Star Wars: The Force Awakens review round-up

Is the new Star Wars film a Force to be reckoned with?

The biggest movie of the year, possibly even the decade, is so close now you can practically feel the excitement in the air. Before The Force Awakens is let loose upon the multiplexes, however, the critics have had a chance to weigh in with their thoughts on Star Wars' return to our screens.

As expected, the film has already been awarded a handful of perfect scores, with Total Film, USA Today, The Guardian and The Telegraph all giving J.J. Abrams' film top marks. Between them, they praised the film for its masterful storytelling, resonant mythology and boundless energy. Total Film did say the film wasn't perfect -despite, bizarrely, awarding it a perfect score- but claimed that for every minor niggle there are ten things the films gets completely right.

Surprisingly, Empire didn't give the film their highest score, opting to give the film four stars out of five. Despite this, they still heaped praise upon the picture, making it clear the latest entry in the Star Wars saga is a big step-up from the dry, joyless prequels. In terms of performances, they said that Daisy Ridley's Rey feels a little short-changed, but had nothing but good things to say about fellow lead John Boyega, and Kylo Ren, the mysterious villain of the piece played by Adam Driver.

Elsewhere the reviews are generally favourable, but one or two of them do take Abrams' vision of Star Wars to task for being too slavish to the original films. Variety knocked the film for its over reliance on fanservice, while The New York Post called it a shameless replay of the franchises greatest hits. A lot of these reviews seem to agree that the film is at its best when looking to the future instead of leaning on the past. Could we be looking at a film similar in structure to Abram's own Star Trek reboot here? One that pays homage to its roots, quietly tying up those loose ends while setting the stage for a whole new mythology?

In terms of negative reviews, there are very few so far. The LA Times called the picture 'erratic' and 'haphazard', but still found it to be an improvement on the prequels. The most scathing review comes courtesy of Roger Moore over at Movie Nation who found the movie too predictable and derivative for its own good.

So, there we have it, The Force Awakens is certainly a winner with the critics, even if their glowing recommendations do come with a few caveats. It'll be interesting to see how fans across the 'net react across the next few days, but for the moment it certainly looks like J.J. and his crew have succeeded in their mission to get the Star Wars franchise back on track.

Explore the worlds of Star Wars: Battlefront with new interactive videos

While the Force Awakens continues to hog the limelight, there's another big Star Wars-themed release right around the corner. Star Wars: Battlefront, developed by the team behind the mega-selling Battlefield series, is a competitive shooter that lets players relive some of the films' most flamboyant fracas.

Aside from series favourites like the Battle of Hoth, players will be able to take part in the Battle of Jakku, an event which will be referenced in the upcoming film. In short, if you've ever wanted to shoot things in a galaxy far, far away, this is the game for you.

For the most part, players will scurry around maps, pew-pewing at their opponents as either a Rebel or Imperial soldier, but there will be opportunities to take control of iconic characters like Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader for short periods. If vehicular cloneslaughter is more your speed, you can also stomp around the battlefield at the helm of an AT-AT, among other iconic vehicles.

Before the game drops on the 17th of November, players can get a closer look at some of the worlds they'll be warring on via a new series of interactive videos. Aside from giving players a feel for the game's various environments, these interactive fly-bys are packed with behind-the-scenes videos, trivia and descriptions of some of the gadgets, gizmos and guns available in the final game.

New Star Wars character posters awaken

With Star Wars: The Force Awakens right around the corner, marketing for the film has steadily been ramping up. With all the trailers out of the way, you'd think there was nothing left to get excited for, but Disney are fighting to keep The Force Awakens foremost in film fans' minds with the release of some snazzy character sheets.

Most of the main cast is present and accounted for, with lightsabers, blasters and - in Leia's case - some kind of hologram, at the ready. There's still no sign of Luke Skywalker, which is only making rabid Star Wars fans even more curious about what role the one-time saviour of the galaxy will play in the new film. Could we be getting a disillusioned, darker Luke? Will he be a full blown villain? Time will tell. The other notable omission is Oscar Isaac (Poe Dameron), who seems to have been sidelined in recent marketing materials in favour of his younger co-stars. A shame, he's one of the character's we're most looking forward to seeing in action.

Director J.J. Abrams and his merry band of film-makers are currently hard at work knocking the film into shape ahead of its December release. If you don't want to wait that long for your next Force Awakens fix, be sure to have a gander at our Star Wars character guide, which will tell you everything you need to know about the film's main movers and shakers.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens Character Guide

"There's been an awakening."

