Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens fan review
FAN review: If a movie can be judged by the number of times the crowd cheered and applauded, Star Wars: The Force Awakens is a success for that reason alone. Spoiler free.
Rating: *****
The Force Awakens is everything we dreamt it could be.
If a movie can be judged by the number of times the crowd cheered and applauded, this is a success for that reason alone.
The moment the words “Star Wars” appear on the screen.
The moment we first see the Millennium Falcon.
The moment Han and Chewie appear with the simplest yet most powerful line “we’re home”.
In that second, we all felt a genuine connection. Our old friends are back.
But there are so many other reasons why Episode VII is likely to become one of the highest-selling movies of all time.
All of the new characters endear themselves in ways that are unique yet familiar.
The new generation of viewers have an entire smorgasbord of new favourites to choose from, each with rich back stories that will keep the die-hard fans sated for years to come.
One of the most diverse and expansive casts of any film in recent years means the Star Wars galaxy is widened as well as more representative of our own world. And that’s just the humans.
For those who love to study the myriad alien races and planets, there are so many here that it’ll take multiple viewings to take it all in.
As a science fiction movie, it is perhaps ironic that one of its best features is its sense of being real.
Han stands almost exactly where half a lifetime ago he said: “I’ve flown from one side of this galaxy to the other, and I’ve seen a lot of strange stuff, but I’ve never seen anything to make me believe that there’s one all-powerful Force controlling everything.”
And now, older and wiser: “It’s true. All of it. The Dark Side… The Jedi… They’re real.”
Every detail in the two hour-plus film is brought to life impeccably.
The visuals are all gritty old Star Wars flavour with a shiny and polished modern styling.
It doesn’t just look perfect and sound perfect. It feels it.
Everything exists in a way that makes you want to reach out and touch it.
The explosions and lightsaber clashes are visceral and vicious, combining the intensity of the prequels with the old-fashioned tactility of the classic trilogy.
The aerial acrobatics of X-Wings, Tie Fighters (and of course the Falcon) are tracked in such a way that puts you in the pilot (or gunner) seat and lets you experience their raw power with an unprecedented gravity.
Seeing stormtroopers thrown around like debris is more satisfying than ever before.
Ultimately what we’re all here for is fun, and The Force Awakens has that in abundance. We the fans love to broaden our knowledge of everything that happens in that galaxy far, far way, but that’s much easier if it’s entertaining and this definitely is.
The crowds were undeniably delighted at the antics of iconic new droid BB-8; the jokes and visual gags are perfectly timed; the camaraderie is heartfelt and honest and reminds us that the characters, like us, have good reason to get excited sometimes.
Episode VII has just the right combination of throwbacks to cherished memories and epic creations of new ones.
Come for the nostalgia: stay for everything else because this movie has it all.