Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015)

If you want the too long, didn't read version of this review, here it is: I just saw The Force Awakens again on Friday after seeing it Thursday night. 

Like, this movie is seriously that good.

And just to be clear, I was going to have no problems saying The Force Awakens was just good, decent, or even terrible if I thought so.

But this movie is seriously incredible.

I've never wanted to see a film more in my entire life. I've never pre-ordered tickets for any film except this one. I've never had higher expectations walking into a theater and had them fulfilled like this.

This review is going to be very different from my normal style. Usually, I break up the components of a film and talk about them individually. While I’m still going to do that to a certain extent, I’m more so going to talk about this separately as a fan and a critic because it will allow me to collect my thoughts more easily. 

As a Star Wars fan, watching this film excited me so much. It’s one thing to watch a movie in a theater; it’s another thing entirely to watch a movie with tons of fans on its opening night. When the opening notes of John Williams’s score came blaring through the theater’s sound system, there was a roar that went through the crowd. It was an electric atmosphere that I’ve never been in the likes of before, at least in a movie theater. 

The original cast and characters were integrated perfectly into the story. No one felt shoehorned into the plot. The ways in which Han, Leia, and Luke were incorporated into the new world we experience was top notch. I also didn't feel like there was much of a gap between the old and new. They were very well integrated with each other and didn't feel either superior or inferior.

I also loved The Force Awakens as a fan because this is a film that feels like Star Wars should feel. We haven't gotten a movie that actually has done this since 1983. It's fast-paced. It's good vs. evil. It's not terribly bogged down in political procedure. And, most importantly, it's completely absent of crappy motion-capture childish characters that serve nothing but "comic relief." There's a lot that I won't get into because of spoilers, but just know that if you're a Star Wars fan, you will love this film.

Moving over to the critic side of things, this is an incredible film to behold. The Force Awakens has some wonderful character development that moves the film along quite well. The new characters of Rey and Finn are fantastic, with both having complex backstories that aren't completely revealed yet. Kylo Ren, meanwhile, is much much more than just a Vader copycat: he is menacing, ruthless, conflicted, and incredibly complex. We understand his motivations as an audience, and that's what makes him a great villain. Poe Dameron exudes charisma whenever he is in the film, and Domhnall Gleeson's General Hux is a good logical foil to Ren's very emotional character. As for BB-8, he is probably one of the highlights of the film. I loved seeing the way he moved around the screen and was overwhelmed by his cuteness.

The acting in The Force Awakens is phenomenal as well. One of the things that has dogged Star Wars films at varying degrees over the years has been the mediocre acting. That is gone as of The Force Awakens. The original cast does pretty well, with Harrison Ford unsurprisingly being the best. The new cast steals the entire show, however. Daisy Ridley is phenomenal as Rey. Her performance might be one of my favorites of the entire year to date. She is a revelation and will be a superstar after these films. John Boyega is also excellent and is surprisingly funny. His character went a different direction than I thought, but I loved the way he portrayed Finn. Adam Driver was a good casting choice for Kylo Ren, and Oscar Isaac is excellent as Poe, commanding attention whenever he is on screen. Lupita Nyong'o and Andy Serkis do a very good job with their motion capture roles, and I'm looking forward to seeing more of them as this new trilogy rolls on.

Another thing that I loved as a critic was the screenplay. There is so much comedic banter in The Force Awakens that I didn't expect. Not that Star Wars is an incredibly serious, dark franchise, but there's never been such frequent and natural humor in any of the other six films. In particular, Daisy Ridley and John Boyega had great moments where they played off each other well, as did Boyega and Oscar Isaac. Han and Chewie were Han and Chewie, naturally, and BB-8 was a good mix between cuteness and physical comedy.

The Force Awakens is also one of the most technically dazzling films I've ever seen. The perfect mix between practical effects and CGI is one of my favorite parts of the film, as both are utilized to their fullest potential to create a world that feels both real and fantastical at the same time. There are a lot of practical effects and explosions, but what made the film even better was that even the motion-capture characters that I knew about in advance were rendered perfectly and didn't feel off even though they were mostly generated by a computer. J.J. Abrams also wowed me as a director. You can tell that he put a lot of care and thought into every single shot he took on this film. There are so many beautiful scenes that have marvelous cinematography, and I feel that he is mostly responsible for all of them. Oh, and John Williams composed the score. I feel like that's all I need to say about this film's music.

I've got two potential faults that I want to address with The Force Awakens, one that pertains to everyone and another that's just for those not familiar with the Star Wars saga. To everyone: this is not a film that answers all the questions it asks. I personally loved this, as it made me want to see more right away. I don't want to wait long for Episode VIII because of the way this film ended. If you like your films wrapped up nicely with a bow on top, I recommend holding off on this film until you can watch this entire sequel trilogy. However, if you don't mind a slight cliffhanger, definitely go see it. Just remember: we've got two more films to go in this trilogy to answer more questions.

To those unfamiliar with Star Wars: there is a lot of fan service in The Force Awakens. As a fan, I loved this. As a critic, I see there being a slight problem with it to those who are not as familiar with the franchise. There are plenty of references to the original trilogy and even one small one to the prequels, but these are for the most part well-executed and mean something. What I'm talking about is a plot that nearly borders on fan service. I could see a lot of people not fully enjoying this film because of it. Then again, I don't think many people hate Star Wars and most have probably seen it, so this might be a moot point.

I'm really quite surprised to be saying this, but The Force Awakens met every single one of my expectations and blew them out of the water. As a fan, I completely ate it up. As a critic, aside from a couple incredibly minor gripes I loved every single bit of it. It is the best film I've seen so far this year. J.J. Abrams has lovingly crafted a new Star Wars film that actually feels like a Star Wars film. It's fast, furious, and an incredibly fun ride that everyone will enjoy.

My recommendation: Go see it on the largest screen possible.

Grade: 98