Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015)

95% on Rotten Tomatoes (out of 277 reviews)

Runtime: 136 minutes

Directed by: J.J. Abrams

Starring: Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Harrison Ford, Adam Driver, Oscar Issac

From: Disney

Yep, here it is. I did not post this yesterday as Friday was not a great day aside from seeing this awesome motion picture so I did not finish my review; I only did finish it right before I went out the door as I went and saw a college football game. So, here we go. This will be my last review until after Christmas as I'll be on vacation in Kansas for almost a full week. Here's my lengthy review that literally inspired someone to read this (I swear this is true) below, via Letterboxd:

Note 1: This will be a NON SPOILER review of this movie

Note 2: I don't want this to be lengthy but it probably will be; I have a bizarre story to tell about my screening, for starters.

Note 3: As I will be leaving for a Christmas vacation on Tuesday and I have things to do before that, don't expect any new reviews from me until sometime after Christmas.

I have referred to this before in other reviews but let me mention how I saw the original trilogy and loved it since I was a little kid. I got it from my parents: they saw those movies on the big screen and I remember them stating once that when they first saw the OG film, my dad talked to the manager and somehow he was convinced that they could stay to the next showing up to the cantina scene as pops wanted to see that again. I saw the VHS tapes of those movies often. I did watch the prequels on the big screen and yeah, I've already mentioned how much of a disappointment those were.

I remember that as a kid I heard how “in the future” there was going to be Episodes 1 through 3 and that'd be it. However, I also heard someone say that there would be 9 movies, and that always stayed in my mind. After the fans got mad at how 1-3 turned out, I presumed that 7 through 9 wouldn't happen and with Lucas controlling it, who'd want to see it anyhow? The afternoon I saw Paranormal Activity 4 on the big screen, the shocking news of Disney purchasing Lucasfilm and that there's be new movies. I am not the biggest fan of J.J. Abrams for a variety of reasons but I still tried to keep an open mind about the movie; it was only in the past few days that I really got excited for this. Somehow I was able to avoid any spoilers for this, despite the sad mission of some to do so, apparently because there was so much publicity for people not to spoil anything.

Anyhow, for reasons I waited to see this until Friday night, and it was at my local cineplex. Also for reasons, Friday wasn't the best day for me overall. It isn't anything important I need to divulge here. The trailers played and then literally during the opening crawl, a crowd member experienced... something. It was some sort of medical event. I only heard someone say it was a “seizure” so that's what I'll go with. The movie stopped and the lights went up. Some cops and then a few paramedics took care of him. I don't know what happened to him but afterwards he was confused as he left; suddenly, right by the auditorium door he freaked out and started yelling at the top of his lungs. That lasted for a few minutes. Once that was dealt with, things started over from the beginning. I won't do another review for this as I imagine my opinion will stay the same but due to that incident, seeing this again will be a good idea.

I will not reveal what the plot is about as secrecy has been stressed throughout, so I will be vague about that. I will just note that things are more simplistic here and that is thankful with the “taxation of trade routes” or “galactic senate” nonsense of the prequels. Instead of following the weird stoic Jedi in 1-3 and not being able to connect with them for a variety of reasons, Rey (Daisy Ridley) and Finn (John Boyega) are characters you are made to care about and you do care about them as they unwittingly end up in a major conflict. They may not all get a lot of time (there's always the sequels for that) but all the new characters are interesting, from the evil Kylo Ren and the awesome droid BB-8 to Poe Dameron and Maz Kanata.

The main cast did a swell job overall. It is nice to see the new faces (such as Ridley, Boyega, Adam Driver and Oscar Issac) all nail their roles. It is also awesome seeing the old familiar faces return, the ones I loved since I was a kid. Harrison Ford actually cared and performed, which sadly has been a rare thing in recent years. He was like the Han Solo of old, except that he is old now.

This is definitely a Star Wars movie through and through, which I enjoyed for nostalgia reasons but I understand those who would complain about it for that very reason. No matter what the filmmakers did, it'd make some people upset. Also, there are some things that are a little illogical; to be honest, the original movies could be like that too and besides the stuff that can be elaborated upon in the sequels, I will excuse it as like with the OG adventures, it felt like a modern version of the 1930's serials that George Lucas loved watching back during his youth. In addition, the John Williams score was a big part in me loving IV through VI; I am glad that what he brought here was some old stuff and also some quality newer tunes.

Nostalgia may play part in giving this the highest possible rating, but I was happy that this did feel like a proper Star Wars film, and something that would happen in this universe. I am glad that Abrams did a great job with this and it wasn't a boondoggle like the CGI crapfests that Lucas thought would be appropriate. This does have a lot of heart and love and it made me feel like a little kid again. I am not sure how it ranks in my best of 2015 but it will be the best or one of the best of the year.

Also, thank goodness I did not get anything spoiled beforehand, and I'll leave it at that.