Trying to avoid spoilers as much as I can, the film starts with Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) having gone into hiding and the First Order, which is the remains of the Empire, gaining ground on the Republic. Our main character is a badass female orphan, played by Daisy Ridley, who was a complete unknown with only 9 previous credits to who name, most of them bit-parts in TV shows. I'm confident in saying that she has a long and prosperous career ahead of her.
Ridley's character, despite being played incredibly well, and being a very deep well developed individual, is involved in one of my biggest gripes with the film. She seems to violate previously established lore, which might annoy some hardcore fans, but most people at my screening were too busy laughing at the humour in the scene to really care.
Speaking of humour, funny moments are spread liberally throughout the film, but not too much to break the tension. Most of the humour derives from nostalgia more than anything else. In fact, much of the film relies upon nostalgia, with the plot leaving much to be desired (I shall speak no more on that at this time).
There is little originality in the film, but that's acceptable in a movie like this one. Some things are new spins on the old, such as BB-8, an astromech droid based on a design for R2-D2 that wasn't possible to implement for the original films because the technology didn't exist. If you told me that Wall-E and BB-8 were designed by the same person, I'd believe you. BB-8 is the archetypal, "Disney Lovable Robot" and the kids are sure to love him,
This is the darkest and grittiest Star Wars yet, and there were many times I went to take off my 3D glasses forgetting that they weren't tinted. Those representing the dark side do a wonderful job, though JJ Abrams may be pushing the whole anger thing a little too far.
As with every film, somebody has "a bad feeling about this." The line is so forced by now though, that I actually think that the film would be better without it, though I'm sure many hardcore fans would disagree.
The score is perfect, John Williams is a brilliant composer, and Star Wars just wouldn't be the same without him, and he's hit the nail square on the head here.
My only other gripes are probably specific to the 3D version, with the choice of focus driving me insane throughout the first half hour of the film. The sudden jumps in focus between one character and another, and the fact that often more than half of the screen is blurry but standing out plays havoc with the eyes, but I think that most 3D movies suffer from this.
The opening crawl is absolutely glorious in 3D however, and by the hour mark, I was too caught up in the action to notice any cinematic choices that I'd disagree with.
If you've never seen a Star Wars film, don't make this your first, but if you loved the others (or even just the original trilogy), see this at the first opportunity.
Plot: 3/10
Sound: 10/10
Special Effects: 8/10
Nostalgia Value: 10/10
Overall: 7/10
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