STAR WARS: EPISODE VII - THE FORCE AWAKENS (2015)

I purposefully waited for the furor to die down - and for at least two weeks after seeing the film, so I could come back at it more objectively - before reviewing this one.  The Force Awakens is indeed better than any of the original trilogies' prequels, and revisiting characters like Luke (well, technically Luke is missing throughout the film, but you know what I mean), Leia, Han, Chewbacca, and the most lovable droids in the galaxy was awesome-sauce.  Starting thirty years after Return of the Jedi, there is now a new evil - The First Order - determined to take over the galaxy, and only a scrappy, determined and rebellious loner with the heart of a fighter (Daisy Ridley), with the help of an eager companion of questionable ethics (John Boyega) and an older, battle-scarred sage who still has a lot of fight in him (Harrison Ford) can stop the dawn of the new evil in the form of an up-and-coming dark lord (Adam Driver).  Sound familiar?  Yeah, that's the set-up of the original Star Wars film, and indeed you'll feel a lot of familiarity with the plot (such as it is) here - but if you happen to LOVE that first film (and if not, why the HECK are you even watching this one??), it's all good.  And in the details there are enough differences (and really cool battle sequences) to keep things damned entertaining.  Maybe just a little hollowness - the film doesn't resonate as deeply as A New Hope by any means, the characters not yet as much like family as you felt Luke, Leia and Han to be in the first film (with the exception of BB-8, who you WILL fall in love with) - but The Force Awakens is the closest to right the series has gotten since Jedi.  Heck, it may even make you forget how much Lucas screwed things up with the prequels. (rated PG-13)  A-