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One Hour After The Embargo Lifted, 38 Reviews Of Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Thirty-eight reviews… out of hundreds spilling out…
As good as Empire.
The Guardian – 5 Stars
Star Wars has now gone beyond the sci-fi genre to its own kind of intergalactic quasi-Arthurian romance: that and a return to the world of Saturday morning pictures. The Force Awakens is ridiculous and melodramatic and sentimental of course, but exciting and brimming with energy and its own kind of generosity. What a Christmas present.
The Independent – 4 Stars
Star Wars: The Force Awakens is actually probably objectively the best Star Wars yet, and would be held up as untouchable had it come first. So let's not let ourselves get too bloody internet-y about it and start it tearing to pieces, and enjoy what is a fun, well-executed and thoroughly corrective sequel
Unlike the original film, which wrapped up in a relatively tidy fashion, Abrams and Kasdan have set up a series of ongoing plotlines and hanging story threads that will give the new filmmakers endless opportunities in the years to come. They've become the architects of a new generation of Star Wars stories, and if The Force Awakens is any indicator, the sense of adventure and potential that resonated so strongly 30 years ago will be now be available for a new generation, one more diverse and far-reaching than the series ever tried to address before.
The lightsaber fights are pretty cool, too.
Risking heresy, it's worth noting that Abrams actually did smarter, more inventive work on his 2009 reboot of "Star Trek," no doubt in part because he was working with a less heavily guarded enterprise. "Star Wars," at once a cultural juggernaut and a sacrosanct institution, resists any attempt to reimagine its landscape too aggressively or imaginatively; that may be to the detriment of this diverting first effort, but Abrams has more than stoked our anticipation for what his successors may have up their sleeves.
The Telegraph – 5 stars
You wouldn't describe the choreography as snazzy, but the dramatic stakes are dizzying. Never mind the spacecraft and explosions. Two beautiful faces in tight close up, dramatically lit and blazing with emotion? That's what cinema is for.
I've seen The Force Awakens, and now I'll never experience that moment again, witnessing the rebirth of a mythology as original heroes return and every adult in the room becomes a child again. I envy you, because you still have this moment waiting for you.
I'm not going to give away any big secrets here. You'll find them elsewhere on the Internet, if you want them. But you're probably going to see the movie either way; why not be surprised? Trust your feelings. I'll just say this: If you loved Star Wars once, everything you loved is back. And if you're new? Welcome home.
IGN 8.8
Star Wars: The Force Awakens is the movie it was promised to be, with great new characters, a respect for the original trilogy and a strong understanding of what makes this franchise click with fans. The new additions to the Star Wars universe work best, though there is some over-reliance on tying things to and making nods to the classic Star Wars films. Overall, this is a great way to reboot the franchise and open the world up for a new generation of fans.
Only time will tell where the majority of us place this in our lists of best Star Wars movies; I'm guessing third, second, maybe even first for some. But more importantly, The Force Awakens is a tremendous way to restart the franchise and set up the next two episodes. We are left with a head full of mysteries and a heart full of feels.
Just as he did in Star Trek, Abrams, who also produced with Kathleen Kennedy and Bryan Burk, has given the next generation of the Star Wars saga the kind of send-off we could only hope for. Disney opens the film Friday at a multiplex not far far away from anyone on the planet.
In the end, Star Wars: The Force Awakens feels like the work of a very capable student, one who has studied his subject so diligently and thoroughly that he knows what to do and what to avoid, is smart enough to have engaged one of the experts in the field, in this case Kasdan, to work on the blueprint, and to have ensured that another of the key contributor to the series' success, John Williams, would return again after all the years.
Finn is black, and an interracial romance that might have seemed daring a decade or so ago now seems smart and exactly right, but that's only one of many notable things about the character, and the wonderfully buoyant actor who plays him. Finn makes no bones about being a reluctant hero. It isn't ideology or conviction that first impels him to join the resistance, it's an urgent impulse to distance himself from the odious army he's been serving, and, much more than that, an irresistible desire to be desired by Rey. They're very funny together, these two adventurous kids, in a movie that excels at being funny and exciting in equal measure; at one perilous juncture Han Solo tells them, "Escape now. Hug later." And they're endearing together. Whatever comes of their romance in the next episode, they really do bond—with each other and us—in this one.
It's a big Star Wars universe out there and Abrams has just made it bigger again with this mix of fan boy homage and a fresh and quirky vision of his own. You will skywalk out of the cinema.
Collider B
The Force Awakens is more of a bridge than a completely new era, but it successfully lets audience live again in a galaxy far, far away. If the next two installments can build on this movie's foundation, we'll never want to leave again.
