Uncharted 4 review "I don't know why people get into video games!"

Right OK as promised here is the review of Uncharted 4, the latest (and supposedly the last) game in the Uncharted series, which follows the adventures of a treasuer hunter, Nathan Drake, which was released on the PS4 a few weeks ago.  So how does it stack up???  Well let's find out.

So as usual the following story section features.....SPOILERS AHEAD!!

STORY

Right so a bit about the story which is told partly in flashbacks but mainly in the present and to cut to the present stuff it sees its main character, Nathan "Nate" Drake (voiced by Nolan North) who formerly lived the dangerous life of a treasure hunter, but is now married and settled down with his wife, Elena (voiced by Emily Rose).  Nate now does deep salvage work for a company in New Orleans but he still misses the life of adventure.

One night however Nate is visited by his older brother, Sam (voiced by Troy Baker) who during a flasback sequence we were left to believe that Sam was killed during an escape attempt from a jail they sneaked into in Panama.  Sam explains that he actually was survived and was patched up by the prison doctor and he ended serving a life sentence but got broken with help from a fellow prisoner, a drug lord named Hector Alcazar (voiced by Robin Atkin Downes).  However during a flasback sequence after their escape Alcazar becomes angry when Sam appears to have mislead him to know the whereabouts of a legendary pirate's treasure, Captain Henry Avery, so Alcazar gives Sam three months to find it or he will kill him.  Nate on hearing this is at first reluctant to help but realises he little choice and calls up Elena and as a cover tells her he has heard word about a deep salvage job out in Malaysia and he is going ahead with it, while instead he embarks on his journey with Sam to locate the treasure.

So from here Nate and Sam recruit the help of Victor "Sully" Sullivan (Richard McGonagle) to help them out in their quest.  However along the way the three men are confronted by a rival treasure hunter, and the game's main antagonist, Rafe Adler (Warren Kole) who is accompanied by Nadine Ross (voiced by Laura Bailey) who Rafe has recruited Nadine's PMC, Shorline to help them find the treasure.  And what follows is a long and very dangerous journey as Nate and Sam try to race against time to get to the treasure before Rafe and Nadine can....

THOUGHTS

It has to be said that Uncharted 4 really is terrific adventure game that is almost every inch as good as the highly acclaimed Uncharted 2: Drake's Fortunate, which is has often been lauded as one of the greatest games of all time and this one sits very close to it.  And what is key to the game's success next to its gameplay and action is also its engrossing story which really pulls you in and for me its one of those rare things when you play a game that you want to follow the story (cos usually I like to skip to the action!).

But also what works so well in Uncharted 4 is the characters, particularly the four leads of Nate, Sam, Sully and Elena as they are all very engaging and likeable characters.  And I also think its fair to say that the new gritty Tomb Raider games borrowed heavily from the visuals and action of the Uncharted series but the new TR games are nowhere near as fun simply because they forgot to include the element of fun itself and in Uncharted the characters are forever bantering back and forth with witty dialogue, helping to keep the game light hearted.  And that alone makes the Uncharted series way more superior to the new gritty Tomb Raider series.

GAMEPLAY

Anyway moving onto the gameplay well its pretty similar to what went before in the previous games as the main playable character, Nate can do all sorts of moves and is an adept climber as he can jump, sprint, swim, climb, scale ledges and swing on a rope via the use of a grapplehook.  Nate also has access to an array weapons that include pistols, assault rifles, shotguns and grenades but he can also perform melee attacks on his enemies and take the guns of his fallen foes, although Nate can only hold two guns at a time.  Nate can also perform stealth attacks on his enemies and the game features moments where he can hide in tallgrass to prevent himself from being seen to sneak up and kill them off. 

As for others aspects of the gameplay it deploys the use of quicktime events, where you player needs to press a button to make an action to either avoid say falling debris or an explosion and there are sequences where Nate must run away from armoured vehicles or indeed actual explosions that required fast movement.   The game makes use of the quicktime events also later on towards the game's climax during a combat scene but I won't say anymore than that but its pretty much a familiar thing in itself so if you have played Uncharted before then you will know to expect it.

Nate can also drive cars in the game or he can take during certain action scenes, jump between cars and take control of them.  And another feature relating to the cars in the game are the use of a winch which is attached to a car that Nate uses during the later levels which he uses to tie around solid objects (e.g a tree) to pull the car up difficult terrain or even use it to activate other equipment.

