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Directed by: J. J. Abrams
Written by: Lawrence Kasdan, J. J. Abrams, Michael Arndt.
Based on: Characters by George Lucas
Starring: Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher.
John Williams returns as composer of the score.
The 7th installment with George Lucas as the creative consultant.
A classic using the same formula as the original series but with a different story – genius in its simplicity.
I can’t imagine the pressure on the writers in getting this one right: the beginning of a sequel of a sequel. Yes, the writing of this Star Wars episode could easily have become over complicated, but, thankfully, the reins were held tight and yet the story still felt new and exciting.
With 3D glasses on, I was immediately absorbed in this re-visit to desert landscapes, androids and light sabers – all I could think was: yeah, cool.
Rey (Daisy Ridley), scavenging for survival, becomes in possession of an android holding a secret map of the location of the last Jedi Knight, Luke Skywalker. Luke has gone missing after his favourite student, Kylo Ren (Adam Driver), goes to the dark side.
Sound familiar? But then, as a twist, we have a defector from the First Order joining forces with the Resistance and teaming up with our old favourites: Hans Solo, Chewbacca and Princess Leia.
The story was engaging with humour and action without the usual blood and guts. PG goodness at its finest. I’m not usually one for these PG films; but I have to say I didn’t miss the mature themes with this one. Star Wars (7) brought a smile to the face even with the excited kid kicking the back of my chair. I was excited too!
It was a pleasure to see Harrison Ford back as Han Solo, even if he was a bit stiff with age. Chewbacca will always be a favourite. I was surprised at how good Carrie Fisher looked after the taint of sitcoms such as, Big Bang and Family Guy. She was well cast as a military leader. Yes, some good acting here – Adam Driver a surprising dark character. But I think it’s the writers who deserve the congratulations.
I’ll be back to see the rest of the series.
It was almost an impossible task to produce a film that could live up to the hype and to also shoulder the responsibility of essentially rebooting the series for a new generation.
I would have liked a bit more depth, but it was a helluva fun ride. Rey and Finn are amazing characters – look forward to following their adventures.
Yes, maybe a bit more depth… But I think they did a great job in the entertaining department!