I'm not a big Star Wars fan, but a free ticket's a free ticket. So I went for the movie, together with an entire animation studio. So there were 200-300 Star Wars fans filling up the cinema hall, except me. But to my delight, the movie experience was pretty good. Objectively better than the one in 2015, and of course, much better than Episode 1, 2, and 3. So why is it good?
Top notch sensory stimulation
For sound and visual effects, there's really not much to be said here. Like the previous movies, they did an awesome job. Plenty of planets, lazers, and explosions.
Well balanced casts (minor spoilers)
The Star Wars movies have always been known to depict a diverse set of casts. It's a space opera, afterall, set in a universe teeming with life. However, this time they've gone a little further, adding a humanoid Asian-looking guy that kicks ass and says funny things. All while looking serious and full of wisdom. Always good to have.
Also this time they've included a much better robot servant than R2-D2 and C3PO. But that will depend on your taste in robots. In addition, this may be one of the few movies where there is a total absence of whiny characters. I don't go to the movies to get annoyed, so it's a huge plus.
Other than that, the lead actress played her role pretty damn well. Well casted. Did I say that she's pretty hawt? I don't know, maybe she's my kind so I may be biased about her performance here.
Story (minor spoilers)
While story isn't one of Star Wars best suits, I think I have actually grown to appreciate the saga, especially now that I'm able to draw parallels with the stories of planet Earth. There's really not much grey area at all in the Star Wars universe when it comes to morality. It's a classic story of good versus evil. How could you not do something about the big ball in the sky called Death Star?
There's definitely plenty of character development that went on in the movie. Escalated pretty quickly too. Just about everyone sacrificed their lives in the end, even if unnecessarily.
Surprise battle scene (no spoilers here)
Enough said. It's short, but worth the price of admission alone.
Verdict
It's quite good and not too bad..
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