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    Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens

    Reviewed by
    adamwatchesmovies@

    “Star Wars” is back! After years of having to settle for “Star Crash”, “Message from Space”, “Starchaser: The Legend of Orin”, and the disappointment that was the prequel trilogy, the world has finally received a worthy follow-up to “Return of the Jedi”. Filled with exciting new characters, eye-popping visual effects, fantastic art direction and action that’ll have you cheering, the only flaw with “Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens” is that it can, at times, feel a little safe.

    Set approximately 30 years after the destruction of the Empire, Luke Skywalker, has disappeared. In his absence, The First Order, a tyrannical regime born from the dark side of the force, has risen. When scrap salvager Ray (Daisy Ridley) and reformed Stormtrooper FN-2187 “Finn” (John Boyega) discover a map to Skywalker’s position, the First Order’s most powerful enforcer, Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) gives chase. Along the way, our new heroes encounter old favorites Han Solo (Harrison Ford), Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew), and Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher)

    The movie feels familiar, because the plot is reminiscent of “A New Hope”, down to the masked lightsaber-wielding villain, the shadowy man behind the Nazi-like party, the planet-sized threat to the galaxy, the “ordinary” hero living on a desert planet, and more. It’s a conscious decision to reassure us that we'll be getting the same "Star Wars" we fell in love with years ago, but it makes you crave something fresh. To be fair, some of the similarities make sense or appear to be “the same” at first, but then subvert our expectations. Kylo Ren, for instance, is aping Darth Vader but that's because he admires the Sith Lord to the point of fanaticism. Ren is a seething ball of rage, a weak man that desperately wants to be feared and will do anything in order to appear tough. We only get glimpses at his past, but you’re instantly hooked.

    The thing that’s made “Star Wars” endure over the decades are its characters. The additions we're given here are terrific. Rey, Fin, and Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) are all perfectly cast and you instantly "get" what their deal is. It's hard not to fall in love. Even the rolling droid BB-8 that, upon initial announcement looked simply like excuses to sell toys, are destined to endure. Much credit goes to J. J. Abrams who directs with confidence and enthusiasm. There are many great sequences here that can only be appreciated on a second, or third viewing. Before then, you're just too engrossed to think about the magic behind the camera.

    "The Force Awakens" is a robust foundation upon which endless possibilities may emerge. Though it can be a bit conventional at points, it recreates that magic and brings forth, once again, that dormant energy unleashed the first time you saw the words "A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away". (On Blu-ray, December 15, 2017)

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    adamwatchesmovies@  16.12.2017 age: 26-35 2,867 reviews

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