GRAPHICS 

As for the game's graphics......well.....what can I say about them?  Well frankly they are utter crap.  Pure crap!  Total pish!  There you go a quick end to this paragraph!

Of course I am kidding, no the graphics are......well quite frankly if there is a better looking game out there just now or has there ever been a better game out there than Uncharted 4 then I have never seen or heard of it, because THIS game's graphics are without a doubt the greatest I have EVER seen in any video game.  The graphics in this game are simply and absolutely stunning and breathtaking and the game's environments are extremely rich, vibrant and colourful looking with loads of great texture and detail down to the sandy beaches to the scabby surface of cliff faces and old buildings.  Its a game which surely does not see any need for 4K gaming to come along anytime soon in a hurry if 1080p HD can still produces games that look as good as this.

Which brings me onto the game's character models which again are just terrific as the characters in the game look almost lifelike and Nate actually kept reminding me of a few different celebrities, as he looks across between the actor, Nathan Fillion and the tennis player, Grigor Dimitrov!  The other characters also look great, particularly Nate's wife, Elena, who in certain moments so lifelike you think are actually looking at a real person.  I mean seriously that is just how good Uncharted 4 looks, its a visual treat.

VOICE ACTING AND MUSIC

As for the voice acting it is top notch and all the cast give great performances throughout and they are given some great, witty dialogue to deliver.

I won't go into too much detail on this but I will quickly mention some of the main voice actors, starting with Nolan North who reprises his role as Nate and he does a great job once again and he plays the part with a great deal of humour, warmth and geniality.  North also get's some great lines of dialogue that include a scene where Nate is at home with Elena and Elena challenges Nate to a game of Crash Bandicoot on her PS1 (yep shameless product placement Sony, or rather Naughty Dog (the company behind both Uncharted and Crash).  And in the scene as Nate loses the game he says to her "So, why do you keep playing this?" and Elena says "Cos I'm great at it!" and Nate says to her "I don't know why people get into video games!".

Then there is Troy Baker who is great as Nate's older brother, Sam, who turns up out of nowhere and they end up going on the treasure hunt together.  Baker is also a very versatile voice actor in the gaming industry so its good to see him get a really good part here as Sam must easily be one of his best voice performances.

Richard McGonagle is also great as Sully, Nate's mentor, who is a wisened and wise-cracking veteran who helps out Nate and Sam.  Emily Rose also does a fine job as Elena, Nate's wife who is unaware that Nate is off on a treasure hunt but (SPOILER!!) she does find out about later on.  Warren Kole also gives a very good performance as the main villain and rival treasure hunter, Rafe, who is after Avery's treasure.  And lastly Laura Bailey does a fine job as the secondary villain in the game, Nadine Ross, although there was some controversy over her casting as she is voicing a South African character but Bailey herself is a white actress and some groups felt it was a racial misrepresentation.

As for the game's music is orchestral score was composed by film and video game composer, Henry Jackman and its a very good score indeed and it perfectly fits the tone of the game as it has plenty of tracks that convey the game's sense of adventure and excitement.  Jackman replaced the original composer of the series, Greg Edmonson and in doing so he's done an excellent job with the game and its probably even a soundtrack you can listen to independent of the game itself.

FLAWS

As for the game's flaws... well Uncharted 4 is so good it doesn't have anything major worth moaning about but it still does have one or two quirky niggles.

And for starters I thought one of the few things wrong the game was its cover system during combat scenes, where Nate tries to duck for cover behind a wall or under a post or a bolder etc, and sometimes Nate ends up not being able to duck properly and he still takes gunfire.  This is also a problem when the enemies often come at Nate from all sides so when he tries to take cover he still get's caught in the crossfire so the cover system is certainly less effective than it was before.

Another issue I had with the game was to do with the inconsistency of its use of in-game physics relating to Nate's ability to drop from certain big distances without dying yet at other moments Nate can appear to be less high up on a platform but when he drops off he will instantly be killed!  So in these moments you think that's where the creators of the game had a big lapse in their logic of keeping the game's system all in check and consistent but instead we get moments we Nate surely in reality wouldn't actually even die from dropping from a fairly small height but in the game he doesn't even take any damage from dropping from greater heights!

