Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)

My Review

The new “Star Wars” film is out and the verdict is in – Virtually everyone loves it! “Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens” follows a scavenger named Rey, a rogue stormtrooper named Finn, and Resistance pilot Poe Dameron as they join forces with Han Solo and Chewbacca. They race against the evil First Order to find the map leading to the missing Jedi Master, Luke Skywalker.

Director J. J. Abrams (“Star Trek” 2009) and fellow screenwriters Lawrence Kasdan and Michael Arndt have pulled off a modern-day miracle in creating the long-awaited seventh installment of the beloved “Star Wars” institution which is loaded with great action sequences, fantastic performances, and an energetic, humorous, and dramatic story filmed in appropriately exotic backdrops and locales. It was filmed in Ireland, Iceland, United Arab Emirates, and United Kingdom.

The cast includes Harrison Ford as Han Solo, Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker, Carrie Fisher as General Leia Organa, Adam Driver as Kylo Ren, Daisy Ridley as Rey, John Boyega as Finn, Oscar Isaac as Poe Dameron, Lupita Nyongo as Maz Kanata, Andy Serkis as Supreme Leader Snoke, Domhnall Gleeson as General Hux, Anthony Daniels as C-3PO, Peter Mayhew as Chewbacca, Max von Sydow as Lor San Tekka, Billie Lourd (daughter of Carrie Fisher) as Connix, Jimmy Vee as R2-D2, Tim Rose as Admiral Ackbar, Daniel Craig as a stormtrooper, and Kenny Baker as “consultant” for R2-D2.

The very watchable “Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens” was the highest grossing film of 2015, earning over two billion dollars at the box office for producer Kathleen Kennedy, LucasFilm Ltd., Bad Robot Productions, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, and The Walt Disney Company. It received five Oscar nods – Best Original Score (John Williams), Best Film Editing, Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing, and Best Visual Effects.

“Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens” has something old (Han, Leia, Luke), something new (Rey, Finn, Ren, Poe), something borrowed (storyline from an earlier episode having the gang wandering around a new Death Star, called the Star Killer), and something blue (Leia’s mood).