Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)

A retrospective addition to the sci-fi franchise, TFA is a sequel to the events of Return of the Jedi. With the empire in disarray, a similarly ominous group known as the First Order has risen in its place. We meet Rey and Finn who are accompanied by a much-older version of Leia, Han Solo and Chewbacca as they attempt to piece together a galactic map that leads to Luke Skywalker's hermitage. The soundtrack is largely recycled but works well as the film draws heavily on its predecessors and there's a certain amount of charm in seeing the elder actors return to their original roles. If anything, the film is a little too familiar: there's a bad guy who'll remind you of Vader and an even badder guy who'll remind you of the Emperor. Overall, there's nothing much added to here, but it's derivative slant is still light years ahead of the prequel trilogy.

7.5/10