Movie Review: Star Wars: The Force Awakens

4 stars out of 5

I was 8 years old when the original Star Wars came out and like everybody else I knew, I was all in. Poster on my bedroom wall, action figures, comic books. I loved trying to draw R2-D2. My dad took me into San Francisco one day to meet Darth Vader, who autographed a poster for me. (Not such a bad dude, really.) By Empire Strikes Back, we lived in Maryland — am still pissed at my 5th-grade classmate who revealed a “spoiler” in the school hallway. By Return of the Jedi, we lived in New Jersey. Moving around as a kid, it was comforting to have some things that came along with you: baseball, Happy Days, Star Wars.

The Star Wars arcade game came out in 1983. I remember the first time I played it, on the boardwalk in Seaside Heights. Obi-Wan instructed me to “Let go — use the Force,” so I did. (Letting go of the controller was a life-losing mistake.) In school I’d put a cup over my mouth and talk like Vader. Flash-forward to ’99, and we started getting new Star Wars movies. People like to shit on the prequels and they weren’t classics, but come on, it was Star Wars! Obi-Wan and Yoda and R2 and C-3PO and my old Bay Area buddy Darth. I enjoyed each one; even got to share the fun with the young readers of the magazine I edited. Was happy to see the sit-down version of the Star Wars video game at Barcade in Jersey City; now I was blowing up the Death Star with a beer by my side.

That’s a lot of intro to say: I love Star Wars. And Close Encounters and Indiana Jones and E.T. too, but it all started with Star Wars. So I was pretty pumped for three more movies, now that I’m like, a thousand years old. I’m not going to over-review this one, because I didn’t read any reviews before seeing it (it’s nice to be surprised), and I certainly don’t want to be that 5th-grade spoiler jerk. But the best thing I can say about this movie: It absolutely did not disappoint the 8-year-old me. Watching through those eyes, this is the best movie of the year, maybe of all time. “Five stars! Give it five stars!” my inner second-grader screamed. And even for a curmudgeonly adult, it’s still pretty freaking great. The most fun I’ve had at the movies in a long time.

Now, it is hard to separate out my nostalgia-fueled reaction. Because, up on the big screen, there’s your boyhood hero, Han Solo. (The sold-out theater audience cheered, which was awesome.) And Chewbacca and Leia and the Millennium Falcon etc. etc. To see Tie-Fighters battling X-Wings again — my heart filled with joy and my eyes filled with tears.

But there are new characters and new actors and they’re plenty good too. Am already a huge Oscar Isaac fan; the series is lucky to have an actor of his caliber. Isaac plays a confident, friendly good guy, the sort you’d want on your team. But then who’s this Daisy Ridley and where did she come from? She’s AWESOME. Totally charming but also totally kick-ass and righteous and nervous — the classic reluctant hero. And then there’s John Boyega as Finn, he of the “some have greatness thrust upon them” school. He’s also great, filled with raw humanity and relatable scaredy-cat-ness. BB-8 is a cool droid. I’m not yet convinced that Adam Driver isn’t this generation’s Keanu Reeves but he does a pretty good job. Domhnall Gleeson is in this, because he’s in everything.

Of the old crew I’ll just mention Harrison Ford’s performance. He’s a little wooden at times but eventually eases into the role, and it’s a pleasure to see. IT’S HAN SOLO FER CRISSAKES!!

Director J.J. Abrams is not the most original fellow out there. (In fairness, I never watched that Gilligan’s Island series of his.) But he’s done a pretty decent job revitalizing old properties, such as Mission: Impossible and Star Trek. My favorite work by him was the Steven Spielberg homage Super 8. And I feel like it’s all been good practice to take on Star Wars. This very much looks like a Star Wars film and feels like a Star Wars film. (It also sounds like one, but of course John Williams is a ringer.) Are there scenes that are overly derivative of the series’ past and is it maybe too self-referential in spots? Yes and yes. But more importantly, it’s thrilling and funny and cool and sweet, and the movie is packed with the importance of friendship and loyalty. That’s a really key message for kids and for grown-up 8-year-olds too.