By Rob Sumner

This review is spoiler free!

From the moment the opening Star Wars credits started scrolling through space and the audience cheers, you know you are in for a treat. Fans all over are rejoicing for the return of Star Wars and this film will not disappoint those fans. With all biased opinions and strong emotions set aside, this movie is well done and serves its purpose. It’s the basis for the new Star Wars trilogy and sets up the next two films to be epics, as Star Wars rightfully should be. That being said, the Force Awakens is not an “Epic” movie by any means.

The Force Awakens brilliantly showcases different high points of movie in a very balanced way. Whether it is the great script being focused on, showing off the great CGI and effects, or having tension in the great on-edge action scenes, this movies does it all in a well-paced manner. The fighting scenes look and feel like Star Wars, and the dialogue is interesting and doesn’t put the viewer off like many of the prequels did. Of course what is Star Wars without a few jokes every now and then? The jokes are actually funny and not just hollow attempts at making the audience laugh; also they aren’t constantly being forced at the viewer but rather spaced out in nice proportions. Each scene is gorgeous and flows with one another extremely well thanks to the directing of J.J. Abrams. For any fan of the franchise, their heart will swell as every minute passes by because Star Wars is finally back with The Force Awakens.

The original actors Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, and Mark Hamill all return; although some roles smaller than the others, it’s still refreshing to see Han Solo pestering Princess Leia. The new protagonists Finn and Rey, played by John Boyega and Daisy Ridley, keep up with the other more well known actors and do a great job at making the story come to life. Adam Driver plays the role of Kylo Ren, the new villain, and with every line he makes the viewer feel uneasy. Whether Ren is threatening another or losing complete control of himself, the audience will never know what to expect from him. Star Wars has a bright future in these actors’ hands, and I’m excited to see how they develop into their roles even more.

The Force Awakens is showing a lot of promise in the box office and among critics. On opening night it was reported the film made 57 million dollars in ticket sales and is estimated to make 250 million over the course of this weekend. Without a doubt it will be smashing all ticket sale records set by any movie so far and will maintain those records for much time to come. Also many of movie critics across the globe keep giving the film great reviews, which makes many nervous fans relieved, seeing that bad things can happen when a franchise changes up who makes the decisions…like getting rid of the man who created Star Wars, George Lucas. Disney saw things differently than Lucas did and after seeing and loving this film, I can say Disney did the right thing.

The Force Awakens is an extremely well done and satisfying movie. Star Wars, in the hands of director J.J. Abrams and both new and returning actors, is looking good and is going to make a lot of people fall in love with the franchise for the first time or all over again over the next few years. The next film in the trilogy is set to release in 2017, followed by the third film’s release in 2019.

Header photo from The Huffington Post.