Star Wars: The Force Awakens

It's both nostalgic and fresh, a tender homage to, especially, the initial Star Wars ("Episode IV: A New Hope"), as well as a bridge to help those of us stuck in the splendor of Hoth edge into the future.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens gives new life to a franchise of hope, resilience, courage and family that's been missing from theatres for far too long.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens honors the series and takes it in exciting new directions. Both The Millennium Falcon and millennials, it would seem, are in good hands.

'The Force Awakens' does what the original films did well - and is also its own, thrilling thing.

Despite the copious servings of tragic threats and good feelings, the production sinks under the weight of its emotional calculation.

It all comes together nicely as the actors breathe vulnerability, fallibility and personality into their roles, with Daisy Ridley being quite the commanding presence. My favourite, hands down, is the cute and rotund droid BB-8.

What it perhaps lacks in narrative originality it makes up for with its fresh characters, fun performances, interesting themes and jaw-dropping action and visuals.

Most importantly, it passes the baton to a new generation quite seamlessly, with its new cast of characters largely expanding rather than contracting.

This is easily one of the best films of 2015 and one of the best in the franchise. It features an outstanding cast with some excellent performances from the new actors joining the saga and powerfully nostalgic displays from the original members.

Starring Daisy Ridley and John Boyega, this welcome shot of fun space adventure took us back into the operatic war between dark versus light.