THE BEST OF 2015 - The Best MOVIES Of The Year

THE YEAR IN MOVIES - 2015

- It's been quite a year at the movies. But let's face it, this will forever go down as the year of Star Wars. All year, the anticipation built for The Force Awakens. And since December 18th, it feels like all anyone who's a movie fan can talk or write or think about is The Force Awakens. So what does it all mean for movies? First of all, let's take a step back and acknowledge that Star Wars is much more than just a movie - it's a giant multimedia franchise with decades of cultural history and baggage. When we see a new Star Wars movie, we're not *just* watching a movie - we're practically watching the next chapter in our collective pop-mythology. From a critical standpoint, it's hard to talk about The Force Awakens and not get caught up in all the other *stuff* that is tangential to the movie itself. Hence, endless think-pieces that, while interesting food for thought, are often merely projecting the writer's predisposed feelings about Star Wars (and George Lucas, JJ Abrams, Disney, the prequels, the merchandising, and blockbuster movies in general). The fact is though - The Force Awakens was a pretty amazing piece of pop entertainment. It may have had some issues with its storytelling (too much contrived mystery, too much choppy plotting), but let's also admit that the film's story has been analyzed far beyond that of most big blockbuster films. If we'd put the original trilogy and/or any number of other big blockbusters through a similar microscope, we'd find as many (and likely many more) holes. The Force Awakens works so well though because it has the kind of character, heart, visual artistry, and old-fashioned "movie magic" that so many big films today lack. It's a movie that begs for a second or third viewing. It's a movie that will inspire people. That to me is the ultimate takeaway from the movie's success - the epic sci-fi stories, superhero sagas, and fantasy worlds that were once for a select few are now, officially, for everyone. Ultimately, I think that's a big net positive.

And yet ... there is another. The best big blockbuster of 2015 was, no question, the superlative Mad Max: Fury Road. It's hard to describe to skeptics just why the movie works so well - you just have to see it to understand. But no other movie this year so completely floored me. The combination of incredible characters, amazing world-design, propulsive action, and thematic depth made this one of the best action/adventure movies of all time. Prior to Fury Road, the Mad Max franchise was iconic. Now, it's a whole new level of legendary.

Indeed, 2015 was a landmark year for genre film. It Follows was one of the best horror movies of the last several years - a low-budget indie that was so creative and fun that it made you want to go make your own horror movie immediately (seriously: the movie inspired me to take a stab at my first-ever horror screenplay). Ex Machina was exactly the kind of high-minded sci-fi film I love - dark, boundary-pushing, and thought-provoking. Same goes for the future cult-classic Predestination. The Martian mixed real science with a near-future sci-fi premise to achieve greatness - and it marked a welcome return to space for the great Ridley Scott. We got a new Western from the king of genre mash-ups, Quentin Tarantino - and man, The Hateful Eight was a rip-roaring exercise in awesomeness, with an all-star cast of badass actors. And it wasn't even the only badass Western this year starring Kurt Russell! As if his role in The Hateful Eight wasn't enough, Russell also starred in the certifiably kick-ass Western/horror mash-up Bone Tomahawk, and appeared in Furious 7. 2015 was a full-on Kurt Russell Renaissance. For someone like me who grew up on movies like Escape From NY, this was cinematic bliss. Speaking of Furious 7, it was one of a couple of great action movies this year. Another standout was Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation - it was a franchise-best installment, full of some of the coolest set-piece action scenes I've seen in this or any year.

If 2015 had a failing, it's that the big, prestige, Oscar bait-ish movies in many cases fell flat, at least for me. Only a handful - Spotlight, Room, Brooklyn - really lived up to their full potential. Interestingly, one of the year's best high-minded dramas came from Netflix. I was late to watch Beasts of No Nation - I mean, how good could a movie created by Netflix really be? Turns out, it could be amazing. Beasts was a true cinematic tour de force and one of the year's best.

Another underdog that proved to have championship potential was Creed. I wasn't among the doubters - I love the Rocky series, and knew it was in good hands with director Ryan Coogler and star Michael B. Jordan. And Creed did not disappoint - it was not just a great Rocky movie, but a great film, period. Pixar too proved itself again to be the reigning champ of animation. Inside Out was one of their best-ever films - a shockingly sophisticated, amazingly-crafted look at human emotion that was a great film for both kids and adults.

As always, I didn't see everything. But I did see a lot - and overall, I felt really good about the films of 2015. Here are my favorites.

DANNY'S BEST MOVIES OF 2015:

1.) Mad Max: Fury Road

- With Mad Max: Fury Road, director George Miller delivered a master class in how to do sci-fi/action filmmaking right. The action is non-stop and unrelenting, but never boring. It escalates in the same manner as a great song - slowing down, picking up again, and then bringing it all home like some sort of cinematic power ballad. I could talk for paragraphs just about the world of this movie. The characters, the vehicles, the mythology, the look and feel of the movie's post-apocalyptic wasteland. But I could talk just as much about how powerful the movie is thematically: it's one of the best-ever movies about breaking free from oppression and fighting for the right to free will. The battle of wills between Imperator Furiosa and Immortan Joe is one for the ages - an epic chase through the wasteland with life itself at stake.

2.) Room

- There was no moment more tense for me in a movie theater in 2015 than the "escape" scene in Room. It was one of the most edge-of-your-seat moments I've ever experienced while watching a movie. Room completely and utterly makes you root for its characters to get away from the hellish place they're trapped in. And then, it makes you root almost as hard for them to conquer the emotional trauma that they're left with in the aftermath. Room is amazing. Brie Larson's acting here is next-level - even better than her turn in Short Term 12. Kid actor Jacob Tremblay is phenomenal - a truly affecting performance. This is brave, bold storytelling that counterbalances its darkness with life-affirming hope and joy. Go watch Room if you haven't yet seen it.

3.) Spotlight

- Spotlight works on two levels. One, it's an old-school paranoid thriller, a crackling investigative procedural that is a tribute to the power of real, nose-to-the-grindstone journalism. In a world where real journalism is increasingly rare, it's a potent reminder of what we've lost. Second, it's a jaw-dropping reminder of the evils of institutionalized abuse. It shows you the full extent of the Catholic priest abuse scandal with mind-numbing reminders about just how far-reaching the problem was and just how much effort was put into keeping it out of the public eye. The movie has a true ensemble cast. It's not a showy movie, but it has a building intensity that, by the film's end, has built to a fever pitch. Extremely powerful filmmaking.

