(**********9/10)

I know this doesn’t matter to many of you. I realize that Star Wars: The Force Awakens is the kind of movie you’re going to rent when it first comes out on demand, or maybe you’ll wait until it appears for free on The Movie Network. There are bigger fish to fry this weekend. After you’ve been to see Alvin And The Chipmunks 3 and Sisters, maybe – just maybe – you’ll get to Star Wars if you feel like a third movie in a week. But for those of you who care now…

This is the point where I would normally say something like: “I enjoyed Star Wars: The Force Awakens better the first time, when it was called Star Wars: A New Hope“. But I’m not going to say that because it’s not the case. I actually like it better – and quite a bit better – this time around. In fact, next to The Empire Strikes Back, The Force Awakens is the best Star Wars movie.

Yes, it is basically a remake of the original Star Wars, with a new Han Solo type (a disillusioned stormtrooper named Fin) and a new Luke Skywalker type. This time the Luke character is a young woman named Rey who works in a scrapyard on a desert planet. Of course it’s a desert planet. Rey is played by Daisy Ridley, who will absolutely be the breakout star from this movie, the way Mark Hamill never, ever was after the original. Maybe that’s because Rey is tough and smart and attractive, and has none of the whiny petulance that made Luke Skywalker so objectionable.

Let’s see…what else did the original Star Wars: A New Hope have? Death star…father-son complicated dynamics…Carrie Fisher…nazi symbolism…x-wings and TIE-fighters…an encounter on a bridge…an evil empire and a rebellion dedicated to bringing it down…a droid with a massively important message…check.

It’s tough to say more about this movie without giving away any spoilers, so I’ll close with a few observances –

The characters in this new Star Wars are more nuanced than they’ve ever been. The action sequences are better than they’ve ever been. The guy who plays Han Solo looks exactly like Harrison Ford, only old. R2D2 and C3PO seem to have aged very little.

Also. How come no one in any movie ever can fire a weapon at, say, 73% capacity? Or 90%, or even 99%? I’m not even talking about Star Wars specifically – this happens in SO MANY movies! The weapon will be fully charged in 90 seconds. ‘But wait! We’re going to be KILLED in exactly 90 seconds!’ Ohhhh….it’s gonna be so close! You know what would solve this problem, every time? Firing the weapon RIGHT NOW! When it’s at 99% power! It’ll probably still kill stuff!

That being said, if that’s the only real complaint I have about The Force Awakens (and it’s certainly the only really big aggravation I have) then this movie is good enough to succeed beyond the curiosity factor, the nerd factor and the pop culture phenomenon. I predict right now, this will be the biggest movie ever made.

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