Not as bad as I feared, not as good as it could have been

Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015)

Directed by J. J. Abrams this is the 7^th film in the Star Wars franchise and stars John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Harrison Ford and Oscar Isaac. Thirty years after the destruction of the second Death Star a storm trooper defects to the resistance and along with a young scavenger set out to return a droid with crucial information.

Blasting back onto our screens this film does a lot of things well enough but I am unconvinced it does anything good or great. While the original Star Wars were a synthesis of so many different sources this film is a synthesis of it's predecessors. Unlike Abrams terrible Star Trek reboot and Into Darkness (2013) in particular this film does a much better job of nodding back to the past without seeming to do so as a crutch or constantly reminding you it is an inferior version.

As enjoyable as this action adventure is I always felt like it was nibbling round the edges of being something great rather than achieving that itself. There is too much telling rather than showing when it comes to character which undercuts the dramatic impact of events disappointingly. It really does feel like there is a great story in there but there are too many questions about the characters that the script never addresses. Too often it felt like we were walking in on the second act of the story.

When it comes to the action the film is of a really good standard but again lacks some iconic set pieces probably because of the aforementioned problems with character. I also think that at times the film was too willing to go with an easy joke. No doubt I will watch this film again and I hope my views towards it soften to it over time as there is a lot to enjoy here.

4/5