4.) Inside Out

- Inside Out is an amazing achievement from Pixar. Somehow, it distills complex emotional truths into easy-to-understand concepts and characters. It captures the way we think and feel with startling accuracy. But it doesn't stop there - the film's representation of our thoughts and feelings shows us how alike we all are on the inside. To that end, the film is a remarkable meditation on the power of empathy. Plus, it's also a lot of fun - with a fantastic voice cast and lots of humor. Not to mention, it's got incredible visuals that fully immerse you inside the movie's literal mind-trip. To me, this stands among the finest films Pixar has ever produced - and that says a lot.

5.) The Hateful Eight

- It's a violent, brutal, mean movie, but man, The Hateful Eight is a rollicking good time. With Tarantino, you know you're in the hands of a great storyteller, and this is a story that's got a lot to say. About justice, about race, about revenge, about war, about America. But it says its piece via dynamite dialogue, via larger-than-life characters, with a style and flair and sense of showmanship that are the trademarks of a great Tarantino film. The cast here is populated by all-time badasses doing career-best work. Samuel L. Jackson, Walton Goggins, Kurt Russell, and Jennifer Jason Leigh are all fantastic. This is a movie I won't soon forget, and it's a more-than-worthy entry in the Tarantino cannon.

6.) Ex Machina

- I was an early supporter of Ex Machina, and I'm glad to see that its fanbase has only grown in the months since its release. If nothing else, Ex Machina was further proof that writer/director Alex Garland is one of the best and most interesting filmmakers working today. The guy earned geek-cred for writing movies like 28 Days Later, Sunshine, and Dredd. But man, what a directorial debut with Ex Machina. In a world where sci-fi is too often equated with overblown blockbusters in which lots of stuff blows up, here was a smaller-scale, more intimate movie that really got into the science fiction of it all: here is this new technology - what does it say about us as humans, and how can it be used for good or ill? The movie's got three fantastic leads - Domhnall Gleeson, Oscar Issac, and, in a breakthrough performance, Alicia Vikander as an instantly-iconic android with an agenda. One of the best modern science fiction films, no question.

7.) Creed

- My hope for Creed is that this is the new template for how to continue a franchise. Enough with soulless reboots that lack respect for the source material. If you're going to revive a franchise, do it the right way, and do it in a way where the torch is properly passed. Creed is the ultimate passing-of-the-torch movie. It introduces a new franchise with a new star (a great Michael B. Jordan) and a new director (Ryan Coogler) that could theoretically be the driving forces behind many more movies in the series, for years to come. But it also never forgets its Rocky legacy, and in fact, it gives the Rocky character a great role to play and Sylvester Stallone the opportunity to turn in one of his best-ever performances. Creed feels right. It's a new generation of Rocky movie that's new and fresh and different, and yet it encapsulates all that makes Rocky great. The champ is here, and his name is Creed.

8.) Beasts of No Nation

- A lot of the big, sprawling dramas of 2015 left me feeling a bit empty. But Beasts of No Nation shook me to my core. A moving, powerful, unforgettable story - it's the fictional tale of a young boy in a war-torn African country, who is recruited by an unhinged general to be a soldier in his child army. The details are fictional, but the core truths at the movie's center are all too real - an affecting, eye-opening look at the world we live in today. Idris Elba is in acting beast-mode here, turning in the performance of a lifetime as the fearsome Commandant. And child actor Abraham Attah is phenomenal - showing us how a wide-eyed, innocent kid is turned into a soulless killer. Director Cary Fukunaga shows us the unrelenting chaos of war in absorbing, can't-look-away detail. The movie is a gut-puncher, but it's one of the year's best.

9.) It Follows

- Over the last couple of years, I've been really digging the indie-horror movement that's been completely subverting expectations about what the genre can be. Now, in the wake of films like House of the Devil, You're Next, and The Babadook comes It Follows - one of the freshest, coolest, most creative horror movies I've seen in years. The movie's premise is killer - a spectral force that can look like anyone stalks its victims anywhere and everywhere, and the only way to get rid of it is to pass it on through sex. It's the ultimate STD. But aside from that hook, what makes It Follows work so well is the atmosphere director David Robert Mitchell creates - a creepy homage to the works of John Carpenter, and other 80's horror movie icons that emphasized mood and tone over cheap jump-scares. To cap it all off, the movie features a great lead performance from Maika Monroe, who is quickly becoming an iconic Scream Queen of modern cinema.

10.) Star Wars: The Force Awakens

- What other movie generated as much pure excitement in 2015 - or ever? - as The Force Awakens? As I said up top, this is a hard one to talk about purely as a film, because there's so much baggage and weight of expectation that comes with this being the continuation of a saga that fans have waited decades for. But I will say this: the enthusiasm that people have for this movie is no accident. The secret of the film's success is taking the sort of classic, mythic storytelling of the original Star Wars and combining it with new, modern, diverse characters that feel vital and relevant for the times we live in. Star Wars has always had space-opera on a grand scale. But now it's also got a beating heart that, at times, eluded even the original films. Yes, JJ Abrams and team are building on the universe and themes that George Lucas created. But they've also launched a new era for Star Wars in epic fashion. That is no small feat. The movie is imperfect, yes. But at the end of the day, The Force is undeniably strong in this one.

JUST MISSED THE CUT:


11.)  The Martian

- A riveting journey into space and a harrowing survival story, this movie mixes humor, high-adventure, and a real respect for the science of it all, The Martian is a reminder of why Ridley Scott is one of the greatest of all time when it comes to epic, immersive sci-fi. It's got incredible visuals, a smart and witty script courtesy of Drew Goddard, a great leading-man turn from Matt Damon, and a stacked supporting cast.

12.) Wild Tales

- An anthology film about extremes of human behavior, this Argentinian movie is so good that it was nominated for an Oscar last year. It wasn't watchable in America until 2015, but man, I'm glad it was finally made available. It's a funny, shocking, highly-entertaining set of stories in the tradition of things like Black Mirror and The Twilight Zone - twisty morality plays that have to be seen to be believed.

