Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015) * * * 1/2

Directed by: J.J. Abrams

Starring:  Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Harrison Ford, Adam Driver, Carrie Fisher, Oscar Isaac, Domhnall Gleeson, Peter Mayhew, Andy Serkis

The Force Awakens (I'll abbreviate the title for my own sanity's sake) returns the Star Wars series to what it was intended to be:   an adventure that has you grinning from ear to ear.    The first three films in the Star Wars series (Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi) were glorious space operas populated with imaginative worlds, even more imaginative creatures, and good old fashioned good vs. evil conflicts.     There were also conflicts within the characters themselves, which added an extra level of suspense.     J.J. Abrams understands what makes Star Wars so enduring and special and he made the film to fit that vision.   

The Force Awakens begins roughly 30 years following the end of Return of the Jedi.    The Empire was seemingly destroyed, but small factions grew into The First Order, led by the masked Kylo Ren (Driver), General Hux (Gleeson), and the Supreme Leader Snoke (Serkis- who has made a career of playing animated characters).    The storm troopers have been assembled to carry out The First Order's attempts to retake the galaxy from the Republic and locate the missing Luke Skywalker, who went into hiding after one of his Jedi recruits turned on him to join the dark side.    That recruit was Kylo Ren.  

The First Order raids the desert planet of Jakku in order to locate the map leading to Skywalker's whereabouts.     The map is in the possession of pilot Poe Dameron (Issac), who hides the map inside his trusted droid BB-8 just before his capture.    The storm troopers commit atrocities against innocent people, which causes a crisis of conscience within one of the troopers (Boyega), who will later be nicknamed Finn after he rescues Poe from the First Order's clutches.  

Rey (Ridley), an orphaned scavenger on Jakku, is also introduced when she saves BB-8 from being kidnapped and turned into scrap metal.    She and BB-8 soon hook up with Finn (who crash landed back on Jakku with Poe after escaping) and the three journey on to return BB-8 to the Republic.   

Characters from the original series also return in major roles, including Han Solo (Ford), now General Leia Organa (Fisher), and the ever hairy Chewbacca.    Without spoiling anything, let's just say that Solo and Leia have a personal interest in Kylo Ren and part of their mission is retrieving him alive.    Kylo Ren himself is at war with the Republic and his good side.    He speaks to the mangled, aged helmet of Darth Vader as a quasi-pep talk to continue to evil ways.    His youth works against him as he found himself betraying his family and turning to the dark side.    Kylo has great mind control powers, but finds he is unable to control Rey.    "The force is strong with her," he tells Snoke, who is a giant hologram.    When we see Ren without his mask, his eyes are watery and bloodshot, as if he were crying.     He responds to bad news by destroying things with his light saber, which looks like flames and is not your mother's light saber.  

Ren's internal conflicts cause poignant moments when facing Han Solo.    On a personal note, having recently lost a child, these scenes take on an extra level of meaning for me.    Their confrontation on the long walkway which stretches from one side of the First Order's much larger Death Star to the other, takes on an epic scope.     It is technically not the Death Star, but for my money it is.   It houses a new weapon which can vaporize whole planets.    The Republic's mission is to destroy the weapon, which involves dogfights with X- wing, Y--wing, and any other flying space fighter ships. 

The most recent Star Wars trilogy, beginning with The Phantom Menace (1999), was more interested in the politics that created the Empire.    The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones (2002) were boring and disengaging.    They played more like intergalactic C-SPAN.     The Revenge of the Sith (2005) was much more satisfying, but each film was bogged down and gloomy.    The Force Awakens, even with its various conflicts and subplots, is as light as a feather and fun.    The 135 minute running time zips by.   Abrams creates the correct tone for this installment of the Star Wars series, which is its heart a throwback to silly space adventures from the 1930's and 1940's.    Abrams is more intrigued by the personalities of his characters.    Without characters to care about, then why would invest our time in what they are fighting for?   

There will be two more installments in this latest Star Wars trilogy.   The Force Awakens set things up very nicely for the next one, which is only titled Episode VIII right now.    I hope the makers continue to follow the roadmap Abrams laid out.    Notice I did not mention much about the technical aspects of the film.    The visuals are well done, but to me, they take a back seat to the people.    That is how it is supposed to be.