5 Star Movie Review: The Force Awakens

Starring: Harrison Ford (Han Solo), Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker), Carrie Fisher (Princess Leia), Adam Driver (Kylo Ren), Daisy Ridley (Rey), John Boyega (Finn), Oscar Isaac (Poe Dameron), Lupita Nyong'o (Maz Kanata), Andy Serkis (Supreme Leader Snoke), Domhnall Gleeson (General Hux), Anthony Daniles (C-3PO), Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca), Gwendoline Christie (Captain Phasma)

Director: JJ Abrams

Rating: 5 Star

So, guys, I saw Star Wars.  Twice, so far, both on opening day, but I hope to see it again, soon, on Imax.  Perhaps even sooner if I can manage it.

Don't worry, I've decided not to include spoilers in this review.  When the movie releases digitally (I've already preordered) I'll review it again, full of spoilers, and my theories for the characters and such.  That won't be for a while, though, and if you ever want to chat with me about it, spoiler or non-spoiler, I'm open.

This movie was so good.  When the words "A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away" came across the screen I all but started crying.  It was so amazing to finally have reached this movie.  And also, it was midnight, so I might have been a little over-tired and hopped up on ice cream and popcorn.  Throughout the whole film, I felt just amazed at being in the presence of this movie and when it finally ended I couldn't stop thinking about it.

JJ Abrams did an amazing job retaining the feel that the original movie had.  Not only did he master merging the old and the new, but he was able to mimic the feel of the originals by incorporating traditional scene changes (the fade in/out circle, for example), and planets somewhat paralleling older ones.  It was as much a new film as an ode to the old ones.

Casting was superb.  In the acting category, this one definitely takes the cake.  Every actor was perfectly suitable for their roles, and each new role was a unique character.  All the new characters will now forever hold a place in my heart.  Poe is, as I predicted correctly, my favorite character, though Rey, Finn, and Kylo have also reached seats in my pantheon of great characters.  I was surprised that I enjoyed all their characters so much.

The plot wasn't excessively surprising (if you followed the chatter online, fan theories, and breakdowns of trailers, you know the general shape of the plot), though my mother, who was in the dark before going in and, while she's seen all the films, isn't a mega-fan, was surprised quite a bit more.  I liked the direction the story went, though I have a few complaints about how much certain characters weren't in it, and can't wait to see where it leads in the next film.

While there is a Star Wars anthology film coming out next year around this time, now we all have to wait until May 2017 for Episode Eight.  Fingers crossed the wait doesn't feel that long!