13.) Brooklyn

- Even if you don't like romance, this movie is such a well done one that I guarantee it will win you over. Why? Because this absolutely charming period-piece is a winner - featuring a star-making turn from Saoirse Ronan, as an Irish immigrant in Brooklyn looking to start a new life, but still drawn back to the comfort and familiarity of her home country. The movie's got a smart, funny script from Nick Hornby - and really surprised me with just how much it drew me in and made me cross my fingers for a happy ending for its characters.

14.) Bone Tomahawk

- What's so cool about Bone Tomahawk is that it would still be pretty badass even if it was just a straight-up Western. The movie's first half is just that - and even then, it kicks ass thanks to a fantastic cast (Kurt Russell in top form as the gruff sheriff, Richard Jenkins ruling it as the bumbling deputy) and old-school solid filmmaking chops. But then, the movie kicks into overdrive when it's revealed that the guys Russell and co. are chasing are actually ... wait for it ... deadly mutant cannibals! Hells yeah. If you like badass movies, then this one is essential viewing.

15.) Sicario

- A grim n' gritty descent into hell-on-earth, Sicario is a harrowing look at the violence and chaos that can erupt in Mexican border towns like Juarez as part of the covert but deadly drug-wars being raged. With her intense turn here as an FBI agent recruited for a secret mission over the border, Emily Blunt solidifies herself as cinema's reigning most-badass-female. Meanwhile, Benicio Del Toro turns in a searing performance as an operative whose emotional scars have turned him into a stone-cold killer.

THE NEXT BEST:

16.) Predestination

- Predestination launched unceremoniously on VOD and digital-download services in January, but being a sucker for anything time-travel related, I gave it a look. As it turns out, this Ethan Hawke-starring adaptation of a Robert Heinlein story is actually really great - a well-acted film (in addition to Hawke, there's an incredible central performance from Sarah Snook that deserves to be talked about) with an absolutely killer twist ending. For me, this is a new sci-fi favorite.

17.) Crimson Peak

- Guillermo Del Toro's latest is an atmospheric gothic romance that also happens to be a ghost story. But this movie is pure Del Toro - which means its visuals are jaw-dropping, with unmatched attention to detail and an eye-popping artfulness. If you ever dreamed of a Del Toro-directed haunted mansion movie, well, here it is. And as an added bonus, Mia Wasikowska, Tom Hiddleston, and Jessica Chastain are all amazing here, gothing it up like nobody's business. This movie deserved to do better at the box office, but like other Del Toro films it will live on as an all-time cult classic.

18.) Dope

- Dope is the sort of under-the-radar breakthrough that you love to see as a film fan. It's a Lebowski-esque crime caper, in which a geeky inner-city teen accidentally gets stuck with a bag full of drugs that makes him a target for criminals and cops alike. Shameik Moore breaks out big-time here as nerdy Malcom, and director Rick Famuyiwa shows that he is one to watch.

19.) Kingsman: The Secret Service

- "Manners maketh man." So goes the super-spy credo of Kingsmea's dapper agent played by Colin Firth. Firth kills it in this one - an insanely fun, wonderfully vulgar, over-the-top, action-packed spy movie satire that is one of 2015's best blockbusters. Matthew Vaughn's adaptation of the Mark Millar comic book actually improves on the source material, delivering an applause-worthy deconstruction of the Bond archetype that deserves sequels of its own. Vaughn again proves that he's one of the best, most interesting action directors working today.

20.) Cop Car

- A down n' dirty grindhouse flick featuring a killer turn from Kevin Bacon, this movie casts Bacon as a psycho cop on a rage-filled quest to find his stolen vehicle. As it turns out, his police cruiser's been taken by two runaway kids, who have no clue to what extent they've messed with the wrong guy's car. I really dug this movie - it's a total showcase for director Jon Watts. It's no wonder he's been tapped to direct the next Spider-Man movie, because Cop Car shows that he's the real deal.

21.) Steve Jobs

- I had mixed feelings about this one upon exiting the theater, but over time, I really began to warm up to it. I think the key to appreciating this effort from director Danny Boyle and writer Aaron Sorkin is to realize that it's by no means a literal biography of Jobs, but a theatrical, representational microcosm of his life's defining work. It's a smart, thought-provoking look at the cost that great success and insatiable drive can take on one's soul. Michael Fassbender is electric in the leading role, and the supporting cast is also amazing - Kate Winslet, Jeff Daniels, and Seth Rogen each more than hold their own delivering Sorkin's hard-charging, hellfire-and-brimstone dialogue.

22.) Furious 7

- If I'm being honest, I've got to say this: Furious 7 is one of the most viscerally awesome and kick-ass action movies I've ever seen. Sure, it's all big, dumb fun - but what fun it is. Director Justin Lin cranks things up to eleven with this one, delivering some all-time great action set pieces that left me with my jaw squarely on the floor. The movie's just got a great sense of propulsive fun, with a lovable cast of action titans, including Vin Diesel, Jason Statham, Kurt Russell, Michelle Rodriguez, Ronda Rousey, and The Rock. Plus, it has an unexpected element of heart as well. The death of Paul Walker while the movie was still filming was an unbearably sad tragedy, but the movie pays tribute to Paul in a way that is honestly and sincerely moving. I'm sure few ever expected to shed a tear at a Fast & Furious movie, but this one both kicks ass and tugs at the ol' heartstrings.

23.) Mr. Holmes

- In this tale of an aged Sherlock Holmes' final case, Sir Ian McKellan delivers an acting master class. Playing both a younger, spry-er Holmes as well as an older, more brittle version, McKellan is absolutely phenomenal. An interesting, emotionally-involving twist on the Sherlock Holmes legend, this one is a must-watch for fans of the character and/or of McKellan.

24.) Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation

- Another great action movie that surpassed expectations, this one excels thanks to the back-to-basics direction of Christopher McQuarrie. McQuarrie understands the fundamentals of constructing a great action scene, always clearly establishing the stakes and creating a palpable sense of danger for the characters. Tom Cruise brings his usual high-intensity to the movie as Ethan Hunt, but this one finally makes us care about his supporting cast as well. Plus, Rebecca Ferguson is superb as the movie's deadly femme fatale. I guarantee we'll be seeing a lot more from her in the years to come.

