There's new hope for Star Wars the Force Awakens

The time has finally come. Fans from all over the world have been anticipating this film since 1983. The continuation of an epic saga, the final pieces to a world wide phenomenon that have shattered box office records everywhere. Star Wars The Force Awakens is being hailed as the best film of the year. The story takes place decades after Star Wars Episode VI Return of the Jedi ends. It centers around BB-8 a droid that holds a piece of the map of Luke Skywalker’s journey. After the previous film ends, the audience discovers that Luke vanished and the dark side has been searching for his whereabouts to destroy the last remaining Jedi Master. The dark side is still obsessed with gaining power and control over the entire universe and attempting to rid the planets of any threats, i.e. Luke Skywalker. Somehow BB-8’s master, Poe, has possession of the map and inserts it into the droid, and the rest of the film takes flight from that point on. Now it's up to the droid, a few new characters and a handful of familiar faces to fight for what’s right, hold on to what’s theirs and to never falter to the dark side.




Star Wars The Force Awakens is being compared to the first original film of the mega hit franchise Star Wars a New Hope. The film starts off very similarly to the first film with a fighter for the Rebellion storing important data into a trustworthy droid, as did Princess Leia (also a fighter for the Rebellion) in Episode IV storing a very important message in the trustworthy R2D2. Like the first film, majority of this film is searching for answers, hope and trying to stay alive with new friends.

The acting in the film is noteworthy, Daisy Ridley who portrays Rey is absolutely fantastic. She brings aspiration to this entire franchise. She’s strong, fierce, and passionate-all the characteristics that made Leia so captivating to watch. She knows how to fight and is utterly fearless. She befriends a rather clueless and bewildered man, Fin (portrayed by John Boyega) whose motive throughout half the film is somewhat unclear. He expresses fear and urgency in his performance and helped drive the story along. Adam Driver who portrays the evil Kylo Ren is great to an extent. He does unspeakable things, is cruel and villainous but, he takes off his helmet several times, which at a point loses his mystery. He wasn’t as scary without his mask. He looked like kid in a costume. It would’ve been better like Darth Vader, never let the audience see his eyes, see his face. The unknown is so much scarier and what made Darth Vader beyond terrifying. Without Kylo Ren’s mask he became more vulnerable, which most villains should never be. Driver performed a fine performance and although no one could ever compare to the vicious Darth Vader, he comes close, very very close.

Director J.J. Abrams brings back the joy and excitement of seeing Star Wars with this latest film. Although it will never compare to the original three films, it is better than it’s prequels.  The acting, character development and story line is fantastic. He leads the audience to witness a film with laughter, tears and twist and turns that will leave everyone in the audience at the edge of their seats.
The film goes dark, darker than any other film in its franchise. The new characters work great as an ensemble cast just like the previous characters did in the beginning. It has a few comedic moments, which was reminiscent of the originals and one of the reasons why the films were so beloved. The actors made those characters-as outlandish as they were-relatable, likable and in the end fun. The nostalgia Abrams created with this film was rather uncanny.

Star Wars The Force Awakens is highly recommended to anyone that enjoys Star Wars, sci-fi films and action packed adventure stories. Also to anyone who wants to step into a film that promises heart, fun, laughter, tears and will ultimately jumpstart a new string of films for a new generation of children to experience with their parents in years to come. The Force Awakens is the new hope Star Wars fans have been searching for, and the force is mighty strong with this one.