What a film! A complete ripsnorter.  JJ Abrams should be very pleased with himself. Hitting a midnight screening in Willeton, I was amazed at how normal most of the people who came to see it were. Those who dressed up added to the theatre of the event, but were well outnumbered by the new geek, a fashionable and trendy person who looks just like you or I. As I waited in my light coat someone quietly said to me ‘Awww, when I first saw your jacket I thought you were dressed as a Jedi’. I wish. BUT THE MOVIE!

The new characters are fantastic and likeable. Heroic and confident Poe is the Han for the new generation. Fear driven with a hint of virtuous, the character development of Finn will be fascinating. Rey is boss, virtuous with a hint of fear who will surely be the one to lead the Resistance to victory. BB-8 is charming as the ‘one of a kind’ droid wonder.  Kylo Ren is a complicated and just-hateable enough villain to provide good foil to the pure evil Snoke and that squeezer guy who I can’t remember the name of who seems to be in charge of blowing up a whole bunch of planets with the new Death Star: Star Killer Base. All these are added to some our favourite characters of old gracing the screen again!

Other reasons this film was great was the music seamlessly added to it, the CGI looked tight but not overdone and the plot blended story and action sensationally. That story is not too dissimilar to a lot of the original, first Star Wars. And just like A New Hope we leave the cinema with more questions than answers, which will ensure that Episode VIII will be just as eagerly anticipated as episode VII. Who is Supreme Leader Snoke? Why did the New Republic fail to stamp out the New Empire? How did Leia and Han Solo’s kid destroy Luke’s new Jedi academy, and will he return to the light? Another thing, I know it ignores Finn’s attraction to Rey, but part of me hopes that Poe and Finn will be the real love story of the new trilogy.

This is also where the real challenge for Abrams begins. His first film utilises what we loved about the original trilogy, but can he make the third trilogy his own with VIII and IX while staying true to the franchise?

9/10 X Wings