Review of Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015) by Lamontraymond — 18 Dec 2015

As many of the professional critics have written, we can finally write off the prequels and get back to the Star Wars we've known and loved. The franchise is now in really good hands. The two young actors playing Fin and Ray are absolutely terrific - I was worried that they wouldn't be.

Adam Driver is solid, though not outstanding. Loved seeing the actors from the first films (withholding the significance of each for obvious reasons). Having been deluged with so much BB-8 merchandising, etc.

, I was concerned that "it" wouldn't be nearly as likable or endearing as R2, but I was happily flat wrong - love that little robot. The technology is brilliant - advancing from the 70s and early 80s, but not losing the charm from individual set pieces and objects.

Bottom line: it's very similar to the "A New Hope", but it's a very solid launching pad for many more sequels to come. Of course, some scenes dragged, and the lack of originality dings it a bit.

Not enough to take away from my whole-hearted recommendation. I'll see it again - not right away - but I can see young people (and many who are new to the series) eating this up.