As the hype train for Star Wars: The Force Awakens continues to pick up steam, more and more information on the movie is finding its way out into the big wide world. Much of what makes the film tick is still being kept tightly under wraps, but between all the leaks, speculation, and official press releases, we’re beginning to build a up a better picture of the film’s main movers and shakers, as well as how they fit into the wider Star Wars universe.

If you’ve been living on a moisture farm on Tatooine for the last twelve months, don’t fear, we’ve assembled this handy character guide that brings together everything we know about each of the film’s main characters, before condensing all that info into a single article of easily-digestible, Star Wars-y goodness.

Spoiler warning: The following text may contain slight spoilers for Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

Captain Phasma

How do you make the iconic Stormtrooper look even cooler? By slathering their plastoid shells with a coat of shiny, reflective chrome, of course. Thanks to this eye-catching ensemble, Captain Phasma, or the Chrome Trooper as she was dubbed back when she first appeared, has become one of the Force Awaken’s most talked about new characters.

As with all the coolest-looking members of the Star Wars universe (c’mon, just look at that sweet cape!), Phasma bats for the Dark Side of the Force, and operates out of the Starkiller base alongside fellow neerdowells Kylo Ren and General Hux. Just in case the name wasn’t enough of a giveaway, Phasma’s a Captain in the First Order - a military faction who are picking up where the Empire left off and fighting against the Rebels Forces for control of the galaxy. She is reportedly in command of Finn, the character played by Attack the Block’s John Boyega, and spends the film running him down after he has a change of heart and abandons The First Order.

At this point, it’s unclear just how big a role Phasma will play in The Force Awakens, but rumours indicate that the silvery Stormtrooper will be present in all three films, with a character arc that spans the entire trilogy. The actor filling Phasma’s shiny chrome boots is none other than Gwendoline Christie, who is well versed in the ways of badassery thanks to her time spent playing fan-favourite character Brienne in Game of Thrones.

Although we’ve only been able to snatch glimpses of the character in action, she already has a legion of loyal of fans, not least among them Force Awakens’ director JJ Abrams. During a recent interview, he admitted that Phasma was his favourite new addition to the film, praising Christie's performance as well as the ‘trooper’s ‘undeniable’ visual design. As for that name, fans of the horror flick Phantasm will be delighted to learn that Abrams chose it because Phasma’s design immediately put him in mind of the murderous, mirrorlike sphere featured in Don Coscarelli’s cult film series.

Finn

Having played the lead role in cult Brit-flick Attack the Block, John Boyega is no stranger to the world of science fiction. Still, it’s safe to say his role in The Force Awakens will be the young actor’s biggest yet.

His character in The Force Awakens, who goes by the name Finn, begins his adventure on the side of evil - not to say his character is evil - and can be seen in the trailers tooling around the desert in Stormtrooper armour. That’s right, Finn begins the film as a member of The First Order. For reasons unknown - other than that Finn is stranded on the planet Jakku after his unit desert him - the ex-Stormtrooper teams up with Rey and turns on his former masters.

Official descriptions peg Finn as a conflicted character, one struggling to distance himself from his past. So far, only his first name has been revealed, a move which JJ Abrams says is completely deliberate. This has lead to speculation that the character is tied in some way to a past Star Wars character. Of course, this could just be an attempt by Abrams to throw us off the scent and start making connections where there are none - a tactic the director hasn’t been shy about employing in the past.

Much to the envy of everyone’s inner twelve-year-old, Finn will get to wield a lightsaber - Luke’s lightsaber, in fact - at some point in the movie. A recent promo video shows the young warrior confronting Kylo Ren with the iconic ‘saber in hand. This would seem to confirm the rumours that Finn’s a Jedi, or at least has the potential to become a full, robe-wearing, platitude-spewing wielder of The Force.

Kylo Ren

You can't have a Star Wars movie without a man in black menacing people with a red lightsaber; the original trilogy had Darth Vader, the prequels had Darth Maul, and The Force Awakens has Kylo Ren.

Since his reveal, it’s been confirmed that this mysterious malfeasant isn’t actually a Sith - hence the lack of Darth in his name - but a member of the Knights of Ren. This shadowy sect is affiliated with The First Order and are attempting to take control of the galaxy “using the same power of the Force once used by the Galactic Empire.” It’s also where the Ren part of Kylo’s name comes from.

