steveslaw

I AM A JEDI.

OR at least, that’s what I put on the last UK government census.  Apparently there are enough of us to be recognised as a religion.  But that would just be wrong – religion is the last thing I want to be apart of.

So to the film:  Star Wars VII The Force Awakens.

What did I think?

It’s bloody fantastic.  For all its repetition of plot from films IV and VI, its a great rejuvenation of the brand and here are a couple of points why:

• it doesn’t rely to heavily on CGI effects
• the force users (whilst all novices/beginners) don’t dance around like acrobats on speed (lets hope this continues)
• there are plenty of one liners to make you laugh
• lots of snuck in references to the originals for us oldies

I’ve only (ONLY) seen it twice so far** and each time I’ve chuckled along and noticed more little references to the originals and I am sure there are more yet to find (I am resisting googling them as I want to find them myself – I cant wait for it be released to download).

Its a great action film with ship chases, blaster battles, lightsaber duels and bit of Force abuse by our dark apprentice.  It’s got some questions it leaves hanging awaiting for the following films, like; Just who is Ray? Can Luke still speak? Who is the supreme leader? How much damage can the Falcon take? and what happens to the remaining planets in a solar system where multiple other planets are destroyed?

Also: Whats the obsession with three letter names? (Poe, Ray, BB8, Han, Maz, Fin***)

I loved the fact that the Millennium Falcon returns for a staring role and look forward to seeing more of her in the follow ups and I’m also already in love with BB8 – more so than I ever was with R2D2 – the way the have handled the effects on BB8 is a great mix of real props and CGI.  And talking of CGI I am so glad that they have cut back on its use and are using more real props – it really does make such a difference.

So overall I rate it: Bloody excellent. Though I do so desperately hope that the future films can start being a little more original with plots.  If Ray turns out to be some Jedi’s kid, whom the supreme leader killed, and Kylo Ren tries to turn her by capturing Finn to lure her to him and then chopping her hand off and letting her escape in the next episode I will be very upset.

But I’m sure that wont happen.

So go and see it.  And if you want some company – give me a shout 🙂

*** OK, its spelt Finn, but for no reason.