Alright the movie has finally released and The Hoth Spot staff review the new movie.

Steve Rosario

I’ll give it 9.8 Wampas out of 10. Star Wars: The Force Awakens brings the franchise to new heights with a fresh blend of fantastic storytelling and stunning visuals. And it’s got a terrific new trio of seemingly average joes immersed into an incredible new world. The Force has truly been redefined by this exciting new generation of heroes and villains. It’s true, all of it. The puppets, the explosions. They’re real.

Nico Atler

Star Wars: The Force Awakens truly lives up to the hype. It did not disappoint at all. It sent through me on a roller coaster of emotions making me leave the theater filled with joy. The actors all delivered perfectly. Daisy Ridley and John Boyega have perfect chemistry and Oscar Isaac as Poe Dameron is just plain awesome. The humor in this film is perfect. Nothing seems out of place or too goofy like in the prequels. There’s no poop jokes, instead the jokes come organically through the characters. Some say this movie is too similar to A New Hope but I disagree. There are similarities but I don’t mind them.

After the first viewing I thought this movie was pretty near flawless. I had a couple issues with it as some things leave wanting an explanation. One minor gripe about the film is at times it felt and looked similar to the J.J. Abrams Star Trek films which was inevitable. I felt some of the effects and shots were too similar to the two Star Trek films he directed. At one part it even looked and felt like Guardians of the Galaxy to me. I think that scene was the weakest of the movie.  However, this film is so good that can only find errors in these minor things.

Another flaw I could find would be in John Williams’s score. The score wasn’t bad it just wasn’t on the same level as the original trilogy or even the prequels. There’s no song on par with Duel of the Fates or Across the Stars or Battle of the Heroes.

Overall I loved this movie from start to finish. This film is something spectacular and makes you want more. I’ve seen it 4 times so far and I plan on more viewings. This movie is entertainment at its best. I give it a 9/10.

Joshua Mills

Alright, so, the day has finally come. I’ll categorize my review into three main assessments, and go from there. First off,

 

1. The experience: I’ll be honest, it was an amazing experience. Some friends and I had bought tickets for a Cinemark 3D XD showing, and we showed up two hours early to find lines and crowds already lively and long. The hype then managed to grow as we waited and sorted things out with a friend who was still on his way, then they let us into the theater about an hour and a half before the showing began, and the mood and atmosphere was just so excited and happy, you felt a kind of connection to those around you because you all knew what you were there for, and what you shared a mutual love for.

 

But enough of that, you want to hear about the movie. The lights went down, and everyone was ready. The trailers played, and they were good trailers for some great up-comng movies, but as soon as they faded out, and the recognizable break before the movie came, everyone cheered, then went silent. And then the Lucasfilm logo appeared on screen, and nobody could contain their excitement. And then the words, “A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away…” From that moment forward, everyone was enraptured by the screen. I bore a smile on my face almost the whole movie. It was brilliant, a wonderful recreation of what we know and love, taking elements and ideas from the galaxy we remember and bringing them into a different story about a new generation that finds themselves in the shoes our heroes once stood in, not knowing what to do, but with our heroes there to guide them. You could see subtle nods to the old story, and huge introductions of remnants of our old story, from The Falcon to Han Solo to Leia, and more. And everything from the old story was handled with love and respect, in ways that I felt very satisfied with. The movie made you feel so much, for the characters, the plot, it drew you in. And it certainly used nostalgic elements as a leg up, but if it didn’t then we’d wonder where those elements were and why they weren’t there, and I was very happy with how it was handled. It also admittedly had me laughing more than any Star Wars movie before, but not too much, and not in the stupid, silly way that Jar Jar had all the kids laughing. It was real humor, that made the characters more real, and wasn’t forced. I walked out of that theatre with my friends, with my mind satisfied, my heart ravaged, and my expectations met. Perhaps most impressive was the fact that, when it came down to it, the movie did not fail to live up to the hype. It wasn’t a disappointment, it wasn’t another Phantom Menace, it was exactly what it was supposed to be, and for that I love(d) it.

 

2. The pros: It felt like Star Wars. And I’d argue that’s one of the most important accomplishments of the film. The story holds the themes and ideas we’re used to, with characters rising to the task they’re called for when they have no other choice. We see new characters that are acted and introduced very well, get to blend and mix with our old characters who are still their old selves. We see new things that can blow us away, and we get to see that evil never changes, it just comes back again and again, and good always challenges it. We get to see the force handled in the mysterious, inexplicable way that the original trilogy used it, as opposed to the quantifiable way the prequels handled it. The story managed to make you smile, and feel all the nostalgia as well as interest to continue the movie, and managed to bring feeling to the movie to a degree that we haven’t seen before in a Star Wars film. It was an astounding return to a wonderful galaxy.
3. Cons: It’s difficult to get into the cons without getting into spoilers, since most of them are specific and I didn’t feel that any of them ruined the movie. But I’ll try to address them as vaguely as possible. One character in particular seemed a little weaker than I had hoped for, but not to an extreme degree, and it’s indicated that that character will undergo change and strengthening in the future. Additionally, our new light-side force-user seems to figure out the force very quickly all at once, and use it to a greater degree than they should. It’s a little weird and not what we’d expect from someone who’s never used the force before. Lastly, one of the biggest issues that people have been complaining about, is that, yes, there are many plot parallels with A New Hope. Without getting into detail or spoiling anything, there are re-used ideas and it becomes a re-imagining of the plot, with creative modifications and many varied characters and elements. Some find this a problem and are extremely bothered by it. I’m just fine with it. It still turned out to be a great movie, and as long as the next two movies don’t turn out to be reincarnations of the plots of The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, I will continue to not have a problem with it. It was not a perfect movie, but it was no more flawed than our originals

 

 

That ends the review from part of our staff. The Hoth Spot gives the movie a solid 9/10 and is just about what we expected from JJ Abrams. No more, no less. Now we have to wait another two years before we can see the continuation of the new saga but you can keep checking back here and on all of our social media(links in sidebars) to get your Star Wars fill. Next movie, Rogue One.