Jason verus Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Thirty two years is a long time wait between Star Wars movies. Sure, there're the prequels, but really. Do they count? Not to me. For me, the Star Wars saga went on hiatus in 1983 and didn't pick up until just a few short weeks ago. Thirty two years. A long wait.

Was it worth it? Stick with me!

The Force Awakens is an overwhelming experience. And not in a bad way. As a fan who grew up with Star Wars, there's a lot in this to digest. Where it takes the classic characters of Han Solo, Luke Skywalker and Leia, how it introduces a slew of new ones, and the direction the Star Wars universe has taken in its absence.

If The Force Awakens has a fault, it packs almost too much into one movie. But that's smart from a business perspective because it guarantees you'll see it again and again. Fortunately it's so good you'll want to anyway.

It also relies a lot on your nostalgia for the first trilogy, but that's OK too. That's what Star Wars fans have wanted since Return of the Jedi.

Everything that was wrong with the prequels has been corrected. This Star Wars is full of energy and likeable characters. There's action, emotion, and a weight to things that hasn't been in a Star Wars movie in, well, 32 years. The old favourites are back and well utilized. Some don't get a lot of screen time, others do. But it all matters.

This Star Wars is well written, well directed and well acted by people who understand real filmmaking. Take that, George Lucas!

I dug the new "Darth Vader," Kylo Ren. He's a flawed villain, which I liked a lot. And not to be messed with. And his back story provided a nice father/son parallel to the original series. Spoiler alert.

As for Han Solo, it's great to see that Harrison Ford had a blast playing everyone's favourite flyboy one more time. He was born to be Solo, and did him justice.

I could go on and on, but why bother? This is the Star Wars movie I was waiting for. I'm glad the series is back and look forward to where the franchise goes next. Well played, J.J. Abrams. Well played.

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