The most anticipated movie of the year came out December 18 and exploded the box offices. And no, I’m not talking about Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip. I am talking about the highly-touted Star Wars movie, Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

But before I discuss and review the actual movie I would like to review the experience. To much of Charlottesville’s dismay and astonishment the relatively new mega-theater at the Stonefield shopping center did not show the newest Star Wars movie disappointing many including myself. However, it did give me an excuse to visit the new Violet Crown theater on the Downtown mall. Which may have won my heart over had it not been on the mall. Yet the atmosphere around the movie was phenomenal. Parents seemed more giddy than their children and as the iconic opening rolled I noticed a few adult men with wet cheeks and toothy grins. All of which added to the experience of Star Wars’ rebirth.

I will try to conceal as much of the plot as possible as many readers have yet to see the film but I feel it is important to tie the plot into the review, again fair warning, SPOILER ALERT.

The film begins with a frantic chase for a piece of a map to find the lost Jedi, Luke Skywalker. Meanwhile we are introduced to a rouge stormtrooper with the given name of Finn and an abandoned teen girl named Rey. The two embark on the quest together accompanied by nostalgic heroes Han Solo and Chewbacca.

J.J. Abrams perfectly tied the nostalgia factor into a riveting plot keeping viewers anxious for more. However, the antagonist of the movie, Kylo Ren seeks to obtain the location of Skywalker and destroy the system he is in with a new Death Star-like weapon called the “Star Killer.”. This then leads to conflict resolved by nostalgic characters along with some heartbreaking turns.

The climax will be concealed for those that have yet to view this masterpiece.

First the criticism of the film because everyone prefers leaving with good news. The general events of the movie were too similar to previous movies for my tastes. Rey is essentially Luke Skywalker part two. The conflict with Han Solo and Kylo Ren is analogous to Darth Vader and Luke. And a squadron of X-Wings must precisely attack the planet-destroying mega ship of the First Order (bad guys) to cause it to implode thus saving the galaxy. The next criticism stems from the former, being that the film seemed to be predictable and lacked major twists and turns.

Despite a few criticisms this film was amazing. As I mentioned earlier, there is a perfect combination of nostalgia and action to keep the viewer anxious and in love. However, if you haven’t seen the other Star Wars films do not watch this one. All of the nostalgic effect will be lost on you and as a friend of mine said, “if it wasn’t Star Wars it would be an okay film but because it was Star Wars, it was epic.”