25.) Mistress America

- Another home run for the creative combo of Noah Baumbach and Greta Gerwig. The two created a great film with Frances Ha, and they craft another winner here with Mistress America. They really seem to be making a play to be the modern-day Woody Allen - telling witty, funny, keenly-observed stories about young people in the big city. Gerwig also continues to shine as an actress - here, she is a barely-held-together ball of manic energy that isn't quite the queen of New York she thinks herself to be. I can't wait to see more movies from this team.


MORE GREAT FILMS OF 2015:

26.) Bridge of Spies

- Steven Spielberg tackles the Cold War in this poignant tale of a decent man doing his best to uphold the best of America's values, during a time when those values seem all but lost. The movie gets off to a slow start, but builds towards a whopper of a finale that has a lot to say not just about the Cold War, but about where we are today as a country. Tom Hanks is reliably excellent, but it's Mark Rylance who is the show-stealer - delivering a quietly amazing performance as a Soviet Spy who wants simply to be treated with dignity.

27.) Carol

- Director Todd Haynes makes Carol a powerful story about forbidden romance - less so with words and more so with subtle gestures, glances, and subtext. The always-great Cate Blanchett is a force of nature here, but the real star is Rooney Mara - in a nuanced, understated, memorable performance that boils over with bubbling-beneath-the-surface emotion. An effective look at how beneath the surface of idyllic 1950's America lay harsh realities of social oppression and emotional repression.

28.) Straight Outta Compton

- At times, Straight Outta Compton feels a little too much like a standard-issue biopic. But when it really pops - showing us the big moments in the career of NWA that changed music and pop-culture forever - it's chill-inducingly good. The cast here is universally excellent, and the movie effectively shows how the NWA were at the forefront of a culture war that still rages today. But when the focus is on the music, the movie really shines - capturing the sonic alchemy and lyrical power that made the NWA hip-hop revolutionaries.

29.) Spy

-  Spy is Melissa McCarthy's best-ever movie, and the one that most takes advantage of her considerable comedic skill-set. Paul Feig's witty, playfully subversive send-up of the spy genre was one of 2015's biggest surprises - a film that was really funny, had shockingly great action scenes, and had a lot to say on a meta level about how a great female comic like McCarthy can be used and abused by a Hollywood system that tends to typecast her in unflattering roles. Spy gave me great hope for Feig's upcoming Ghostbusters relaunch. This guy gets it.

30.) The Big Short

- Adam McKay's foray into more serious-business filmmaking - a look at the mid-00's housing market crash that led to financial crisis - is both commendably educational and satisfyingly pissed-off. The film features excellent performances from Steve Carell, Christian Bale, Ryan Gosling, and more - each playing guys who saw the crash coming, but were faced with a system that couldn't see or didn't want to admit that it was on the way. The movie goes a bit off the rails at times, with random cutaways and ADD-pacing. But it also felt like the chip-on-its-shoulder movie we needed going into the 2016 election season.

HONORABLE MENTIONS - OTHER HIGHLY RECOMMENDED MOVIES FROM THIS YEAR:

The Night Before
While We're Young
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
What We Do In the Shadows
Avengers: Age of Ultron
Ant-Man
Goosebumps
Ted 2
Trainwreck
Sleeping With Other People
Trumbo
Everest
Unfriended

INDIVIDUAL 2015 AWARDS:

BEST LEAD ACTOR:

1.) Ian McKellan - Mr. Holmes
2.) Michael Fassbender - Steve Jobs
3.) Abraham Attah - Beasts of No Nation
4.) Matt Damon - The Martian
5.) Michael B. Jordan - Creed

BEST LEADING ACTRESS:

1.) Brie Larson - Room
2.) Saoirse Ronan - Brooklyn
3.) Charlize Theron - Mad Max: Fury Road
4.) Rooney Mara - Carol
5.) Emily Blunt - Sicario

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR:

1.) Idris Elba - Beasts of No Nation
2.) TIE: Mark Rylance - Bridge of Spies, Mark Ruffalo - Spotlight
3.) Sylvester Stallone - Creed
4.) TIE: Samuel L. Jackson and Walton Goggins - The Hateful Eight
5.) Jacob Tremblay - Room

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS:

1.) Jennifer Jason Leigh - The Hateful Eight
2.) Sarah Snook - Predestination
3.) Alicia Vikander - Ex Machina
4.) Kate Winslet - Steve Jobs
5.) Jessica Chastain - Crimson Peak

BEST DIRECTOR:

1.) George Miller - Mad Max: Fury Road
2.) Lenny Abrahamson - Room
3.) Quentin Tarantino - The Hateful Eight
4.) TIE: Cary Fukunaga - Beasts of No Nation, Ridley Scott - The Martian
5.) David Robert Mitchell - It Follows

BEST SCREENPLAY:

1.) Spotlight
2.) The Hateful Eight
3.) Brooklyn
4.) Ex Machina
5.) Steve Jobs
6.) Inside Out
7.) Dope
8.) Room
9.) Bone Tomahawk
10.) Creed

And that's it for 2015 - here's to an amazing year ahead, and to a year full of great movies.

STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS Sets The Stage For a Bold New Generation of Intergalactic Adventure

 STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS Review:

- We are all Star Wars. That's where we find ourselves in 2015. Growing up, Star Wars was a generation's gateway drug into a universe of sci-fi and fantasy. Before I'd even seen the movies, I knew the characters and the mythic storyline via books and toys and pop-culture pervasiveness. I was too young to have seen the original trilogy in theaters, but it didn't matter - the scope and scale and iconography of George Lucas' creation seeped into my impressionable young mind, as if pushed via Jedi mind-trick. Star Wars gets to you early on. When you're too young for headier sci-fi fare, the larger-than-life world of Star Wars still manages to grab you. And it wasn't even the movies themselves. When I think of my earliest Star Wars memories, I think of paging through childrens' books adapted from the movies. I think of staring at the iconic poster art painted by The Brothers Hildebrandt. I think about the Star Wars-themed episode of Reading Rainbow, about boarding Star Tours at Disney World and thinking it was the coolest thing ever. These experiences were all mostly had in isolation. I don't remember talking about Star Wars with other kids. It was something that spoke to me, but I never thought of it as something that could speak to everyone.

