Star Wars: The Force Awakens [Blu-ray] [2015] [Region Free]

(This is a review by my son, Matthew Corrigan) Spoilers ahead...Be Warned :)... "I've got a bad feeling about this." -Han Solo That's what many fans were saying as they shook their heads months before the release. Despite the positive reception of the trailers and the applauded casting and directing choices, many fans still doubted whether this new Star Wars adventure was going to live up to the hype set by the previous entries because, let's face it, Star Wars is the greatest franchise of all time. Not only is it immensely successful, but nearly every movie has been critically praised, the story is considered timeless, and the franchise has developed a cult following so strong that Star Wars is as much a culture as it is a movie series, leading to even religions being formed based off of it. If you don't believe me, google "Jedi Religion" and see what pops up. That being said, "The Force Awakens" lives up to the hype and then some. With strong performances by the old as well as the new characters, beyond eye-catching visual effects, a classic story worthy of the franchise, and thousands of references to the previous movies, "The Force Awakens" bursts through the line that it was expected to meet and delivers in every cinematic promise that long-awaited sequels are heir to. Best Scene: There are dozens of fantastic scenes, and practically every scene in this film is magnificent. However, if I had to pick one scene that surpasses them all, it is Han Solo's death scene (I told you there are spoilers). The writing and acting are both perfect, and the viewer can see the emotional complexities in the character's expressions and the enriching dialogue. Even as Han Solo is stabbed, which could have been his doing, the viewer can see Han Solo being both forgiving and sympathetic to his lost son, who it is clear he loves, regardless of the circumstances. Chewie's screaming as Han Solo falls to his death displays every viewer's reaction: shocked, angry, and sad, all at once. It's the perfect combination. Best Line: This was a hard one. The film is full of great lines, from light hearted jokes to forcefully tear-jerking ones (no pun intended). However this one, delivered by Han Solo on board the Millenium Falcon, takes the cake: "I used to wonder about that myself. Thought it was a bunch of mumbo-jumbo. A magical power holding together good and evil...the dark side and the light. Crazy thing is...it's true. The Force. The Jedi. All of it. It's all true." -Han Solo Best Part About the Movie: Harrison Ford. It's always Harrison Ford. End of discussion. Overall Impression: Just in case I have not made this clear, this movie is as perfect as a film can get while still being charismatic and entertaining enough to enchant viewers young and old. I highly recommend it to everyone. Here's to Star Wars: "May the Force be with you, always." -Ben Kenobi, "A New Hope"

This is the best overall film of the New Trilogy thusfar. The Last Jedi is hyper controversial and philosophical [and I actually love it because It explores a tough subject matter, disillusionment among Jedi and Sith and rebirth of faith in the Force]. The Force Awakens captures a glint of the glory, awe, and wonder of A New Hope and Empire Strikes Back. The Force Awakens is superior to the Prequels/Anakin Skywalker Arch because it invests in the characters ans builds on tjeir realtionahips realistically, similar to A New Hope: common objective, common enemy, team work anx etc oppose to the Prequels more complex political alliances, and emphasis on Zoroastrian and Dualist ideologies. The Force Awakens is pure fun, with enough lore and wonder to keep it from being campy or a total knock off. In particular I applaud J.J. Abrams for his handling of Kylo Ren as a villain. He isn’t a Vader clone or Darth Maul cult creating character, he is the antithisis, unsurd of himself and conflicted, his insecurity and tryingvto overshadow it with Dark Side prowess makes him actuslly more relatable than the dogmaticism of Darth Vader. Kylo Ren is a Sith for a new generatiok, that no doubt may carry the same conflict inside. Rey who has been labeled a Mary Sue, is acruslly refreshing. Men have had plenty of Jedi and Force affilates to choose from: Luke Skywalker, Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Yoda, and maby more; girls and women have only ad Aayla Secura and Ahsoka Tano for female Jedi and they are aliens not humans like Rey. [Legends fans have had Bastila Shan and Mara Jade Skywalker for major human female Jedi]. Finn and Poe both are welcome heroes, one a former stormtrooper and the other a resistance pilot. Their dialogue during their escape from The First Order at the beginning of the Force Awakens always gives me a good chuckle. I want to seal this review by stating I am a Legends/EU die hard who knows Dash Rendar, Exar-Kun, Ulic-Quodroma, Mara Jade, Revan, Darth Plagueis, Prince Xinor, the Jed’Daii (proto-Jedi tribes), Ashla and Bogan (Light and Dark Side), Force Grip is a grey power (light or dark depending on who you are using it on), and so much more. I have been following the Legends, called Expanded Universe when I was young, and I enjot the Force Awakens.

