And the ‘Force’ is finally back — J. J. Abrams’ Star Wars: The Force Awakens brings back the magic that made the series one of the most powerful franchises in the world. Not only does the original trilogy gets a fourth instalment, popular characters like Princess Leia (now General), Han Solo, Chewbacca, C-3PO, R2D2, the Lightsabers and The Millennium Falcon are back as if they had never left.

Before you move ahead, decide whether you’re a believer in Star Wars or not because either you are with the Force, or against it. Most of those who are with it, know what Star Wars is; for those who don’t know, watching the IV, V and VI flick in the series are advised because only then they would be able to enjoy the VII part. Yes it is as good as a standalone movie but when you can have 100 per cent of fun, why go for the 25 per cent?

The Force Awakens pays tribute to A New Hope in many ways but then moves into a new direction under the ‘able’ command of director J. J. Abrams. The search for Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) is on, three decades after the destruction of the second Death Star. The Resistance is now active under Leia (Carrie Fisher) after the rise of the First Order which is hell bent on taking over the Galactic Empire.

While all this is happening at inter-galactic level, Resistance Pilot Poe Dameron (Oscar Issac) befriends a Storm Trooper whom he names Finn (John Boyega). When the two crash on Jakku, Finn meets Rey (Daisy Ridley) and gets hold of BB-8, the android that holds the key to Resistance’s victory. In comes Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and Chewbacca who help the ‘fugitives’ just like the old days and that too, in the Millennium Falcon. Things go from bad to worse and finally to worst, but the Resistance comes out as a winner, strategically and morally.

Is The Force Awakens a reboot? A sequel? A remake? It is all of the three combined, if you ask me and not one moment does it feel like a drag. The acting and the dialogues took you back in the days of the original trilogy even if you had watched it a week prior to this flick’s release. The villain Kylo Ren (Adam Driver), however, doesn’t seem as evil as Darth Vader but we might see him in revenge-mode the next time Star Wars returns to the screen, hopefully in two years. Yes, there still exist the many unpronounceable-named aliens who play a pivotal role in taking the story forward. That’s how it worked in Star Wars: A New Hope, that’s how it will work in The Force Awakens.

Published in Dawn, Young World, January 9th, 2015