Then the lead-up to the prequels happened, and now, finally, we had *new* Star Wars movies to call our own. In retrospect, the prequels were ... weird. My brother and I went to see all of the special-edition re-releases of the original trilogy as they were released in theaters, and they got me more hyped for all things Star Wars than I'd ever been. Quibbles with Lucas' tinkering aside, seeing the original movies, finally, on the big screen gave me a whole new appreciation for the films - they now entered my teenage consciousness in a fully-formed way. I was chomping at the bit for the next chapters. I vaguely remember leaving Episode I on a total cinematic high. But despite all the build-up, finding a fellow Star Wars fan to geek out with in small-town CT suburbia was still pretty difficult. These still felt like a niche thing. These were movies for fans of the originals, they were movies for fans who held onto Lucas' vision and were willing to go wherever he took us. At the time, I was mostly just so excited for more Star Wars that I barely paused to think about the good and the bad of the actual movie. Caught up in a Duel of the Fates-induced euphoria, I was convinced that Episode I was the bomb-dot-com ... Jar Jar and all.

Enter the internet ... and the rise of fan-sites and the neverending daily conversation about movies and pop-culture - with Star Wars, of course, perpetually front and center. Suddenly, my eyes were open to a world of geek cinema fandom, and the endless cycle of anticipation and nerd-rage that came when a big movie disappointed. I began to read more and more about film. I began to see more movies. Eventually, I went to college and began to study film, and screenwriting, and met all kinds of film fans who could talk about these things intelligently. My enthusiasm for Episode I began to fade the more critically I thought about it, and seeing Episode II - and reacting to it (to a Star Wars movie!) with a resounding "meh" was a low point in my (and many others') relationship to Star Wars. Once, Star Wars was this mysterious, fascinating, tantalizing thing. By the time Episode II came out, it was emblematic of what can happen when a once-storied film franchise takes a turn for the worse. Episode III fared a little better. By the time it came to theaters, I had moved to LA, and found myself surrounded by film fans and Star Wars nerds - and routinely went to movies with packed crowds that cheered and clapped and stood in line for hours to see the next big thing. But by the time Episode III came out, Hollywood movie-making had irrevocably changed. All of that nerd-rage that was born of the prequels was channeled into a new culture of film fandom - one that demanded that blockbuster filmmaking be done with the fans top-of-mind. Internet bloggers and reviewers helped topple big films, and prevent big film franchises from ever even getting off the ground. JJ Abrams himself fell victim to this, when a leaked script of his planned Superman revival was met with such harsh internet criticism that the whole project was scrapped. The increasingly vocal fan community became increasingly influential, and the movies that came out began to reflect it. The embarrassingly bad blockbusters of the 90's gave way to the proudly geeky movies of the 00's and '10's. The lukewarm reaction to the Star Wars prequels was drowned out by the rapturous reaction to Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy. Then came Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, and then the Marvel movie empire. The prequel-driven nerd-wars of the 90's ended with the geeks victorious, living in a self-styled world in which nerd-culture was omnipresent. We find ourselves today in a world in which men, women, old, young, black, white - everyone is into this stuff. This is a world in which TV's biggest series no longer star doctors and lawyers, but dragons and zombies. This is a world in which Marvel is a box-office titan. It's a world where sci-fi icons have officially become our universal myths. People used to joke about Star Wars being a religion. It's no longer really a joke. A New Hope was a modern-day creation myth, and from it was spawned the quintessential tale of good and evil for our time. And into this time comes THE FORCE AWAKENS. Into a time when multiple generations have grown up with Star Wars as a way of life. It's a different world then the one I knew as a kid, where this stuff was the secret province of nerds and outcasts. As I said, now: we are all Star Wars.

With all of that said ... the weight of expectation is heavy on THE FORCE AWAKENS. The prequels had the advantage/disadvantage of telling a story whose ending we already knew. Meanwhile, we've been left wondering for years - decades - of what happened *after* the events of the original trilogy. That tantalizing mystery made the choice of the notoriously mystery-loving director JJ Abrams seem all the more appropriate. Abrams has always opposed revealing too much in the marketing of his movies. This has earned him a reputation as a guy who loves to utilize - sometimes to a fault - the proverbial "mystery box" method of storytelling. But it seemed right somehow to give the mystery box guy the keys to the ultimate cinematic mystery box - the box that would finally reveal to us just what the hell happened to Luke, Leia, Han, and the rest after Return of the Jedi.

The power of that mystery - and the thrill of finally seeing this story play out - gives an initial watch of THE FORCE AWAKENS a kinetic thrill the likes of which I've rarely ever felt at the movies before. After seeing the movie, I kept wondering - is this Episode I all over again? Was the thrill of seeing a new Star Wars - one where we had *no idea* what to expect in terms of story (in part thanks to savvy marketing) - so great that it overrode any capacity to properly judge the movie on its own merits?

My initial reaction, upon gathering my thoughts, is that THE FORCE AWAKENS is legit. This is JJ Abram's Star Wars movie through and through, for good and bad. But the good of that is such that it far outweighs the bad. The good is, in fact, the perfect counterbalance to the core problems with the prequels. The thing is: the prequels had a lot of cool stuff in them. They had some memorable action scenes, some fantastic imagery, and a story that - high-level - was a pretty epic tale about a would-be hero's tragic fall from grace. But in the prequels, the devil was in the details. The plotlines were horribly marred by wooden dialogue and characters that felt cut out of cardboard. The prequels were all myth-arc. We never really cared about the characters, because they felt like chess-pieces rather than human beings. But where THE FORCE AWAKENS powerfully pivots is that it's *all about the characters.* The characters in this film - old and new - are holy-crap awesome. And in many ways, that's enough. Is there some sketchiness to the plot? Sure. Are there some plot-points that are frustrating? Yes. But at the end of the day, all is forgiven because the characters take center stage and they are great and memorable and instantly set-up to be fan-favorites forever. If THE FORCE AWAKENS has any one thing going for it, it is this. Its characters are iconic, larger-than-life, but ultimately ... they are *human.* Whereas the prequels often felt cold and alien, THE FORCE AWAKENS bleeds with raw humanity.

