Review of Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015) by Darthtremble — 05 Feb 2016

Bob Iger, Kathleen Kennedy and JJ Abrams should be applauded for this sensitively handled 'soft reboot' of the Star Wars universe. It feels strangely old fashioned (in a good way), a million miles from the Fast and Furious, Transformers and countless over generic modern action films.

It's clearly aping the style of the original movie, and I think criticism of the recycled plot is fair, but despite this, it felt like a breath of fresh air for its whole running time. This is largely due to the new cast members who infuse the familiar story with spades of energy, soul and humour.

The new droid BB-8 is a good metaphor for the film - likeable, fun, well rounded, cleary owes a great deal to the past while putting a new spin on the original.