The first new Star Wars movie with the original cast in 32 years has finally arrived, along with a host of wonderful new characters to add to the mix. There is a lot of nostalgia in seeing Han Solo and Chewie flying the Millennium Falcon again. Seeing Leia, now a General, commanding the Resistance. Hearing the iconic Star Wars themes once again. All of it was perfect Star Wars nirvana for the entire running time of two hours and sixteen minutes. As a service to my fellow Star Wars fans, I will try to abstain from any big spoilers. If you want to go in completely fresh as I did and know absolutely nothing, I'll meet you back here after the movie.
Time has passed since Return of the Jedi. Luke Skywalker (played by Mark Hamill) has disappeared and the stories about the events of the original trilogy have become the stuff of legend. Rising from the ashes of the Empire is a new group of baddies called The First Order, led by Supreme Leader Snoke (played by Andy Serkis) and his second in command, the temperamental dark side Jedi Kylo Ren (played by Adam Driver). Kylo Ren is searching for a map that reveals the location of Luke Skywalker. Also looking for it is the Resistance's top pilot Poe Dameron (played by Oscar Issac). Poe is able to retrieve it first, but Kylo Ren is not far behind. Poe stashes the map in his droid, the adorable BB-8, before being captured by Ren. Meanwhile, one of the storm troopers accompanying Ren, Finn (played by John Boyega), is on his first mission and horrified by the actions of The First Order. He helps Poe escape and in the process of trying to head back to retrieve BB-8, they wind up crashing and are separated on a desert planet. It is there that Finn crosses paths with local scavenger Rey (played by Daisy Ridley) and the droid she recently discovered, BB-8. With the Order in hot pursuit, the two of them escape in a ship they steal which turns out to be none other than the Millennium Falcon. After getting away from their pursuers, Rey and Finn are picked up by a freighter ship piloted by none other than Han Solo (played by Harrison Ford) and Chewbacca (played by Peter Mayhew). Thrilled to once again have his ship back, Han and Chewie join up with Rey and Finn to take the map and BB-8 back to the resistance and General Leia (played by Carrie Fisher).
From it's opening moments, The Force Awakens recaptures the spirit of the original trilogy perfectly. I felt chills as the familiar blue text announcing "A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away..." came on the screen, followed by the iconic theme music and opening scroll. From there unfolds everything I had hoped for in what the new Star Wars movie should be. The above plot summary is the very broad strokes. Within the film is a rich story filled with both our beloved characters such as Han, Leia, Chewie and Luke (although the latter takes his sweet time showing up. As the film went on, I kept thinking, Where the hell is Luke Skywalker?!). Also mixed in are several new characters which fit in quite well that I quickly found myself really liking. From Rey, the young scavenger who is starting to get her first taste of the Force who the future of the Jedis may lie with. Finn is quite an intriguing character as well and isn't something we have seen before: a Storm Trooper who rejects the Empire and joins the resistance. Poe was another cool addition as well and I'm excited with seeing where this goes with the next two films with all three new characters. On the other side of the force, we have a new baddie in Kylo Ren, who is determined to pick up where Vader left off, but may or may not be up to the task. Adam Driver does a great job portraying him and creating a conflicted character with a few surprises hidden in his backstory that I will not spoil here. And of course, Harrison, Carrie and Mark pick up their characters perfectly, but it's good to know the future of the series is in good hands.
In addition to directing the film, JJ Abrams also co-wrote the film with Lawrence Kasdan and Michael Arndt. It is nice to have Kasdan back, having worked on the original trilogy of films in addition to this one. Abrams and company go to great pains to create a film that matches up with the original trilogy as much as possible while also being it's own film and they pull it off wonderfully with a film that in every sense feels like a proper Star Wars film right down to the iconic John Williams score.
Overall, The Force Awakens is everything I hoped the new Star Wars film would be. It manages to effortlessly shake off the stench of the sub-par prequels to show what a true Star Wars film should be. This film hits the ground running and never lets up. It's fantastic entertainment and I imagine the fans of the series will be very, very pleased.
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