In many ways, THE FORCE AWAKENS reminds me a lot of the project that, for me, first put JJ Abrams on the map - Lost. It's interesting, because Lost was one of the first big TV shows that a.) ushered in the age of high-concept, serialized, binge-able TV that we're in today, and b.) because the show, with its pulpy aesthetic and sci-fi mysteries, managed to achieve mass appeal by always keeping the focus on its eclectic and diverse cast of characters (also, much like Lost, THE FORCE AWAKENS is rife with characters who have daddy-issues). If Lost set the template for the modern day pop-cult sci-fi aesthetic, then THE FORCE AWAKENS very much follows suit. It's pop-y, it's full of mysteries, it's seemingly designed to send viewers rushing to the internet to debate its intricacies and attempt to solve its puzzle-box plot-points. In many ways, it feels like a really good and hook-y TV pilot. It's a stage-setter. It's a first chapter. It's a movie that will one day be binge-watched alongside its forthcoming sequels. It ends on exactly the kind of "OMG what-happens-next/what-does-it-all-mean?" cliffhanger that an episode of Lost might have ended on.

The good of this is that the movie propels forward with a nonstop energy. You can't help but hang on every moment, because everything feels new and exciting and not-quite-predictable. The movie darts from set piece to set piece, doling out clues to the bigger-picture storyline in a fashion that will send viewers rushing to Wikipedia post-movie. I mean, you know this is a JJ Abrams movie in the opening seconds. Traditional Star Wars opening crawls have been standard place-setting affairs. Not this one. No, here, there was an audible gasp in my theatrical audience as the first words of the text-crawl became visible onscreen. "Luke Skywalker has vanished." Oh damn. THE FORCE AWAKENS poses and leaves you with *a lot* of questions. If this were a TV show, we'd wait a week for answers. But this is a movie, and so the bad of all this is that we aren't quite sure what is being saved for Episodes 8 and 9 and what's just not there at all. We're not sure what vital info is to be found in the current and future tie-in books and comics and videogames and animated series, and what is just not there because JJ likes his mysteries, dammit. We can't be sure whether to call out some seemingly sloppy storytelling because we're not sure, exactly, what is actually sloppy and what's just being kept intentionally vague because all is yet to be revealed. I've already read a bunch of criticisms of certain coincidences and contrivances where my gut reaction is to say: "yeah, but that will probably be explained in the next movie." But, here's the thing: what if it isn't? And so, in many ways, THE FORCE AWAKENS is a movie that, like a TV series pilot, may only be able to be properly and fully judged in retrospect. And that is, in a way, frustrating. Should not a movie be a complete and closed story in and of itself? Or should we simply embrace the serialized aspect of it all - especially in a world where we are getting things like The Hunger Games and Harry Potter finales split into two movies - and just go with it? The original trilogy, after all, took many cues from old movie serials. And yet ... I've got to wait years for those ever-elusive "answers" (that post-Lost, we know may never even come)? Don't let us down, JJ (and/or Rian Johnson, to whom the Episode 8 reigns will be passed).

But again, all of this trepidation about getting satisfying plot resolution is mostly negated by the awesomeness of the character stuff. As I write this, I am reminded of my own instinctual cringing at the pleas of "it's all about the characters!" that were a perpetual, automatic reply from the Lost showrunners to fans who complained about plot holes and unanswered mysteries. But this is a much different beast, so I'll happily declare that THE FORCE AWAKENS nails its character beats, and nails all of the space-opera stuff in grand fashion. I mean, Star Wars is space opera, and so ultimately this is what matters most. So about those characters ...

Look, I sort of get where some people are coming from when they say that THE FORCE AWAKENS has a lot of echoes of A New Hope - maybe too many. But to me, that complaint is pretty much offset by how fresh its heroes and villains are - and how different they are from any we've seen before in the Star Wars movies. So let's get this out of the way now: Daisy Ridley and John Boyega completely kick ass in this film. They are the next generation of Star Wars heroes, and they are pure rock n' roll, baby. Going in, I was pre-excited about Boyega. He was so great as the lead in cult-favorite Attack the Block that I knew he would be great here. And he exceeds expectations. His character, Finn, is something totally new for Star Wars - he's a stormtrooper who turns against his indoctrination into evil and joins the side of the light. You see, it's been thirty years since the events of Return of the Jedi, and in that time a new incarnation of the evil Empire has arisen. The First Order is a growing threat, and its ranks are populated by a stormtrooper legion comprised of brainwashed soldiers who were kidnapped as children, stripped of free will and free thought, and trained for a single purpose and a life of unquestioning servitude. But Finn breaks free, and in a joyous moment of rebellion he breaks rank and decides that he doesn't want to be a murderer. Boyega expertly conveys the fear and disorientation that comes with breaking free and running away from everything you were. But he also conveys the joy and pride that comes from acting independently and forging one's own identity. Finn is an everyman in a world of larger-than-life heroes and villains. But his unassuming manner can't hide the remarkable strength of will it took to break away from The First Order. Finn is outmatched at every turn. But his basic decency and heart give him a fighting chance. I can't wait to follow Finn in future movies. I can't wait to see where this journey ultimately takes him. He's one of the best-ever characters we've seen in the Star Wars universe, and Boyega delivers one of the most likable, funniest, most heartfelt performances we've yet seen in a Star Wars movie.

I can't wait to see where Finn goes from here. But the single most badass journey within the confines of THE FORCE AWAKENS belongs to Daisy Ridley's Rey. Ridley is fantastic from moment one, giving us yet another totally new character type for the Star Wars films. Rey is a scavenger - a scrappy loner on the desert planet Jakku, a place littered with the ruins of old and long-forgotten battles. Like Luke Skywalker before her, Rey lives a humble life before getting swept up in intergalactic adventure. But unlike Luke's gee-whiz farmboy, Rey is a tough, self-sufficient, highly-capable prodigy who doesn't need the combined mentoring of Obi-Wan and Yoda to forge her into a badass - she already is one. To that effect, I have heard some gripes about Rey actually being *too* competent and awesome. Please. I say it's about damn time that Star Wars gave us a badass female character who's as tough as Han Solo, as determined as Luke Skywalker, and as adept at ass-kicking as Darth Maul. That's not to say that Rey is flawless. Ridley does a fantastic job of portraying Rey as a girl with a hardened shell, who is so single-minded in her own personal quest to find her family that she misses the bigger picture around her, and leaves no room to let others in. It's what makes the burgeoning friendship between Rey and Finn so cool and fun and easy to root for - they are two people who have basically been forever alone realizing the power of human connection and goodness. Aside from all that, Ridley pretty much just breaks out hard in THE FORCE AWAKENS. The entire film is like one giant I'm-a-movie-star-now moment for Ridley. She scales walls like Spider-Man, lays the smackdown with her bo-staff with moves that would make Donatello jealous, and uses force-powers like it's her job. So all hail Daisy Ridley's Rey - the new Queen of the Force.

