Star Wars: Episode VIII: The Force Awakens

Starring: Harrison Ford, Daisy Ridley, & John Boyega

Rating: 3 1/2 out of 5 stars

***THIS IS A NON-SPOILER REVIEW***

For the first time in thirty-two years, the cast of the original Star Wars has reunited, to tell billions of fans around the world, just what happens next. With the largest weekend opening in the history of film, and the merchandising off the charts, Does the Force Awakens live up to the hype? Yes and no.

The story starts with Leia (Carrie Fisher) still in charge of the resistance, looking for a missing Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamil). The only clue to his location is inside a droid, that is discovered by a planetary scavenger and a former storm trooper, who together embark on a journey to return said droid to the resistance.

As far as special effects, make-up, sound effects, costumes, and 3D goes, this is easily the best Star Wars ever. Even if you're a person who has never seen a Star Wars film, you can't help but be impressed by the visual impact of the film. It's was also amazing to see the old cast back together again for another adventure, but even that somewhat failed to meet my expectation.

Maybe my hopes for this film were too high, but as I watched it, I couldn't help but think that I was just watching A New Hope again! The characters may be different, but throughout the film, certain situations are almost exactly the same. I am sensitive to spoilers, but I will give a small example, using just the description of the story.

A New Hope, Princess Leia sends a droid down to a desert planet with a hidden message, where it is discovered by a young worker, who takes it to Obi Wan and then on to the resistance. The Force Awakens, a droid is send down to a desert planet with a hidden message, where is is discovered by a young scavenger, who takes it to Han Solo and then on to the resistance.

Unfortunately the parallels don't end there, as they continue throughout the entire film. In reading other reviews, some people say it was intentional, to honor the original film, but with one of the largest budgets and audiences ever seen in the industry, why not instead go for originality? That's not the only thing that bothered me, as this film takes place thirty years after the original, the empire has fallen and a new villain has arrived, yet everyone still uses the same ships, blasters, and technology? Has this civilization not progressed at all in three decades?

Aside from the similarity to A New Hope, I did enjoy seeing the cast again, and every actor involved in the new story was outstanding in their own right. Star Wars continues to be the pinnacle of success at the box office that all films are measured by, but I wouldn't be doing my job if I didn't tell you, the similarities to the first film are more than just perceived, and in my opinion, they take away a lot from the franchises third trilogy, right from it's very beginning.