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Darth Vader substitute is the similarly helmeted Kylo Ren. The less known about the plot before viewing the better, as the film is best experienced as it happens, given that the direction of the prequels was predetermined, whereas this new trilogy is an unknown entity.

 

Just as he had done with Star Trek in 2009, director J.J. Abrams manages to balance stoking the embers of nostalgia for the original films with the introduction of new characters and elements to the Star Wars universe to keep Force Awakens feeling both familiar and fresh. Rather than cramming 30 years of exposition into the iconic opening crawl, we are simply given enough context to understand the film's first act, just as the crawls of the original trilogy had done, nor are any characters saddled with clunky monologues to try and fill the audience in on what has happened. In one of screenwriters J.J. Abrams and Lawrence Kasdan's wisest moves, the film saves some of the reveals for the next episode, allowing the space adventure to proceed without getting bogged down by plot (something none of the prequels managed). We don't ever feel as if the film is winking at us, taking itself just serious enough for the audience to get lost in the adventure. Another innovative move by the writers is to increase the number of women, with not only the resourceful and heroic Rae (Daisy Ridley) but also Game of Thrones' Gwendoline Christie playing the villainous Captain Phasma.

 

One of the most overlooked aspects of Star Wars is that it is not actually a science fiction franchise, having much more in common with the fantasy-adventure genre; the mysticism of the Force, the complete disregard for scientific accuracy, the fact that all this takes place 'A long time ago, in a galaxy far away...' and none of the films could be considered ruminations on the human condition, as most science fiction classics tend to be. Lucas seemed to forget that in the prequels, introducing a genetic aspect to the Force with 'midiclorians' or focussing on completely uninteresting senatorial procedure in an attempt to make some sort of comment on democracy. So instead the audience is allowed to fill in the, fairly easy to fill, blanks about what has transpired between the conclusion of Return of the Jedi and the opening of Force Awakens.

 

The film also combines practical sets, effects and puppetry with the state of the art computer graphics audiences have come to expect from event pictures. It's amazing how a cumbersome puppet alien here and there makes it feels that much more like a Star Wars film. Where it falters is in the final act, which goes further than just paying homage to previous climaxes, and ends up practically redoing the Death Star battle from A New Hope, except this time it's the Star Killer and occupies an entire planet. It's a shame, given the tremendous job the filmmakers were doing with the film's preceding two acts, that they resorted to the sort of climax we've seen before and one for which the Return of the Jedi was criticised as being a repetition of the first film.

 

The Force Awakens sets the stage for an exciting and intriguing new Star Wars trilogy, though with Disney planning one Star Wars film per year in perpetuity, the franchise will end up producing more films between 2015 and 2021 than it did in the 38 years years between the first film and the last prequel. Ever heard of 'too much of a good thing' Disney?