Before I go further, I'll simply add this: it is pretty damn cool to have a Star Wars film with kick-ass lead characters who aren't all white males. I said it before: it's 2015, and we are all Star Wars. And finally we have a Star Wars movie that reflects that. I love this stuff, and I want everyone to be able to feel the same kind of inspiration that I felt from the original movies. I want there to be no barriers of entry for girls and women and people of color to dig these movies just like I do. And THE FORCE AWAKENS goes a long way towards making that a reality and knocking down those walls.

THE FORCE AWAKENS not only gives us two very unique new heroes, it also gives us a very different kind of villain in Adam Driver's Kylo Ren. Unlike the commanding, imposing, and regal Darth Vader ... Ren is a whiny, temper-tantrum prone, sniveling, emo, mentally-unstable brat. And Driver completely kills it in the role. I've become a fan of Driver over the years, but I wasn't sure how he'd fare as a Star Wars villain. The thing is, Driver brings a level of nuance and depth to Kylo Ren that we haven't really seen in this series so far. Sure, the prequels tried to give Vader/Anakin a more layered backstory, but even with the prequel's origin story, Anakin's flip to the dark side still felt a bit out-of-nowhere and contrived. But in a very short time, Driver completely sells us on Kylo Ren's fractured mental state, making him at once sinister-as-hell yet also oddly sympathetic - with hints that perhaps he has been manipulated into his current state against his will.

Combine the performances of Driver, Boyega, and Ridley and the result is a Star Wars movie that in a short time gives us more genuine emotional investment than all three prequels combined. It's not just that the characters work well in and of themselves - it's that, already, they've got incredible chemistry between them. I'll be honest, I don't know that THE FORCE AWAKENS has any fight scene as intricately-choreographed or as technically-impressive as the big Duel of the Fates face-off from Episode I. But what this movie has - that the prequels and even the original trilogy never quite managed - are big, epic moments that elicit gasps, applause, cheers, and even tears - because they are 100% driven by the characters. I mean, even the original trilogy - I love it - but you sort of watch it at a bit of a remove. It's high-fantasy. But a pivotal scene in THE FORCE AWAKENS between Kylo Ren and Han Solo - holy crap - I was on the edge of my seat, feeling all the feels (as the kids say). THE FORCE AWAKENS works so well because it works on a personal, grounded, emotional level - not just a mythic one.

So ... about Han Solo. As great as all the new characters are, THE FORCE AWAKENS does cash in a lot of nostalgia chips in its strategic utilization of old-favorites. Luckily though, this is not merely a cash-grab for Harrison Ford. In what is undoubtedly the movie's most grin-inducing surprise, Ford comes to play here, and by god he brings it. I mean, this is what we've dreamed of. This is Han Solo returning to action, Chewie by his side. This is Han Solo thrust into two-fisted action, squaring off against hostile aliens, cracking wise, and being awesome. But ... we all know what can happen in the worst-case scenario here. We've all seen Indiana Jones and The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Luckily, THE FORCE AWAKENS does its returning hero proud. Not only is Han Solo's return a memorable and triumphant one for Ford, but Solo is front-and-center, in many ways the heart and soul of the film. The movie does a lot to ensure that Ford comes out looking good. Solo is written as older and wiser and maybe a bit more sentimental and scarred - but still tough-as-nails and quick with a blaster and quicker with a good quip. And Ford gets to play off of Ridley and Boyega and Driver and feed off of their energy and general awesomeness. But even still, give credit to Ford for suiting up and going all in. The film gives us the Han Solo we wanted and needed and dreamed that maybe one day we'd see again - and for that alone you've got to give it props.

Solo isn't the only returning 'Wars vet, and I will say that THE FORCE AWAKENS very effectively layers in its other big original-trilogy returns. Carrie Fischer is used sparingly but effectively as now-General Leia Organa. Mark Hamill ... well, his biggest new-trilogy moments are clearly yet to come, and I absolutely can't wait to see them. Of course, it's always a pleasure to see Anthony Daniels' C3PO - it's no accident that his big return elicited maybe the biggest round of affectionate applause of the film.

There are also tons of great secondary and tertiary supporting roles in the film. On the side of good, Oscar Isaac is a huge standout as the Resistance's ace fighter pilot Poe Dameron. Poe is a pretty major character here, but I'm guessing he'll have an even bigger part to play in future installments. Isaac brings a charm and swagger to Poe that makes him a lot of fun. But the best thing about Poe may be his infectiously-fun camaraderie with Boyega's Finn. It's very easy to imagine a whole Star Wars movie just about the duo's misadventures. Oh, and of course there's BB-8, a really fun, awesomely-designed droid who is destined to live alongside R2 and C3PO as an all-time fan-favorite and kid-favorite. He's great. On the dark side of things, I really dug Domnhall Gleeson's turn as General Hux - the young face of The First Order, who rallies the regime's troops with entertainingly venomous evil-dictator hate-speech. Hux and Kylo Ren make for a great one-two punch, and their strange sibling-like rivalry is going to be interesting to watch evolve over the course of the new films - very curious to see how it plays out.

There are also a lot of wild cards in the film - characters with a lot of potential that we'll just have to wait and see if they live up to. Chief among the characters in this category is the mysterious Supreme Leader Snoke. As played by Andy Serkis, Snoke is a Voldemoort-esque Big Bad who leads The First Order from afar. He appears only as a projection to Hux and Kylo Ren, further adding to his mysterious nature. At first glance, Snoke doesn't have quite the iconic look of Emperor Palpatine - or inspire the same level of awe and fear. But I'm willing to reserve judgement for now. Certainly, I'm incredibly eager to learn more about the guy, and I'm fairly certain that fans will be speculating about Snoke's true nature for many years to come. Meanwhile, there was a lot of early hype about the potential for badassery in the character of Captain Phasma - particularly since she was to be played by fan-favorite Gwedoline Christie of Game of Thrones fame. Phasma emerges from THE FORCE AWAKENS still being all potential. The fact is, she doesn't get much to do in the movie - I kept expecting her to have a major fight scene, but it never came. I've got to figure something was cut out for time. For now, I'll have to keep dreaming of the Phasma/Chewbacca brawl that never came.

