Justin, Mike, & I saw Star Wars: The Force Awakens on December 20, 2015!! I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. It's easily in my Top 5 movies of 2015 with Ex Machina, Inside Out, Mad Max, & Insurgent being the other four. Star Wars is my second favorite franchise after Harry Potter. Personally, I have enjoyed all six movies & I think this will be a great new trilogy for fans of all generations to enjoy. I had been eagerly anticipating this movie for a long time, and finally after seeing it, I'm very impressed with what I saw. It's in my Top 3 Star Wars movies with The Empire Strikes Back & Revenge of the Sith being the other two. I think J.J. Abrams did an excellent job with the franchise.
With a compelling new adventure, we follow new characters blended with familiar characters from the past to create an intriguing movie experience. I liked the idea of mixing the past with the future. The story for the new trilogy is really well done thus far. There were new plot points that built off of the past that will fuel the future for our newer characters. I like how sinister they made the First Order. You need to make a threat more menacing as a story progresses, and they really sold that well throughout the whole movie. The plot gave us some great twists which ultimately provides great background & depth for several main characters. Even some points that haven't necessarily been revealed yet make you predict the next step of the journey. I certainly can tell you where I think things are going, and if they are there is finally a Jedi character for me to fully support 100%, but I'm not going to reveal that. You have to see the movie to find out.
I would like to touch on two performances that I felt stole the show. I think Daisy Ridley's Rey & Adam Driver's Kylo Ren completely made this movie. While I loved so many things about this movie, these two characters are the heart and soul of the new trilogy. Ridley's Rey is easily in my Top 3 Star Wars characters of all time with Emperor Palpatine & Darth Vader being the other two. Her courage, her ability to solve problems on a whim, her fighting spirit, and her importance to the Star Wars universe as a whole, as well as her wit & cute look makes her a complete package. She ran the show. This is a breakthrough role that will solidify a career for this girl. Rey is so easy to like. Much like Alicia Vikander, you can just sense greatness in Daisy Ridley. She stole every scene she was a part of, and I think she will be the most important part of the trilogy going forward. Adam Driver just bled Sith here, and I absolutely loved it. This is the kind of Sith character I root for. He is cut very much from the cloth of Emperor Palpatine & Darth Vader, and he easily could have been part of their regime, which I fully supported 100%. Driver's ability to show a sadistic side whether it was calm or enraged showed me how much this trilogy means to him. Kylo Ren is going to end up being one of the better character studies in Star Wars based on how much dept this character has. Driver really knew how to deliver the dialogue, present an intimidating presence even when calm, and physically represent the cerebral nature of the new First Order. Thank you Daisy Ridley & Adam Driver for presenting two new characters that have me fully invested in this new trilogy adventure.
The effects, the battle sequences (particularly the light saber battles), the past meshing with the future, the compelling plot, the excellent twists, and a breakthrough performance by Daisy Ridley, as well as a brilliant look at the First Order & the Resistance make this an easy 5/5.