As you’d expect, the character’s real name remains a closely guarded secret, leading many to speculate that Kylo is related to someone from the original trilogy. Han and Leia’s wayward son? Chewbacca’s secret lovechild? Place your bets now.

Like any good student of the Force, Kylo looks to past masters for instruction, modelling his look and mannerisms on those of the dastardly Darth Vader, who the Knights of Ren hold up as a kind of “martyr” figure. Unlike Vader, however, Kylo Ren is a little rougher around the edges, less fully formed, an idea reinforced by his slightly ragged appearance and unrefined lightsaber. In stark contrast to the traditional glow sticks of doom sported by other Force users, Ren’s ‘saber spits and crackles like the flame from a blowtorch and has two extra blades, which form a sort of lightsaber crossguard.

Lawrence Kasdan, the legendary screenwriter responsible for The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, and now Force Awakens, says Ren’s character (played by Adam Driver) brings his own unique flavour to the saga, claiming that “there’s never been a character quite like the one that Adam plays.”

Poe Dameron 

Played by Oscar Isaac, Poe Dameron is one of The Force Awakens three main leads, sharing top billing with John Boyega’s Finn and Daisy Ridley’s Rey.

Just in case the trailer, which showed the character rocking a Rebel-like uniform whilst crammed into an X-Wing fighter, wasn’t enough of a giveaway, Poe is a pilot for the Resistance. Like most pilots in pop fiction, Poe’s a bit of of a hot-shot; brash, confident and a little bit reckless. He gets the chance to test his mettle after a certain princess charges him with the completion of a mission that could change the fate of the galaxy.

Poe has strong ties to the Resistance movement having grown up on Yavin IV, a place Star Wars aficionados will recognise as the home of the Alliance base which launched the attack on the original Death Star. Unlike his fellow cast members, Isaac hasn’t shied away from talking about his character’s background and motivations. During a Lucasfilm panel, the actor floated the idea that Poe was present during the medal ceremony on Yavin IV glimpsed in the closing moments of the original Star Wars. In Isaac’s view, this event inspired in Poe a desire to get into the hero business and take up the mantle previously held by Luke, Leia and Han.

Poe flies under the alias Black Leader and mans the controls of a sleek, modernised X-Wing starfighter, one that sports a slick orange and black paint job. His co-pilot is the adorable, snowman-shaped astro-droid BB-8, who - if the rumours are true - is holding onto the Skywalker family lightsaber for safekeeping. Is Poe’s mission to get the lightsaber into the hands of Finn or Rey? After seeing the latest footage which shows off Finn brandishing the iconic ‘saber, it certainly looks that way.

Rey

Another character whose origins are shrouded in secrecy, Rey (played by Daisy Ridley) has been described as resourceful, resilient, and not much else. We know that she calls the desert planet Jakku home and - according to a recently discovered blurb for a Rey Halloween costume - lives within the cosy confines of a decommissioned AT-AT. Although a description from the back of a costume box isn’t the most trustworthy of sources, we’re tempted to believe this, especially as it fits with what we already know about the character, namely that she’s a scavenger and has lived on Jakku all her life.

She may have strange taste in home décor, but Rey is one tough gal, a life spent amongst the cutthroats that call Jakku home preparing her for the worst the galaxy has to offer. Are these fighting skills augmented by the Force? The truth is, we don’t know, although another tidbit from that Halloween costume description certainly suggests there’s more to Rey than meets the eye. The blurb describes a sequence that sees Rey facing off against a room of ‘troopers and ‘saber-toting Ren Knights. Although she sounds hopelessly outgunned, the blurb goes on to hint that Rey’s enemies should be more scared of her than she is of them, saying: “It’s not about the strength of the weapon, but the strength of the warrior that wields it.”

Judging by the beat-up, jury rigged speeder we see Rey chugging through the desert on in the teaser trailer, she could also be a gifted mechanic, able to cobble together the junk she finds into working gadgets and gizmos. If this is the case, we fully expect her to MacGuyver her way out of a sticky situation at least once in the movie.

One of the most persistent rumours surrounding Rey is that she is the daughter of Han and Leia. Aside from a few vague hints from Ridley and Abrams, though, this remains unconfirmed. The character has also been referred to as Kira in various press materials, leading many to speculate that Rey is operating under an alias in order to hide her true origins.