Now, as great as most of the characters in THE FORCE AWAKENS are, there are, sadly, some duds. I'm thinking primarily of Maz Kanata, a diminutive, ancient alien creature voiced by Lupita Nyong'o. If Maz is supposed to be this movie's Yoda - well, she sort of misses the mark. The character is hurt from a lack of backstory. Presumably that could be forthcoming, but knowing so little about her makes it frustrating that this previously-unseen character is suddenly presented as an incredibly close confidante of both Han Solo and Luke Skywalker. As is, the film leaves us hard-pressed to understand who this character is, exactly, and what her deal is. Plus, she's just not that visually interesting of a creature-design. It's sort of a shame, because Nyong'o is such a striking and powerful on-screen presence that it makes you wish they had just used the actress to deliver a live-action performance, rather than just her voice. The other puzzling character here is Max Von Sydow's Lor San Tekka. Here is another instance where it feels like some kind of important backstory was left on the cutting room floor. Described as an "old ally" of Leia Organa's, we learn so little about Lor that his small but pivotal role is more confusing than intriguing.

THE FORCE AWAKENS feels new and different, but it also nails the original-trilogy aesthetic that seemed sort of off, at times, in the prequels. Abrams and his team clearly took great pains to match the rust-and-dirt, lived-in look and feel of the originals, and all the locations - from the interiors of the First Order's ships to the cockpit of the Millennium Falcon feel just as they should (the Falcon even gets to keep its old-school, 70's-era vector graphics-based targeting system). Despite the fresh coat of paint, this is Star Wars, no question. Overall, Abrams melds the classic Star Wars staples (wipe-cuts, for one) with a shooting style that is notably Abrams'. Mainly, the slickly-directed action scenes and set pieces feel familiar to those who've seen Abrams' two Star Trek films - themselves a sort of direct descendant of Star Wars and Spielberg and 70's/80's big-action filmmaking. But what I touched on earlier definitely holds true - whereas the prequels often tried to wow us with dazzling lightsaber duels and ostentatious, CGI-filled eye-candy, THE FORCE AWAKENS seems to reign things in a bit and really put character first. That leads to multiple action beats designed to be the same sort of big-applause, splash-page moments that have become a staple of modern blockbusters, from LOTR to Marvel movies. What the action here lacks in terms of memorable choreography, it more than makes up for in emotional stakes. That said, there are moments that suffer from Abrams clearly looking for those emotional stakes somewhat at the expense of logical stakes. The introduction of Han and Chewie is a lot of fun - but the whole logistics of how they happen upon the other heroes feels a bit shoddily constructed (the scene also doesn't take advantage of The Raid's Iko Uwais, Yayan Ruhian and Cecep Arif Rahmanas as hostile space-baddies - give them their own Raid-in-Space spin-off, dammit!). Similarly, one of the big, climactic Resistance airstrike attack scenes is lacking the sublime simplicity of A New Hope's X-Wing raid on the Death Star. And in general, Abrams has a weird tendency to make space travel between planets feel like a mere hop, skip, and jump. It sort of undermines the concept of a universe filled with hidden secrets and backwater outer reaches.

In some ways, the way that characters in THE FORCE AWAKENS hyper-jump in seconds from planet to planet is emblematic of Abrams' overall approach to the movie. It moves along at a breakneck clip - and because there isn't really time to let things simmer, some of the film's literal and metaphorical journeys feel rushed. Like I said, I don't have a problem with Rey being an uber-competent badass. But there is still some wonkiness in terms of how quickly she develops - abilities-wise and relationship-wise. Similarly, the movie has a lot of plot contrivances - stuff that is, on one hand, great fodder for future writers and directors to more fully flesh-out, but on the other hand, frustrating in terms of the feeling of randomness and coincidence that sometimes pervades the film. Again, this is the good and bad with Abrams. He has a knack for world-building, for character creation, for propulsive narrative - but he tends to leave a lot for others to clean up and make sense of. I suppose that part of my general okay-ness with all of the outstanding questions I have about THE FORCE AWAKENS is that I have a lot of confidence in Episode 8's Rian Johnson to really deliver the big payoffs on this film's set-ups.

THE FORCE AWAKENS ultimately works because it gives us the Star Wars movie that was needed to reignite the franchise. In some ways, it reminds me a bit of Man of Steel. That film had flaws, but for me it was such a satisfying counter-punch to the issues I had with Superman Returns that I was more than willing to overlook them. This one is similar in that, at the end of the day, where the prequels felt flat emotionally, THE FORCE AWAKENS is overflowing with emotion and humanity and spirit in a way that even the original trilogy sometimes lacked. Certainly, this is a post-Game of Thrones, post-Marvel Studios Star Wars. In a referential culture, it was inevitable that this new film would have some wink-y references and some Whedon-esque humor. And it was perhaps inevitable - but not unwelcome - that this Star Wars, in an era where we are all Star Wars - would broaden its thematic scope to include more emotional stakes, more diverse characters, and more something-for-everybody-ness. Does it lose some of the George Lucas-infused auteur-ness in the process? Yeah, no question. But it gains a crowd-pleasing, can't-help-but-root-for-it aesthetic that also pushes the kind of nerd-buttons that we've developed in a post-Lost world. This is a Star Wars that seems designed to inspire endless internet-fueled speculation and think-pieces. Already we see the flood of "10 Questions We Want Answered in the Next Star Wars" clickbait articles. In a way, it's annoying. But in a way ... I mean, my god, we're all (emphasis on *all*) excited about Star Wars again - and we can't wait to see what the hell happens next. Is this all a calculated corporate move, or it is just JJ being JJ? A mix of both, I'd guess. But the bottom line is that this is a Star Wars movie that gives us a lot to be excited about, a lot to guess about, a lot to dream about. It takes me back to those early years when I would sort of piece together the plots of the original films on my own - without having even seen them, by looking at pictures and browsing books and imagining what was going on a long time ago in a galaxy far away.

Time will tell how we view this film years from now. But I want to say that the force is strong here. I want to say that THE FORCE AWAKENS has given us the raw materials needed for what may be a very awesome, very epic journey ahead. If nothing else, it's successfully passed the torch to a new generation of super-cool, infinitely potential-filled characters. This is their story now, just as it is all of ours.

My Grade: A-