It seems kind of silly to write a review of a film like Star Wars: The Force Awakens because you are going to see it no matter what some lowly reviewer says, but take solace in this fact: The Force Awakens is a worthy entry in the Star Wars series and just a ton of fun to watch. While it was refreshing to see the old gang again (Harrison Ford was certainly best in show from the original cast, but I also thought Chewbacca was used effectively), I was most impressed by the new characters, especially Daisy Ridley’s Rey and Adam Driver’s Kylo Ren. Philosophically, I’m usually against filmmakers cribbing stories and structure from other movies, but in order to adequately re-energize the Star Wars franchise, JJ Abrams had to follow the proven A New Hope formula to setup this new trilogy, so take that as both a positive and a negative. The pacing is the biggest issue found within The Force Awakens – it just never wants to settle down and explain things a bit better as there is always a setpiece to get to, which can become kind of dizzying after a while. At the end of the day, it is a pleasing blockbuster on many levels and, for the first time in a long time, I’m excited to see where the Star Wars franchise will take us.