So… How do I write a review with zero spoilers? Hmmm…
I can’t tell you about that scene in that place with that big thing happening. Or about when good person said that to bad person. But I can tell you that I really enjoyed it.
I’m not the world’s biggest Star Wars fan. I remember seeing the original three repeated on Sunday afternoons and grew up with the legend. I saw it make stars of some actors whilst others disappeared straight-to-VHS. It became part of modern culture and new modern references spawned from it (err, Friends’ The One with the Princess Leia Fantasy, anyone?!) plus I grew up with it like so many kids in my generation. I watched the prequels with fascination but when you know who’s the daddy, it kind of takes the surprise out of things.
The Force Awakens hype machine spiralled out of control with trailers, detailed synopses of trailers, tenuous links to merchandise were exploited and every screen became saturated. I was SO over it. I knew I had to see the film as soon as possible before I turned completely to the dark side and/or stumbled across a spoiler online – *uses the force* curses be to spoiler-sharers, may you forever have the urge to pee right in the middle of an important scene.
The Wimbledon Curzon was my screen of choice (comfier, quieter, which of course makes it pricier) and I ended up watching in 3D. Major side note here: for people who already wear glasses, why are we punished so awfully when we want to watch a 3D film?! Two pairs of glasses resting on the bridge of my nose is a sure-fire way to give me a sinus headache. We can land a rocket vertically but we can’t have a solution to this nonsense?!?
So what bits can I tell you about? Well, the two British leads, Daisy Ridley and John Boyega are brilliant. Spunky and bright with some lovely moments between them and the other cast. Everytime I saw the bad guy, Kylo Ren played by Adam Driver, I half expected Hannah from Girls to appear half naked on screen too. He annoyed me, an emo Darth Vader wannabe which probably wasn’t the desired effect. Original cast members were fine although a special mention has to go to Harrison Ford. The man is 73 and most of us still probably would. *raises eyebrow* My award for best robot goes to BB-8. Emotive and adorable, everyone will want one for Christmas and every other occasion, from here to eternity.
Purists will probably pick a million holes in this film because it deserves it; a few occasions test your suspense of disbelief quite heavily (yes, even for a sci-fi film!!) mostly due to plot irregularities but if you’re sat in that cinema open and ready to watch a film then I genuinely think you’ll enjoy it as much as I did. Kids who were taken to the original films at the cinema are taking their kids (and grand kids!) to see it. No wonder it’s broken box office records. I agree with Coach Kibs – people who grew up with the films in the late 70’s/early 80’s will likely enjoy it more. We loved it when we didn’t have access on demand and could overanalyse every scene for significance. There are all the same themes (nearly the same storylines and scenes) as the original three, so it feels like a fresh take on an old friend.
Roll on Episode 8 I say. I’ll be watching.
curiosity killed 