If there is anything I'd tell you is to avoid spoilers before seeing the film as it does have some interesting moments that are sure to be ruined on social media. I think the trailers and marketing have been very cautious about revealing much of the movie so far, so I wouldn't be too worried about avoiding official marketing materials.
The bad guys' oppressive work environment is more intensely experienced than in previous Star Wars films because the Force Awakens reveals the humanity in some storm troopers. They aren't just a clone army. For possibly the first time, a Star Wars film shows both a storm trooper removing his helmet and one bleeding from wounds. Subtle gestures, like two troopers stopping mid-stride and slinking back while Ren has a temper tantrum with his light saber, reveal enough humanity to show how trapped they are in a very bad job.
What really surprises, however, is the powerful emotion of it all. Yes, hearing C-3PO chatter away or watching a lightsaber ignite brings an automatic lump to the throat.
But this Star Wars earns its tears, with killer character arcs and a final shot that is arguably the best the series has delivered in all its 38 years. The force is most certainly strong in this one.
It's no surprise that paternal problems have made a comeback in "The Force Awakens," which folds in a father-and son-schism that evokes the one between Luke and Darth Vader. Even so, the more interesting Oedipal struggle may turn out to be between Mr. Lucas and his cinematic sons, starting with Mr. Abrams. Mr. Abrams has delivered a more seamlessly diverting movie than Mr. Lucas has in years, but his most far-reaching accomplishment here is casting Mr. Isaac, Mr. Boyega and Ms. Ridley — a Latino, a black man and a white woman — in this juggernaut series. It's too early to know how this will play out as the whole thing evolves, but the images of Mr. Boyega and Ms. Ridley each holding a light saber are among the most utopian moments in a Hollywood movie this year.
With his "Star Trek" films, Abrams created a schism within the Trek fanbase between those who are fine with his changes and those who cry blasphemy. While "The Force Awakens" may not please every "Star Wars" fan with lofty expectations, one thing is certain: There is a new hope that classic "Star Wars" is back for good.
Chicago Tribune – 3 Stars
I wish the script had come up with something more inventive than a Big Gulp edition of the Death Star for its primary threat. I wonder if future "Star Wars" features will be allowed a longer leash; at one point in "The Force Awakens" one of the space Nazi types mentions that with the turncoat Finn, there had been "no prior signs of non-comformity." There aren't many signs of nonconformity in Abrams' film, either, though Ridley's Rey is a first-rate screen heroine in the making. As for Lupita Nyong'o, whose motion-captured performance as a digitally animated saloonkeeper, she's more than good enough to make you wish they'd gone another direction. Say, of letting the actor do it for real, if only to take our minds far, far away from Jar-Jar Binks.
"Star Wars: The Force Awakens" has joined their ranks. It's rich in history, grows the legacy with compelling new characters, and offers some of the most exhilarating action scenes of the year. It's the kind of thing you can take the whole family to, and be sure of a good time. But even rarer, "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" is a movie so of the moment, so aware and respectful of its power over audiences, that seeing it in theaters is guaranteed to be a treasured cinematic experience.
New York Daily News 4 stars
But those concerns barely have time to register as the movie rockets from action sequence to action sequence at a hyperdrive pace. You would have to be practicing some pretty dark arts to not smile as you watch the iconic Millennium Falcon take off into battle one more time.
Evening Standard 4 stars
Ridley, previously little known, seems a genuinely sweet girl and is quite pretty – but can barely act at all.
Her facial expressions are limited and repetitive, her interactions with her fellow stars unconvincing, her physical repertoire – running, fighting, shooting – awkward.
You start thinking: give her time, she'll loosen up, it'll get better. It never does. And she's the heroine, the very heart of the film.
So that doesn't work. How different the ride would have been with Alicia Vikander, say, or Saoirse Ronan, or even, whisper it, Jennifer Lawrence, in the part.
Fortunately, there's too much else going on that I got past Leia quickly. I laughed, teared up, and actually got legitimate chills as "The Force Awakens" ends with one of the best, most satisfying scenes in a film yet. J.J Abrams has turned me from a 'lukewarm' Star Wars fan to a full-blown one … and I can not WAIT to see what happens next!
After all, it was only as the subsequent entries came out that folks realized their questions were either not going to be addressed well or at all. I'm pretty sure the franchise's current creatives have learned those lessons. The Force Awakens does at times feel less like a fully realized experience on its own than a promising setup for future developments, but the difference is that unlike with The Phantom Menace, when the lights came up I felt both satisfaction and anticipation, which has to count for something. Star Wars is back, and there's something undeniably exhilarating about having no idea where things are headed next.
