Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (finally)

Yes. The time has come. Today is the day that (finally) Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens, is released in cinemas in Greece! And today is the day that I can finally write/talk about it!! You know how hard was not being able discuss the movie of the year?? To say how awesome it was? How I felt watching it?  Well, now I can speak. And say just about that;  as I have to avoid giving out spoilers….

Ok. Let’s try and do that. I will warn you though, if you do not wish to know ANYTHING and I mean ANYTHING about the new Star Wars film then for God’s sake, look away!! It’s a trap!

So, now that you’ve been warned, let’s get to it by first saying that the film totally matched my expectations! And more than that, as ever since I heard about the new episode, I have to admit, I was quite skeptical…. How would the old cast be like? What would the plot be like? How would the new characters fit in the well established Star Wars universe? And most important: would we manage to avoid a Jar Jar catastrophe?
Well, catastrophe, avoided! The new episode is fun, witty, spectacular and back to the basics! In addition it featured great performances from the entire cast (protagonists & secondary). Following Lucas’ “recipe” in 1977, J.J. Abrams used fresh faces along with well establish actors, accomplishing amazing performances!

The new cast features brand new faces, but also some familiar ones: Oscar Isaac, the critically acclaimed actor, who along with Lupita Nyong’o bring a whole different vibe to the franchise, Andy Serkis in another SGI role, once again astonishing everyone but those who blew my mind were Daisy Ridley as Rey, John Boyega as Finn and Adam Driver as Kylo Ren, who is now my favorite Star Wars villain.  Daisy Ridley, brings back the feminist vibe to the saga, becoming even more groundbreaking (and kickass) than Carrie Fisher and John Boyega takes Harrison Ford’s humor and witty lines to a whole other level, becoming by far the funniest character! And Adam Driver: well, he completely made me forget about Girls and delivered more than I think everyone expected his part, which I will just say was… complicated.
I need to say though that I was expecting to see more of Captain Phasma/Gwendoline Christie… Let’s hope that she will have more screen time in the next episode…

And what can I say about the old cast! They gave me goose bumps, made me laugh, made me emotional and made me realize how much I had missed them!! Needless to say that when Han Solo said “Chewie, we’re home” the whole theatre cheered!

 J.J. Abrams’ direction was very good and lens flare-less (phew) and overall the film was delivered in a way that made you nostalgic, had secret treats for the fans, left questions, answer questions and had some very jaw dropping scenes. Without wanting to reveal too much about the plot, I need to say that it was a full movie, that set up the plot for the next films and had plenty of action; honestly I could not tell how two hours passed and when I realized it I wanted more!! In fact I have already booked tickets to go and see it today for the second time! Until then, May the Force be with you!