Star Wars 7: The Force Awakens

Well, after the long wait and all the hype from the trailers, Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens is upon us. And man, was I pretty excited for this movie and couldn't wait to see it. So, was all the hype pointless and was it garbage like the prequels? Or did J.J. Abrams bring back the Star Wars we all know and love? Grab your lightsaber and let's find out!

WARNING: THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS!!
Go see the movie first! If you want to ruin the experience and keep reading, don't get mad at me.

Now, with that out of the way:

The Plot:
30 years after the defeat of the Empire, a new threat has arisen from the ashes of the enemy. The First Order. They are searching for Luke Skywalker and believe he is a threat to them. A resistance pilot has a map that leads to Luke and tries to escape, but is captured by The First Order and the dark jedi, Kylo Ren. The pilot's droid, however, has the map and escapes to safety. BB-8, the droid, runs into Rey, a salavger. She and BB-8 run into Finn, an ex stormtrooper and they fly off in the Millennium Falcon. There, they run into Han Solo and Chewbacca. Rey gets captured by Kylo Ren, who is an ex pupil of Luke Skywalker. Finn wants to save Rey and with the help of the resistance, they launch an attack on The First Order's base, Starkiller. During the attack, it is revealed that Ren is Leia and Han's son turned evil. Kylo Ren kills Han and fights Finn. Finn loses, and Rey, who is force sensitive, defeats Kylo Ren, but as the base is falling apart, she escapes with Chewbacca. Once they return, BB-8 and R2-D2 show the map where Luke is hiding. Rey flies to the planet and returns the lightsaber she found.

The Good:
J.J Abrams pulled this off. It's a mix of new and old and it works. The cast is perfect and each actor is believable. There's a lot of witty banter between characters and it makes you laugh. Yes, Chewbacca and Han Solo get a lot of screen time, but they don't steal the show from the new cast. Kylo Ren is a badass Sith with an attitude. Rey is strong and independent, but she's also relatable. Finn, is funny and heroic. It's just so good. This is how Star Wars was meant to be. There's a lot of nostalgia, but it doesn't dwell on the past too much.

The Bad:
There are some parts that come off a bit too cheesy. I also wish Luke would have said -something- and had not made the last scene awkward. And what's with these bad guys and building giant laser bases that shoot lasers? And what's with them having a weak spot? Did the First Order not learn anything from the Empire? I get that it's a call back to the original films, but it would have been nice to see something different. I'm okay with giant laser planets of doom, but make it a bit harder than "exposed weak spot".

Overall:
I'm just glad George Lucas had nothing to do with this movie. J.J Abrams pulled it off and we got something worthy of the original trilogy. It's not perfect, but it's still a wonderful movie and any Star Wars fan should see it. I hope Episode 8 is just as good.

Rating:
5 BB-8s out of 5.