For a while, this film was the number one spot. Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens was everything I wanted it to be. It was fun, exciting, and it brought forth new characters as well as some familiar faces in a universe I really missed being in. Then, I rewatched what would eventually become my number one movie and it just solidified that movie as the top choice. But that isn’t to discredit this film; it’s about as fun as I could have hoped for and then some.
Picking up 30 years after Return of the Jedi, The Force Awakens is the melding of new faces and old friends in a movie that is both a breaking of new ground as well as a return to form for this series. While it is nice to see familiar characters up to their old tricks, what really makes this film work is just how well the added characters inhabit their place in the Star Wars canon. Daisy Ridley shines as Rey, the tough-as-nails girl at the center of the film, equal parts Han Solo and Luke Skywalker, while John Boyega certainly has his moments as the stormtrooper-turned-resistance fighter, Finn.
It’s also great to see the old gang back. Harrison Ford looks like he had fun in a role he’s had a love-hate relationship with ever since The Empire Strikes Back and even Carrie Fisher does a serviceable, yet rushed, job as General Leia Organa. Truth be told, it’s just great to see these two together on screen again. Han Solo manning the Millennium Falcon once again is almost worth the price of admission, yet the rest of the movie holds up and this is hardly a film based around fan service. The movie just works on all levels. It’s fun, exciting, and it brings you to the edge of your seat. You couldn’t ask for more.
The Main Damie 