Warning: I will spoil everything.

"This will begin to make things right again" is the first line of dialogue spoken in Star Wars Episode IIV, or The Force Awakens, or both. With that, J.J Abrams, director of the first Star Trek movie which just about everyone loved, the director of the second Star Trek movie which people loved at it's release, then grew to hate it, that diet Spielberg-ien movie Super 8, promised to erase what PTSD was caused from the Prequel Trilogy, and redeem this beloved franchise, beloved meaning two movies that we all love, that conclusion to the trilogy that people like but don't like, and those other three Star Wars prequels, or the Trade Wars trilogy, is I like to call 'em.

There was a lot riding on this movie. Arguably the biggest cinema release in the history of the industry. J.J. Abrams is tasked with healing the scars that creator George Lucas left on the franchise, winning audiences hearts back, as well as engaging a brand new generation of Star Wars.

Or to simply put it, and bluntly: to make money. But to be less cynical, let's just call it the former three.

For what J.J. Abrams was tasked with, I have to say he didn't disappoint. Especially seeing as he was tasked with a lot more then any of us could handle. And I know there are certain people who claimed they were let down because the "story was a retread of all the plot beats from a New Hope", or more prominently, disappointed because "it ends with another Death Star." That's a bit unjust, IMO.

Because for me, saying something is a disappointment because it had flaws is basically saying "I had unreal expectations, I expected a movie to be perfect even though I know there doesn't exist a movie that isn't perfect." Don't get me wrong, it's fine to be disappointed in a movie, it happens all the time cough cough Spider-Man 3. But I find it more fitting to say a movie is disappointing if it didn't deliver what it promised, or if it's legitimately a terrible movie.

Enough about that. Let's get into what George Lucas did right. Star Wars: The Force Awakens is the authentic Star Wars movie we've all been waiting for. Watching it in theatres for the first time, I felt a sense of wonderment that likely filled the downsized brain of all 7 year olds who watched ANH in cinemas for the first time, and had it blow their mind. The earlier parts of the movie set in Jakku are beautifully shot, and elevated and expended on by John Williams's score.

And by that I mean The Rey Theme.

The highlights of the action in the movie are the light sabre battles. A lot of people like the battles in the Prequel Trilogy. But in my opinion, even the light sabre battles in The OT were better then the ones in The Prequels. Because in the Original Trilogy, the light sabre battles were not just a visual feast, but an expansion of the characters. Every time a light sabre was pulled into combat, you knew that not only would shit go down, but character development too, or plot development.

In The Phantom Menace, a light sabre pops up in the first 10 minutes, and it appears for us to watch Liam Neeson and Ewan McGregor smashing up droids into submission. How does that develop the characters? At all? In The Force Awakens, the light sabre battles are sparse, but they do the job of developing the characters.

Kylo Ren is a phenomenal character. A lot of people didn't like him, which is understandable: but if you take his character farther then face value, you'll actually find that he's the best written character in this film, and the best written character in Star Wars. If you thought Kylo Ren was wimpy, or bitchy. That's fine. But you know what? That's the point.

The Kylo Ren outside of the mask represents who Ben actually is. Kylo Ren with the mask represents who he is, or at the very least, who he wants to be. There's this blink if you'll miss it moment in which Kylo Ren, non masked, is ranting and crying at Supreme Leader Snoke. General Hux walks in, and if you focus on Kylo Ren's expression as he turns back, you can clearly catch an "oh shit, he saw me without my mask moment."

My favourite scenes from the film are as follows: the earlier moments in Jakku, for being beautifully shot and put together, Han Solo's death scene, for being simultaneously poignant and despicable, and the light sabre battle, for being able to feel the weight of these kick ass light sabres, as well as developing the character's and story. These are all very well executed scenes.

...

That said, I'm not a huge fan of this movie. I wouldn't go as far as to say I love it. I like it, but don't love it. I mentioned earlier on in the review that Star Wars: The Force Awakens wreaks of Star Wars, but I don't think J.J. Abrams made a Star Wars film here, so much as he has performed taxidermy on it.

It looks like Star Wars, the feel of the movie is like Star Wars, the tone of it is Star Wars, the music and the sounds are exactly like Star Wars. But lacks the seriousness, depth, stakes, or originality ofa Star Wars movie. It feels more like a Pixar movie then a SW movie.

To explain what I mean by that: Star Wars films were never perfect. I'm not a big Star Wars fan. In fact, The Force Awakens is probably the best Star Wars film. But there were no stakes here. There is barely depth to the story and the characters, and the potential of depth that is there is glossed over. That is why Kylo Ren is the best part about the film. He is flawed, developed and complex. In this case, the 2 protagonists are either i) perfect, or ii) potentially complex, but the complexity are glossed over.

Look at Rey. She is essentially an admirable character: attractive, smart, powerful. You want to be her. But there is no depth to her character beyond what is presented at face value. Personally for me, it is not enough to just be the first female protagonist in a Star Wars film. It isn't enough for me that I don't know who is her mama and papa.

As for Finn, he's easily the most relatable character. But he's still flawed in a major way. They had an opportunity to explore in depth a storm trooper, possibly a storm trooper with PTSD, but instead, Abrams just glosses over it.

These all add up to the most prominent flaw that hurts the movie. It hasn't aged well. Yeah, it's been... 4 months still it hit theatres in December? But it's already getting worst the more I see it. I remember being blown away by it in cinemas: a film that sounded, felt and looked like Star Wars. But watching it again and again, there isn't much past the well directed action sequences and the film looking like Star Wars. And it makes for a rather bland film.

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Verdict

Because I've focused on the negative parts of the movie for the past few paragraphs, it might come off as me hating the movie. But I don't! I actually quite like it. It's still something I would recommend. I still stand by what I said about this being the most fun I had in cinemas in the entire year of 2015, but it is not a movie that gets better with re watches. My problem with The Force Awakens is that Abrams did not make a Star Wars movie, instead performing taxidermy on it. But a complex villain, visuals, light sabre battles and great moment such as Han Solo's death and the climax redeemed the film.

Score: 7/10

Thank you for reading. What about you?