Sabers out for new Star Wars: The Force Awakens teaser

The sleeper awakens

There has been an awakening... #StarWars #TheForceAwakens

A video posted by Star Wars (@starwars) on Aug 27, 2015 at 10:00am PDT

I'm not usually a fan of sub-30-second teasers, but when it comes to The Force Awakens I'll take anything I can get. Courtesy of the Star Wars Instagram account, this snippet gives us a glimpse at The First Order's military forces, as well as main characters Rey and Finn in action. It's short but sweet, and features one or two images that are sure to get the Star Wars faithful's pulses racing.

The trailer opens on a group of characters looking out over the First Order's ranks. Quite who they are is a mystery, but I definitely spotted Phasma's chrome dome on the left there. Could the chap at the edge of the dais be Andy Serkis' Supreme Leader Snoke? It's hard to tell, but the character looks human, which doesn't fit with what we know about Snoke's character - Serkis donned a mocap suit for his part, leading many to believe Snoke wouldn't be your run-of-the-mill homo sapiens. Perhaps he's just a lumpy-faced villain, a la Emperor Palpatine, or even some kind of robot-human hybrid?
 
The scene that's likely to push hype-o-meters into the red is that of John Boyega's Finn firing up his lightsaber, awash in neon blue light, amidst swirls of falling snow and looking ready to do some serious damage. An earlier scene - one we've seen in a previous trailer - shows bad guy Kylo Ren firing up his own 'saber in the same snowy locale, suggesting that the two cross blades at some point in the film. Oh, the music syncing up with the lightsabers crackling to life is a nice touch.

Rumour has it the full trailer will be with us by the end of this week.

Is there more to The Force Awakens' Kylo Ren than meets the eye?

When is a Sith not a Sith? 

Empire's exclusive photo gives us a good look at Ren's raw, jury-rigged lightsaber 

With his hooded black cloak, brutal broad-saber, and what appears to be a rather ornate paint-ball mask, no one would blame you for thinking Force Awakens baddie Kylo Ren was a Sith. Turns out that's not the case - while he does bat for the dark side of the Force, Ren doesn't belong to the same order that spawned Dooku, Vader, Maul and Sidious. Unlike the Darths of yore, Kylo's villainous services are engaged by the Knights of Ren, a shadowy faction under the supervision of Andy Serkis' Supreme Leader Snoke.

"Kylo Ren is not a Sith," JJ Abrams told Empire magazine. "He works under Supreme Leader Snoke, who is a powerful figure on the Dark Side of the Force.”

We know that Serkis, who has made performance capture his bailiwick, is playing a digital character, but apart from that, little else about Supreme Leader Snoke has been revealed. 

Away from the subject of villains, Abrams talked a little about the state the universe is in when The Force Awakens kicks off, as well as dropping an intriguing hint about the true nature of The First Order, the evil military force that fills the vacuum left behind by the Old Empire. Up until now, it was assumed The Order was a consolidation of the Empire's remaining forces. Abrams comments, however, cast these imperial upstarts in an entirely new light, suggesting that they are a new outfit, one that worships Vader and wants to rekindle the Empire's plans for galactic domination.

A fanatical cult that worships the Dark Side of the Force? Sounds intriguing. I'm sure we'll learn more about this in the coming months, especially as we draw nearer and nearer to The Force Awakens December release. 

Stars Wars spin-off Rogue One cast is out of this world

One to watch

During their big shindig this past weekend, Disney offered a slew of exciting updates for some of its biggest franchises. One of the most buzz-worthy announcements to come out of the event was the updated cast list for Star Wars spin-off Rogue One.

The list, which includes the previously-announced Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, Riz Ahmed and Forest Whitaker, has been updated to accommodate Mads Mikkelsen, Donnie Yen, Jiang Wen, Alan Tudyk, Ben Mendelsohn.

As far as casts go, this one is pretty stellar, mixing genre heroes with some real big screen heavyweights. Very little is known about the roles each actor is going to fill, or which side of the Imperial/Rebel divide they will fall on, but hopefully we won't have to wait too long for Disney to furnish us with the details.

Tudyk, at least, won't be playing a human, as his part calls upon him to slip into a mocap suit - something the actor will be familiar with from his role in feature-length Converse-ad I, Robot. 

