100 Movie Challenge 2015 - # 169: Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Director: J.J. Abrams

Genre: Science Fiction/ Action/ Fantasy/ Adventure

Runtime: 135 minutes

Year: 2015

Starring: Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Harrison Ford, Peter Mayhew, Carrie Fisher, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, Domhnall Gleeson, Mark Hamill, Lupita Nyong’o, Andy Serkis, Max von Sydow, Greg Grunberg, Warwick Davis, Gwendoline Christie, Ken Leung, Simon Pegg

Description: Three decades after the defeat of the Galactic Empire, a new threat arises. The First Order attempts to rule the galaxy and only a ragtag group of heroes can stop them, along with the help of the Resistance.

Review: With new additions to many great franchises, like “Jurassic Park”, “Mad Max”, “The Terminator” and now “Star Wars”, 2015 has become an iconic year. Not every franchise found the right balance between nostalgia and an interesting new story. I’m so glad “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” turned out this good.

Off course there is the nostalgia, by bringing back Han, Leia and Chewbacca and seeing the Millenium Falcon makes our hearts skip a beat. And it’s clear that writer Lawrence Kasdan and director J.J. Abrams know the original trilogy very well. This is all combined very well with a good new story and new characters. I loved BB-8, the droid. He had a bit more character then R2-D2 had.

Stormtrooper Finn, X-wingpilot Poe Dameron and Jedi fangirl Rey are all great characters and are a breath of fresh air. They form an unusual yet diverse group of protagonists. Epecially Daisy Ridley as Rey. She was the star of the film, what a great discovery. The main villain is Kylo Ren, who seems to pay tribute to Darth Vader. He is a strong and believable villain. Captain Phasma isn’t though, she doesn’t get enough screen time to convince us.

“Star Wars: The Force Awakens” is a great film, the movie we’ve all been waiting for. And we got exactly what we wanted and hoped for. Definitely a 2015 favorite.

Rating: 4,5/ 5