Unless frozen in Carbonite for the past few weeks you may have noticed that Star Wars: The Force Awakens has now hit cinema screens across the globe. Avoiding spoilers has become the most irritating consequence of modern times in our social media-centric lives. Nowadays the only way to avoid anything viral, especially when it has reached a level of hype as astronomic as Episode VII, is to remove yourself entirely and perhaps relocate to a distant planet in the Dagobah system for the rest of your days, something which I am unwilling to do. Instead, I have avoided all social media since the L.A. premiere; I have avoided all conversations with bumbling work colleagues and friends in case nuggets of truth lie in their musings as to the plot of the movie; I have unsubscribed from various ISIS newsgroups who, not keen on blowing themselves up in the name of Jihad, realised the real way to terrorise the west is to unleash Star Wars spoilers all over the internet. All of my efforts paid off and I made it to the theatre with zero knowledge of what lies ahead, apart from knowing that the opening “A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away” shot will still deliver chills some thirty-odd years since I first saw it. Note: I have purposely written this review with little spoilers, although a brief summary of the main plot and some characters is mentioned – most of this is in all of the media releases so not a spoiler.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens is set thirty years after the fall of the Galactic Empire, and the dark side is seeing a resurgence manifesting itself as the First Order and the mysterious Kylo Ren. On the lighter side of the Force, the Rebel Alliance is now the Resistance – lead by General Leia Organa. The main plotline concerns the disappearance of Luke Skywalker, and his pursuit by both the First Order and the Resistance. The non-appearance of Luke in any of the trailers or promotional material certainly heightens awareness of his absence, and this feeling permeates the movie -Abrams has played his hand perfectly maintaining the mystery of the last Jedi.
Rey (Daisy Ridley) is the young scavenger from Jakku whose shoulders the trilogy has seemingly been placed, and gives a strong performance, as does her co-star John Boyega in the role of Finn, who plays a conscientious objecting Stormtrooper that deserts the First Order during his first tour of duty. Man, what’s wrong with Stormtrooper’s these days, so politically correct. Where’s Temuera Morrison’s mighty Jango Fett clones when you need them?
The narrative does follow a well-trodden path and those who may have gorged themselves on all six movies a few days prior to the screening will find this particularly noticeable (guilty). Star Wars fans will not be disappointed though, neither will those who are not familiar with the original franchise such as children who cannot move for all of the Star Wars-related merchandise being bought for them by parents who were fans of the originals. 
BB8 toys will be at the top of many children’s Christmas lists and the wee droid was responsible for some of the movies funnier moments, proving you do not need to have a clown to provide comic relief, something George Lucas miscalculated with the embarrassing Jar Jar Binks in the first of his prequels. The lifespan of a Gungan is around 65 years so I am delighted to announce that it is highly likely that Jar Jar is no longer with us.
BB8 toys will be at the top of many children’s Christmas lists and the wee droid was responsible for some of the movies funnier moments, proving you do not need to have a clown to provide comic relief, something George Lucas miscalculated with the embarrassing Jar Jar Binks in the first of his prequels. The lifespan of a Gungan is around 65 years so I am delighted to announce that it is highly likely that Jar Jar is no longer with us.
The action sequences are plentiful and have an dynamism which will satiate modern-day audience expectations, Abrams has brought Star Wars into 2015 with a film that stands strong against an assortment of similar reboots and reimagining’s which litter Hollywood movie pitches these days. Episode VII also retains enough key ingredients of the original to satisfy its original audience, and when the ingredients are this good it would be hard for Abrams, or any skilled director, not to come up with a mouthwatering and tasty dish. 
Characters from the original trilogy, light-sabers, tie-fighters, the Millennium Falcon, desert-wrecked Star Destroyers, Nien Nunb – if you fail to get excited about experiencing these sounds, images and characters embedded in their new surroundings I don’t know what will. The film delivers, the brief has been met, and Star Wars is back and perfectly set up for Episode VIII in 2017 and if the pattern of the previous two trilogies, in particular the original three, is anything to go by the next movie will be even better.
Characters from the original trilogy, light-sabers, tie-fighters, the Millennium Falcon, desert-wrecked Star Destroyers, Nien Nunb – if you fail to get excited about experiencing these sounds, images and characters embedded in their new surroundings I don’t know what will. The film delivers, the brief has been met, and Star Wars is back and perfectly set up for Episode VIII in 2017 and if the pattern of the previous two trilogies, in particular the original three, is anything to go by the next movie will be even better.