Star Wars Strikes Back; A (Spoiler Free) Review of the Force Awakens

The Force Awakens; Directed by J.J. Abrams; Starring Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaacs, Adam Driver, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, and Mark Hamill. 

The Force has finally awoken. 'Bout damn time.

       After a decade of waiting, and many, many months of speculation and hype, the inevitable sequel to the Star Wars franchise has been released. Directed by newcomer to the saga, J.J. Abrams, The Force Awakens has been one of the most highly anticipated movies in recent memory, and set to become one of, if not the best selling movie in box office history. But we are here to discuss the movie itself. Does it follow in the footsteps of the classic trilogy, or does it fall closer to the excruciatingly mediocre prequels?

      I'll let you know right off of the bat, this movie is far better than the prequels, and feels more like Star Wars than the prequels ever did. I really enjoyed this movie. I found myself laughing far more than I thought I would, gasping at surprises I had already predicted, and tearing up both in joy and sadness. This film is full to the brim with that lived-in, character rife, sci-fi yet fantastical feel that we grew to love with the original Star Wars.

John Boyega really does have some great facial expressions in this film. And a sweet jacket

     There's a lot to love in The Force Awakens, even for those who might be more casual fans of the series. However, if you have not seen Episodes IV-VI, you'll most likely be more confused than anything else, and wondering why everyone else in the auditorium is whoo-ing or sobbing. But at this point, if you haven't seen Star Wars, you might as well do it now. We'll be getting these movies until the end of time, so you should get on board while you can (especially with 5 Star wars movies coming out in the next 5 years alone).

      As for the quality of the actual film itself, it's a bloody fun romp. It maintains a nice, light tone throughout, while having a darker moment or two here and there. It has quite a few funny moments, all of which land, which is especially having recently watched sorry, cringed through Phantom Menace. The story itself is good, it didn't appear to drag or feel rushed at any point. And, as any good first movie in a series should do, it raised about as many questions as it answered (which I shall be writing a spoiler ridden article about in the near future). The film itself did feel a little short, but since it clocks in at around 2 and a quarter hours, that was probably just a case of me being an excited little fangirl. One of the things I loved most was the IMMENSE number of practical effects that appeared to be used in this movie. Everything from the Fist Order costumes to the alien rabble to ships themselves just looks gorgeous.

Who you callin' scruffy lookin'?

     On a quick side note, when watching the prequels, one of the things that became most bothersome to me (among many, many other things) is how similair and bland the cinematography becomes. Yeah, there are some cool shots, but entirely too many are either unexciting or entirely too full of just stuff. It was so incredibly refreshing to have a new style of visual direction for Episode VII. There were so many cool shots that you just wouldn't see in a George Lucas directed film. There were quite a few tracking shots, especially the one ones in the middle of an action sequence, that really just blew me away.
   
     As someone who adores a good movie score, the legend himself John Williams returned to compose for the Star Wars franchise. And while the score is, as expected, just all around good, there are far fewer NEW themes that I found myself really falling in love with, with one major exception. The theme for Rey is just phenomonal. Hopefully Episode VII will have some more resounding themes. After all, The Imperial March wasn't even introduced until Empire Strikes Back. 

The First Order aren't bad, we swear

     Now, all of that being said, there were a couple things I didn't love about this movie. First and foremost how much this film feels like "Star Wars; Greatest Hits:. There are an uncountable number of instances where "Oh! Look! There's that character doing the same thing in the original trilogy! Over there! That thing they do in the good one! *gasp* They're using that thing they use in Episode IV!!" And it felt a little bit forced at least once as far as I can recall. I'm hoping now that we all have faith again in the Star Wars series, that episode VII will focus more on it's own refrences than having callbacks to the orignals.

     Lastly, on a personal note, I really loved Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaacs) and BB-8, especially the latter. I mean, an orange droid thats both cute and incredibly funny? *swoon*

     All in all, Star Wars Episode VII; The Force Awakens is a solid instalment in the saga, and a return to form for a galaxy far, far away.
Final rating: 8 lightsaber severed hands out of 10, definitely a must see in the cinema.