE SO CHARMING AND KIND AND FUNNY AND MY GOD IM BUYING ALL OF HIS ACTION FIGURES.

Now, we have to shift to another performance. We have to move to somebody not as nice as the new "big three." Kylo Ren, played by Adam Driver, is the most layered Sith that the Star Wars universe has ever seen. Driver did a fantastic job balancing the character and shifting between a human and an absolute soulless Sith. You will learn of Ren's struggle when you see the film and you can't help but understand his motivation. The best villains are those who we understand. If you understand why a guy is acting evil, you somewhat feel for that character. Ren is a layered person with tons of issues and questions that will be answered, hopefully, in the next films. Driver did an awesome job and is going to be this generations bad guy. I also have to give a quick nod to Domhnall Gleeson. His performance as General Hux was daunting and purely evil. I loved every minute of his screen time.

A huge aspect of this movie that I enjoyed is that it's very much like the original trilogy in terms of pace.  This movie doesn't take a lot of breaks in terms of action. You are either always seeing a fight or always learning something vital to the plot. Yet, it never feels overbearing and Abrams did a great job at making sure of that. We are never being fed too much. We are told what we have to know and are shown how things play out. There is no prequel dialogue that explains everything. Abrams did a great job at letting actions speak and letting the characters tell the story.

Another fantastic aspect of this film was the practicality. Abrams brilliantly shot on location when he could and limited the use of green screen. Green screen and CGI killed the prequels in certain regards and Abrams really limited that. There are CGI characters that clearly don't fit. Maz Kanata, played by Lupita Nyong'o, is entirely CGI and it's slightly hard to take the character seriously. But if you look over that, the practicality is amazing. Abrams used animatronics and practical creatures instead of Lucas' insistence of CGI. The movie looked so much better than any of the sequels for that aspect alone.

Folks, if you love Star Wars, you will love this film. You will see a whole lot of times and count the days until Episode 8 enters our galaxy.

Overall Rating: A