Thoughts:
Normally, I approach my Reactions from a perspective of "benign spoiling". I'm fine discussing a lot of things about the story assuming that anyone reading this has already seen the movie or knows little enough about it that I need to cover more than the tag line. Still, I don't try to spoil things. For The Force Awakens, I'm dropping that. This is a true Reaction. You should really only read this if you've seen the movie or simply don't care about what happens. With that out of the way...
I loved the hell out of this movie, which puts me with most of Star Wars fandom if the internet has told me anything. It is an excellent addition to this larger than life space epic. Before I start my gushing, I need to give this all some context. First, I'll go ahead and admit that my Star Wars fandom clouds everything here. I'm even a Prequels apologist. It wouldn't take much to win me over in this situation. More importantly, this movie is imperfect in a lot of ways, as are all the movies (some more than others). The things that don't work in this are the things that don't work in any Star Wars movie, really. If you aren't already a fan, this isn't going to change things. The thing about a movie like this isn't that I think it's perfect, it's that what I like about it so far outweighs what I don't that it still comes out way ahead.
Immediately what struck me about The Force Awakens was how much fun it is. That's probably the biggest difference between the original and prequel trilogies. The prequels always had the threat of Vader looming and tried to counteract that with pointless comedic distractions like Jar Jar Binks and C-3PO turning into a battle droid. Those added nothing and mostly served as clunky counters to all the other seriousness happening. The tone of the original trioligy works so well because the fun is mixed into all the serious stuff happening. The Force Awakens is a return to that. Finn gets a laugh out of almost every scene he's in while still being a vital character. BB-8 is an essential cog, yet he's given a playful personality (without being a dick like R2-D2 is much of the time in the other movies). We can laugh at a Sith lord again! Kylo Ren's tantrum scenes were very reminiscent to Vader's choke outs (only without the poise). Obviously, the movie is filled with call-backs for some easy laughs. The movie doesn't rely on them though. People can say a lot of things about The Force Awakens, but no one can claim it isn't a lot of fun.
As if I haven't already made it clear, I love this cast. Daisy Ridley was the only unknown quantity going in and I came away impressed. It's an overstuffed movie, so there wasn't time to flesh out all the characters. In some cases, Ridley's Rey in particular, it's the details that matter. One of my favorite moments in the entire movie is Rey putting on the old X-Wing Fighter Pilot helmet at the end of a long day. For some reason, that fleshed out the character as much as I needed. Ridley is great with everything she's asked to do, and she's asked to be a lot. My first impulse was to compare her to Luke. That's wrong. She's Anakin without the darkside: a great pilot, naturally gifted, curious, a little headstrong, courageous. There's plenty of time to flesh her out and maybe let her flaws shine some in the next two movies. This was a good introduction.
Just because I knew what to expect from everyone else in the cast doesn't mean they were any less impressive. If anything, I thought John Boyega as Finn did the best job of anyone. As the Storm Trooper turned Resistance fighter, he has the biggest transformation to go through. He does that while always providing a laugh and belivibly being heroic. Not to mention, he has chemistry with everyone they put him in a scene with. The magic trick of the whole movie was not only getting Harrison Ford back but getting him fully engaged in the role. He could've sleptwalked through this and he didn't. Oscar Isaac is the fleshed out character Biggs and Wedge never came close to being. Lupita Nyong'o added great depth to Maz Kanata. Carrie Fisher does well stepping back from the action. Domhnall Gleeson's intensity will be fun to track through these movies. He's a fantastic counterpoint to Adam Driver. Speaking of Kylo Ren, that's a great villain. Driver is such a great actor in Girls, I knew his intensity would be perfect. Kylo Ren is whiny. He's unhinged. He's powerful. He's a raw nerve. He isn't the finished product that Darth Vader was. He's almost what I imagine Vader was for the first few years after Revenge of the Sith. I didn't even get to Gwendoline Christie (Captain Phasma) or Andy Serkis (Snoke). They were underused, but especially Serkis I expect to play a bigger part going forward.
I was initially underwhelmed by how much The Force Awakens borrows from A New Hope. The more I've thought about it, the clearer it is that that was no accident and a smart move. For one, they needed to make it clear that this isn't The Phantom Menace. I love The Phantom Menace, but the world of The Force Awakens is much more similar to that of A New Hope. The conflicts are going to line up much more. It was like JJ Abrams and company were trying to say "Hey, we remember what made everyone fall in love with these movies too". Now, if the next two movies follow the Ep. V & VI structures as well, that will be a disappointment. This one doesn't worry me though. Lastly, the First Order isn't original. They look at the Empire as something aspirational. Kylo Ren found Vader's helmet and talks to it. Of course their big idea is to build a bigger Death Star. They don't strike me a the "learn from your mistakes" types.
Frankly, The Force Awakens is an impossible movie. It has to live up to the expectations of several generations of Star Wars fans, prove that the new production team knows what they are doing and get out of the shadow of George Lucas, and still be something all its own. I got out of the movie first feeling a strange emptiness. The movie went from endless possibilities to a known quantity, and I didn't know what to do with that. This is better though, because it's a real movie: one that is everything I could hope for as a Star Wars Fan.
To Sum Things Up:
The Force Awakens will please Star Wars fans of all ages and confound those who have never cared much for the movies. This is the much needed follow up that the prequels didn't care to be and is a great start for the Disney era.
Verdict (?): Strongly Recommend
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