I think if you have to say the worst thing about The Force Awakens it is that someone has taken all your favourite Star Wars toys and is playing with them, and you are just watching. And that in a nutshell is most likely what causes most people the MOST grief about the film. For me my first "awareness" of the whole Star Wars saga was back in 1976 when we heard via newspapers and the odd TV news that "something" was coming across the Atlantic. And I was sitting in school and we'd just been given a new "book" catalogue and there was the paperback for Star Wars written by George Lucas (as I learned a few years later actually by Alan Dean Foster............) Loved the first (no 4). Actually read the book of Empire Strikes Back before I saw the film (another Dean Foster tie in) - those were the days - and although I liked Return of the Jedi I did think it had gone too "childish". In fact I saw it in a packed local cinema, now an OAP home, where at 17/18 I was the oldest person amongst a mass of 7 to 12 years olds. The target audience. Then. Now JJ Abrams and me are about the same age and he has tackled what most would not want to tackle. Something that has to "hit" me and my age group and something that will "hit" the new target market like my kids who have grown up with Dad saying "You HAVE to see this!" Yes we all suffered through the Lucas era of I, II and III. Not so much someone playing with your toys but actively selling new ones to you! And that is what is strange about this film. It does not SELL you anything. Old characters, new characters, old ships, new ships, but Disney have been surprisingly "adult" about it. Maybe in many years when we have Star Wars 27: Return of Jafar and His Crazy Sidekick.......... So no spoilers and I did not see it on release, I waited for the Blu Ray, but it is worth it. And something else? It is a film that will be worth watching again, and it will get better with each viewing. Blu Ray quality is excellent - they really could not drop the ball. Abrams likes to move the camera and some of the shots in the aerial battles are stunners and will NEED to be watched again and again. I'd had a rubbish week with me losing a job through redundancy. This was something to look forward to. It made me forget. It did what Star Wars was meant to do. Roll on the rest, Disney.

PLOT... 30 years after the defeat of Darth Vader and the Empire, Rey, a scavenger from the planet Jakku finds BB-8, a droid that knows the whereabouts of the long lost Luke Skywalker. Rey, as well as a rogue Stormtrooper Finn are thrown into the middle of a battle between the Resistance and the daunting legions of the First Order. This is the true sequel to the original trilogy that many fans have long waited for and worth the wait it is, a fantastic story that holds so dear to the things we love about the original trilogy, many parts may clone a new hope in ways which don't hurt the story at all, there is so much in the way of continuation with fantastic new characters and story arks that can take the story in so many different ways, the new characters are great especially Rey who is a strong female lead, Daisy Ridley is a wonderful actress, Adam Driver is brilliant as Kylo Ren a new and very menacing villain, Rey and Kylo are the centre characters in the movie and the purpose for the awakening title, it will be great to see them develop further in sequels, its great to see the old cast back too especially Han Solo and Chewbacca, Leia looks good too in her small role and not forgetting the brilliant R2D2 and Luke himself is epic in his small appearance, Of course the new locations are stunning and the set pieces are great, lots of new aliens and background characters to look out for with great costume designs, the new storm troopers look very cool and very menacing and captain Phasma is a strong female villain (very underused at the moment though), the effects look stunning and really stand up to way we remember star wars with practical effects wherever possible and amazing ILM visual effects, the music score is great too, this is a must for any star wars fan, brings back so many great memories from back in the 70's and 80's all over again. Star wars is back in a big way and is not going away for a long time now... Blu-ray picture looks amazing in HD Features include Secrets of the force awakens documentary 1hr-9mins, The table read 4mins, crafting creatures 9mins, building BB8 6mins, the snow fight 7mins, ILM visual magic 7mins, 6 deleted scenes 4mins, plus more. Region Free discs ABC, Film running time 2hrs-18mins. 2015.

Episode VII, good, I liked the movie.

This movie is fantastic! It was a great way to bring Star Wars back for older fans, and also a great way to introduce the franchise to a new generation! The new characters are great, especially Finn, Han Solo was as funny and sarcastic as ever, Kylo Ren is a very threatening villain in this movie, and it was great to see some of the same locations we know and love from the originals once more. What more could a Star Wars Fan ask for?

Another great movie.