Star Wars: Force Awakens review round-up (spoiler free)
It's been 32 years since the release of a Star Wars film (well, one worth watching, anyway) and we're just two days away from the release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens. See what people have been saying about it already:
It’s been 32 years since the release of a Star Wars film (well, one worth watching, anyway) and we’re just two days away from the release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens. See what people have been saying about it already:
The Verge – Bryan Bishop, no score, positive review
“Unlike the original film, which wrapped up in a relatively tidy fashion, Abrams and Kasdan have set up a series of ongoing plot lines and hanging story threads that will give the new filmmakers endless opportunities in the years to come. They’ve become the architects of a new generation of Star Wars stories, and if The Force Awakens is any indicator, the sense of adventure and potential that resonated so strongly 30 years ago will now be available for a new generation, one more diverse and far-reaching than the series ever tried to address before.
“The lightsaber fights are pretty cool, too.”
IGN – Terri Schwartz, 8.8/10
“Star Wars: The Force Awakens is the movie it was promised to be, with great new characters, a respect for the original trilogy and a strong understanding of what makes this franchise click with fans. The new additions to the Star Wars universe work best, though there is some over-reliance on tying things to and making nods to the classic Star Wars films. Overall, this is a great way to reboot the franchise and open the world up for a new generation of fans.”
Forbes – Scott Mendelson, no score, mostly positive review
“Star Wars: The Force Awakens is a breathlessly paced, relatively amusing and action-filled sci-fi adventure with top-tier production values and a strong sense of scale and scope. In that sense, it is worth seeing on the biggest IMAX screen possible, if you have any interest at all in this kind of picture. The film follows the structure of A New Hope to such a significant degree that I spent much of the first act wondering if I was watching the Star Wars equivalent of Gus Van Sant’s Psycho. It also omits or neglects vital connective tissue and merely hints at a far more interesting story than the one we get. Considering what a precedent-setting franchise the original Star Wars was, it is not a little disheartening that this new instalment does not blaze its own path, but rather rehashes its former glories for our approval.”
The Guardian – Peter Bradshaw, 5/5
“The Force Awakens re-awoke my love of the first movie and turned my inner fanboy into my outer fanboy. There are very few films which leave me facially exhausted after grinning for 135 minutes, but this is one. And when Han Solo and Chewie come on, I had a feeling in the cinema I haven’t had since I was 16: not knowing whether to burst into tears or into applause.”
Variety – Justin Chang, no score, positive
“‘The Force Awakens’ feels disarmingly swift and light on its feet, possessed of a comic sensibility that embraces contemporary wisecrackery and earnest humor in equal measure. Shot on 35mm film (plus some 65mm Imax footage), in a decisive refutation of Lucas’ all-digital aesthetic, Abrams’ movie has grit under its nails and blood in its veins…”