It must have seemed like a nearly-impossible task when JJ Abrams and his collaborators set out to bring "Star Wars" back to life, but they've more than done it. They've made something honest and beautiful and, above all, fun, and I find myself energized by the movie and by the promise it represents. Maybe one day we'll climb all those distant mountains, only to see another range on another horizon, one that will be there for another generation of storytellers. For the first time in a long time, I believe wholeheartedly again in that galaxy a long time ago and far, far away, and I am eager to return as many times as possible.
Beginning with the annihilation of an entire Jakku village and ending on the mother of light-sabre battles, beautifully staged in snowy woodland, the final enigmatic shots will have you begging for more. Especially as by this time it will have become completely obvious that the platinum-plated Star Wars franchise is now in exactly the right hands for it to flourish and grow even more important to one's movie-nurtured well-being. The space odyssey phenomenon has finally been returned in rude health from a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away….
Abrams and company bring enough verve to the proceedings to create some wonderfully exciting moments alongside the reunions and the revelations. There are some slower bits, and an ending designed to leave you wanting more, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't feel a tingle in my neck at the familiar opening of Williams' score.
Snazzily directed by J.J. Abrams with vibrant effects and a busy plot that sets the whole franchise in motion all over again, The Force Awakens delivers on expectations with a fun, polished space odyssey that embraces the appeal of the originals. The hype is strong with this one, but brace yourself: The Force Awakens does have flaws. It's a little hokey in parts and at times distractingly self-referential, but that itself speaks to the nature of the material.
When The Force Awakens ends, it feels bittersweet simply because you so badly want to get to the next chapter. So, yes, the wait is over. But now a new waiting game begins…
What's most important here is the tone. The Force Awakens absolutely nails the tone. This feels like the first Star Wars movie since 1983. It features the original characters we love. (Good grief, the first time Han Solo and C-3PO see each other in this movie, you will laugh for a week.) It looks beautiful. (Of course there's CGI, but there's so, so many real, actual things in this movie, you just want to touch them. I'm going out of my way to avoid the much overused term, "practical effects.) And, again, it's funny.
What Abrams has done is strip Star Wars down to its core components, rearranging the stuff people liked about the original trilogy and getting rid of what they hated about the rest. (Don't hold your breath for a Jar Jar cameo, in other words.) But the prequels, misguided as they often were, dared to be different, to be their own movies. The Force Awakens never reaches the heights of escapism Lucas once did, mostly because its pleasures are echoes; by the time our posse walks into a saloon that's just the cantina in a nicer neighborhood, the déjà vu factor begins to feel as much like a drawback as a benefit. Maybe the cyclical nature of the Star Wars universe—the constant teetering between dark and light, the rebalancing of the Force every other decade (or sequel)—excuses the recycled nature of the movie's fun. Or maybe innovation is overrated when it comes to a mass nostalgic event like the return of the Jedi. But if we're destined to see more and more episodes, multiplying into an endless horizon like that mandatory opening word crawl, let's hope they find a few unexplored corners of the galaxy far, far away. Fans might love that, too.
JoBlo 8/10
Being so heavily anticipated, it's hard to really look at THE FORCE AWAKENS in a totally impartial way, as for many of us STAR WARS is related to our earliest cinematic experiences. Certainly, that's what kicked-off a life-long love of film for me, and you can't under-estimate the power of nostalgia. While I don't think THE FORCE AWKENS is perfect, to me it was a very nostalgic ride and at times it almost made me feel like I did as a kid watching these movies on CBS/FOX VHS tapes. It's not a perfect film but it's far superior to all of the prequels and exactly the movie fans have been waiting the last thirty years for. It definitely kicks-off a new franchise that should both please veteran fans and appeal to a whole new audience, and it's hard not to walk out of this and not be excited to see what else the new team at Lucasfilm has in store for us.
This is a triumphant reboot of the biggest film franchise of our lifetimes and fully earns its place as the soon-to-be biggest film of all time.
The Force is, indeed, strong in this film.
For movie fans, "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" is the Christmas gift that you've been waiting for all year.
f this wasn't an official entry into the Star Wars universe, you could imagine George Lucas on the phone to his lawyers.
Not that such griping will detract from Episode VII's absolutely colossal box office – or stop fans analysing its shock ending for light years to come.
Quibbles? Sure, a few. Finn isn't really fleshed out, and Poe is re-introduced with a sudden flimsy explanation. And with its basic premise of family dissonance, as well as so many other familiar touchstones, some may think the film too similar to the original.
But let's face it; the original "Star Wars" was great. There are way worse role models. Simply put, "The Force Awakens" makes you feel good about "Star Wars" again.
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