Story-wise, the film follows a crew of Rebel soldiers whose goal is to steal the plans for the Death Star- the very same plans Luke and company use to destroy the planet-sized engine of death in the original Star Wars films. It promises to offer a very different take on the franchise, one that steps away from the simple morality of the series' mainline entries to give fans a glimpse into the murky underbelly of the Star Wars universe.

If I wasn't already excited enough for Rogue One, these new casting announcements have pushed my anticipation for the film into overdrive. Edwards' take on Godzilla may have been divisive, but I think the guy has an over-abundance of talent, and with a cast this strong, not to mention that Disney-sized budget, at his disposal, I'm eager to see what he can do.

I guess we'll find out for sure when the movie blasts into cinemas on December 16, 2016.

New Han Solo film details emerge

'bacca to the future

If you're a Star Wars fan the next few years are going to feel like Christmas - if a whole new trilogy of films wasn't enough, there's also going to be an anthology of movies featuring some of the series' most famous characters. Of these, the most talked about is the young Han Solo film, which turns back the clock to give fans an insight into the rough and tumble renegade's chequered past.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Star Wars producer Kathleen Kennedy took a break from talking up the new trilogy to offer some details on Solo's solo outing, hinting at the direction the new film could take, as well as how it will handle Han's mysterious past.

Anyone hoping for a Han Solo origin story of sorts will be disappointed; though this film will delve into the character's past it won't reveal it completely.

“There’s got to be a reason for the stand-alone film to be," said Kennedy. "And obviously the thing that Star Wars has always done so well is it doesn’t spend a lot of time explaining the stories that have come before. We don’t want to do that either. We don’t want to spend time going back and answering a lot of questions that, quite frankly, I don’t think people want answered. I think the key here is that we are identifying an event or events in Han Solo’s life that gives you some idea of who he is and why he is the character we love.”

She also put to bed the worries that the film would be 'My First Smuggling Run' and feature a Han barely out of diapers: “He’ll definitely be probably in the high teens, low 20s,” Kennedy says. “We’re not introducing you to a 10-year-old Han Solo.”

As for the tone of the film, with Lego Movie/Jump Street duo Christopher Miller and Phil Lord on directing duty, and Lawrence Kasdan and son handling the script, we know the film will probably feature plenty of laughs. This is a Star Wars film, though, so expect plenty of drama and big, galaxy-busting set pieces, too.

While I'm all for a young Solo movie, I do hope Disney carry on making films in the vein of Rogue One - the men on a mission movie from Gareth Edwards that follows the rebel spies who stole the plans for the Death Star - moving away from established characters to to show us previously unexplored corners of the Star Wars universe. As the Knights of the Old Republic videogames have shown, storylines that don't rely on the original trilogy for inspiration can work. 

As for young Han Solo, while the movie is still a ways out, we'll be able to see what the smuggler's been up to since Return of the Jedi this Christmas when JJ Abrams' Star Wars: The Force Awakens blasts into cinemas.

Sequel to Godzilla will be 'bigger and better' vows screenwriter

Hear me roar

Whatever your feelings on the 2014 Godzilla reboot are, there's no denying that the film was a massive success. The King of Monsters' return to the big screen raked in over 500 million dollars for Legendary Pictures, proving that there was life in the old lizard yet.

Many people decry the lack of Godzilla in the film, but as a lifelong fan of the Big G, I thought director Gareth Edwards did a sterling job, hearkening back to the slow build and apocalyptic rhythms of the original fifties movie. Plus, those moments when Godzilla's on screen, especially the climactic three-way battle royale, hit with all the force of a fifty-megaton blast.

With Godzilla's origin out of the way, screenwriter Max Borenstein is promising 'bigger and better' things from the sequel. With the world, not to mention Godzilla's presence in it, well established, there's room for Borenstein to flex his writing skills, throwing more kaiju, as well as spectacle and emotion into the melting pot.

"The response to the first film was really exciting,” he told Collider, "but now that that world is established, we can do bigger and even better things."

The film isn't due until 2018, leaving Borenstein plenty of time to hammer out a great script. By the sounds of it, he's aware of the criticisms levelled at the first movie and the second will be much more in-line with what audiences expect from a big summer monster movie.

Personally, I'm not sure if this is a good or bad thing; I loved the restraint shown in the Godzilla 2014, and felt it was a refreshing antidote to the blaring, CGI-fuelled drivel that passes for your average summer blockbuster. On the other hand, the thought of a no-holds-barred monsterpalooza featuring a who's who of classic kaiju does make me feel a little weak at the knees.