About eight minutes into Star Wars: Episode VII--The Force Awakens, there was already a glaring difference between this movie and the prequels: the acting. Whether large or small, each actor/actress was superb in their respective roles, from the hilarious innocence of John Boyega as Finn to the dark and brooding Snoke played by Andy Serkis. Acting should enhance a movie and never take you out of scene. It does just that in this film while also capturing the spirit of what Star Wars is all about.
Fun yet dire. That's what I mean by the spirit of Star Wars. JJ Abrams is known for capturing that magic in his films and he definitely didn't disappoint here. I went into the theater with all the fanboys hoping for a revival. Abrams delivered.
Abrams told us (and by "us", I mean the public) that he wanted to get away from CGI as much as possible which is challenging for fantasy/sci-fi movies. Once Again, Abrams held true to what he set out to do as all of the characters, save for three, were not computer-generated. That's not to say the visuals fell short, however. Beautiful setpieces and epic space battles are sure to give you your fill of eye-candy.
I love movies that can manage to make you laugh in the moments where you don't expect to. The comedy flows naturally in each scene without detracting from the seriousness of the surrounding situations. Nothing forced. Just right.
The film isn't without its flaws despite all my gushing. The trailers were a bit misleading in some ways, but it wouldn't be fair to deduct points for that unless the movie was bad and it was far from it. You can tell that the film is the first of a few as you will probably leave like I did with gobs of questions. Too many questions. Maybe that's ok for you as a viewer, but it always tends to leave an unsettling feeling in the pit of my stomach. After all, what if I don't like the eventual answers to those questions? Does that still make the movie good? I'm not sure.
It reminded me of Spider-Man in this regard. It wasn't until I saw the second movie that I was truly able to appreciate how good the first one was. I was hoping for more closure in The Force Awakens, but I went in knowing I probably wouldn't get it. There are a couple other pitfalls the movie has, but I can't talk about them without spoiling the movie and I've already promised...
It's the story of two people trying to find their way in a galaxy that threw them some lofty curveballs. Great movie experience that has left me excited for more. I give this movie an 85.
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