Dun, dun, dun dun dun DUN dun!

Guess who’s back and better than ever? (No, seriously.)
Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens opened on December the 19th and wow, what an awakening indeed-of the fan base, that is! A fan base that has, in the span of only two weeks, catapulted the movie to the biggest in US history and will presumably move it to the #1 spot as biggest movie of all time, ahead of James Cameron’s ‘Avatar.’ Director JJ. Abrams, working under the reigns of new parent company Disney (which acquired Star Wars from Lucasfilm Ltd. for $4 billion) certainly didn’t set out to make a monster when he first began writing the script. In fact, Abrams states that his primary goal was to create a movie which “delighted him,” and to say that he’s achieved that goal is an understatement.

The Force Awakens is a triumph, and after seeing it on three separate occasions (twice normally and once in 3D) I found myself experiencing every emotion like it was the first time all over again. Abram’s film successfully combines the old (found in the return of principle characters Han Solo, Chewbacca, R2D2, C3P0, Princess (now General) Leia and Luke Skywalker) with the new. We are introduced to Stormtrooper Finn (a black character, and a main one at that!), played by John Boyega. Finn is completely relatable and awe-inspiring all at once; his fear and desperation to escape the treacherous First Order are combined with immense bravery and loyalty to the ones he meets on his insane adventure across the galaxy. His biggest connection is to the scavenger girl Rey, the other main character in TFA. Rey is as badass as they come, but she’s understandably lonely and even frightened at times- a perfectly human character in a very inhuman environment (by inhuman I mean filled with aliens). Portrayed by Daisy Ridley, Rey is an extraordinary player in this new game and although I can’t reveal here just how important she is to the film, I will say that she was a major part of all of my favorite moments from the movie.

Of course, there cannot be a movie of this size without a villain to match, and our prayers are answered in Kylo Ren, portrayed masterfully by Adam Driver. Kylo Ren is as menacing as they come, with a mask and booming voice to rival that of even Darth Vader himself- a character Kylo Ren shares an understandably close (but also unexpected) connection with. (Presumably, we’ve all seen Vader’s mask in the trailers so I’m not spoiling anything here.) However, the humanity of this character hasn’t been completely done away with; rather, his vulnerabilities are only exposed even more with every deep-voiced threat he makes. He also has an itch that can only be scratched with the destruction of the Resistance, the modern version of the Rebellion- but it runs so, so much deeper than that! Spoilers aren’t my kind of thing, though, so you’ll have to see for yourselves (and I thoroughly hope you do).

All in all, The Force Awakens is the perfect return to the Star Wars franchise; familiar enough for the original generation and exciting enough for a new one (myself included- I did see it three times!) Now I am very disappointed, but only because I have to wait until 2017 to obsessively watch the next one. I fully endorse the movie with 5/5 stars, and I hope everyone goes out to support it. They honestly knocked it out of the park!