Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015)

Three decades after the defeat of the Galactic Empire, a new threat arises. The First Order attempts to rule the galaxy and only a rag-tag group of heroes can stop them, along with the help of the Resistance.

Director:

 J.J. Abrams

Writers:

 Lawrence Kasdan, J.J. Abrams, 2 more credits »

Stars:

 Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac |

Storyline

The first Galactic Empire was defeated thirty years ago when Emperor Palpatine was killed, but the remnants of the Empire have been put together by an evil name Supreme Leader Snoke and is now called the First Order. They wish to rule the Galaxy and destroy all who oppose them, including the last of the Jedi, Luke Skywalker, who has gone missing and is sought by a ruthless, mysterious and powerful dark knight who is strong with the dark side of the Force, Kylo Ren. Luke's location is also sought by General Leia Organa and pilot Poe Dameron of the Resistance and now both sides of the struggle seek information on his whereabouts. Friends both old and new - Han Solo and Chewbacca, a former First Order stormtrooper named Finn and a scavenger from the planet Jakku name Rey - get caught up in the action as they run from evil and chase towards hope.  

User Reviews

The Force Has Indeed Awoken

17 December 2015 | by SmashingUKProductions (Worcester, England) – See all my reviews

We waited for years, and it's finally here. At 3 o'clock this morning I entered the cinema wide-eyed, full of hope. As was with many people's childhoods, Star Wars was a staple of mine, and to this day the original trilogy still stand as some of my favourite films. J.J. Abrams famously managed to reignite the Star Trek franchise with two fantastic films, so when tasked with doing similar to Star Wars, some people were sceptical, but nonetheless excited. The main questions is: did he deliver? Yes he damn well did!

You know that tight throat feeling you get when you have a sudden urge of adrenaline, for the last hour of the film, I had that feeling, sitting there on the edge of my seat, heart pounding fast. What I was watching was exhilarating to say the least.

Let's look more at the film (don't worry, there will be no spoilers featured). First off, the opening - the classic text followed by the panning shot to a planet (or death star) with a Star Destroyer emerging into the frame, it all features, as does the use of practical effects and puppets / robots over the extensive use of CGI that was utilised in the prequel trilogy, thus giving fans the old school style of Star Wars they wanted oh so much. The film is fast-paced, with stunning action scenes and spectacles, but not rushed, the shots linger and the camera moves gracefully, giving us a spectacular view of the situation at hand.

The prequel trilogy shunted the franchise on a downward spiral, the overuse of CGI and the introduction of some of the most annoying characters in film (a-hem Jar Jar Binks), but Abrams, the finest choice of a director to reignite the franchise, did nothing more than show pure love for the films and has created a sequel that definitely exceeded my expectations. A film that features endless nostalgia with appearances from Ford (who is beyond fantastic), Fisher, Hamill even Peter Mayhew as Chewbacca and constant references to the original trilogy.

The only partial negative aspect is its somewhat lack of originality, it acts more as an homage to 'A New Hope' than an original tale. But if you overthink points like this when viewing it, you won't enjoy it, so just empty your head of that and watch the film for what it is: a space opera that acts as nothing more than a sheer piece of movie magic!