Ever since the last installment of the “Star Wars” franchise, “Star Wars 3: Revenge of the Sith,” fans had been speculating about the future of the “Star Wars” franchise. Then in 2012, news that a seventh movie was being created hit the internet, and the fans were filled with both excitement and worry. With J.J. Abrams directing the movie instead of George Lucas, who directed the other films, fans wondered if it would be as good as the original trilogy, (Episodes 4, 5, and 6) or the heavily criticized prequel trilogy, (Episodes 1, 2, and 3). After years of waiting, “Star Wars Episode 7: The Force Awakens” has hit theatres, and it brings space craft fighting, lightsaber battles, and some fan favorite characters with it.
The story takes place thirty years after the events in “Star Wars Episode 6: Return of the Jedi.” With the Emperor and Darth Vader dead and the Galactic Empire in shambles, a new evil force rises from the fallen army called The First Order. With Stormtroopers now under the command of a new sinister threat, Kylo Ren (Adam Driver), they have become a threatening force to the galaxy. However, a new band of fighters called the Resistance is here to challenge them. Backed by the New Republic, led by returning character General Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher), the Resistance is having difficulty finding the location of the Jedi Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) who mysteriously disappeared years earlier. When his location is discovered, the coordinates are put into the droid BB-8, which is found by the scavenger Rey (Daisy Ridley). Rey then meets up with the rogue defected Stormtrooper, Finn (John Boyega), who has fled the First Order. They find themselves pairing up with the smuggler Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and Wookie Chewbacca as they embark on a mission to get the intelligence back to the Resistance base and save the galaxy.
The movie has a brilliant cast as the film is a mixture of new and old familiar faces. Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, and Mark Hamill all do well at portraying the characters they played in the earlier films, and the new actors Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, and John Boyega also do a good job at portraying characters that fit in with the environment of Star Wars.
For the soundtrack, composer John Williams came back to give audiences that same feeling that they got in theatres in the late 1970’s with first movie. Williams brings in old favorite scores such as the original theme of “Star Wars” and other scores mixed with slight inserts of other noticeable soundtracks from past films.
The fight sequences in the movie are breathtaking as many of the scenes have fast space battles and fights that just feel huge much like the ones in the original trilogy. One of the unique features of the film is that the special effects go back to the roots of the original films where there wasn’t much technology available. Instead of purely computer-generated images, the movie utilizes puppets and models. While the space fights are not made with models like the originals, there are physical puppets and special effects used in the film that make the worlds seem more realistic.
There are few issues with this film, though the ones it does have are major. One of which is the comparison of this movie to the fourth film in the “Star Wars” franchise, “A New Hope.” With a very similar plot, some fans are disturbed by how closely this film reflects “A New Hope.” Also, some side characters such as Captain Phasma (Gwendoline Christie) do not get as much screen time as they deserve, which makes the characters feel like they should not have been included at all. Another issue is that with the film taking place after the other six films and carrying the story from past films over, new viewers of “Star Wars” might become confused as to what is going on in the film. The film is mostly for those who have watched all the “Star Wars” films, or just the Original Trilogy of Episode 4, 5, and 6.
This movie is fantastic and is a blast for “Star Wars” and science fiction fans alike. With the movie become a bigger hit in the box office every day, it is definitely something for people of all ages to go see. This movie gets a 4.9/5.