And lastly even though the game's story is very entertaining and engrossing I did feel that some of the flashback scenes did drag the pace of the game down a little bit, especially the chapters where it flashes back to when Nate and Sam were kids.  They are OK levels in themselves but next to the rest of the game's epic action and great gameplay, these ones pale in comparison.

Anyway that's it for the flaws.

SUM UP 

So to sum up Uncharted 4 is a terrific game and a great (possible) end to the series and if it is to be the last game it really has sent it out with an almighty bang as the game's stunning visuals, great gameplay and action really sell it.  Not only that the game also has a very engaging story and its characters are really likeable and relatable and that has always been the appeal of the Uncharted series, its not just about the action its also about the story and for me that is what makes a great game.

And if I were to rate this game I would easily give it 9/10 as it pretty much ticks just about every box and any little niggles can easily be forgiven because it gives the player so much fun and enjoyment throughout and I'm sure it will be one that will be on many gamer's favourites list this year.  And if you have a PS4 and are familiar with the series then I urge you to go check it out, you won't be disappointed.

Right so that's it for now and I might be back to try and squeeze in another post before the end of the month.

Anyway till the next one its bye for now.

Top 10 list of boring films

Right!  This going to be a very quick post just for fun and I will do a more detailed post soon most likely of Uncharted 4 for PS4, which I am still playing just now.  Is it any good???  Well you can find out in my review (well either that or just go online buy it yourself or read another review).

Now this is just going to be a quick snap line for each film and I won't necessarily rank them in order of the most boring ever so I will just list them as I think of them.

So without further ado let's sit back and starting yawning ourselves to sleep over some of the most boring films out there.

10. Avatar

At 10 is James Cameron's sci-fi epic, Avatar which for me is one of the biggest yawnfests in cinema, its simply too long and tries to be too ambitious.  We all know its pretty much Dances with Wolves except the wolves are aliens and that is enough reason for anyone to hate straight off, it just does not work.  Anyway for me its a film that quickly loses my attention anytime its on and that's why its on the list.


9. Man of Steel

There is no getting around not only how bad this film is but also just how incredibly boring it is either as the reboot of the Superman franchie should have been wayyyy better than this piece of crap!  Sorry if this sounds pretty damning but Man of Steel sums up everything that is wrong with Superman, not to mention they made the decision of having Russell Crowe as Superman's dad, Kal-El!  Aggghhhh!!  Yep it was scarcely worth thinking about!  And despite all its noisy action, its a film that has plenty of noise and no substance whatsoever and does its main character no justice whatsoever.  Its a dull, boring film through and through so it was just aswell Batman vs Superman was an improvement.


8. Hancock

This ranks as not only one of the most boring Superhero films but probably also as one of the WORST too.  Hancock is a film that really get's on my goat simply as its one where it starts off with a fairly amusing premise of an alcoholic superhero who isn't appreciated but then it soon bogs itself down with pretentious and religious symbolism!  Yep it is not good and it will not long before you will find yourself yawning and falling off to sleep by the end because this film really is super dull and shit too boot!


7. The Da Vinci Code

At No.7 is a film that is so boring and pretentious and up itself was a strange commercial success but as a piece of entertainment it just left confused, bored and frankly uninterested.  And Tom Hanks seems to spend more time wandering around on screen trying to sound clever than actually do anything worth while in the film while the unravel what is supposed to be one of the great scandals in history.  Really??  Who cares!

6. Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones

So at No.6 is the second worst film of the entire Star Wars trilogy (guess what the worst is!) yep Attack of the Clones.  Now to be fair this film does have some enjoyable moments here and there, particularly the last half four or so when the Jedi show up to kick ass and Obi-wan and Anakin take on Count Dooku and then Yoda shows up to struff his stuff.  However in among all that is a very flabby and VERY dull film which is filled with scenes that should have be removed and the scenes that chiefly should have been removed are every scene Anakin shares with Padme as they have offer up the most turgid love story of all time!  Combine all this with the fact that Hayden Christensen gives a performance that a bit of plywood wouldn't envy and it adds up to a very boring experience which is well worth giving a miss, well unless you wan't to see Yoda kick ass.

5. Inception 

At 5 is Christopher Nolan's sci-fi thriller, Inception, which is another one of Nolan's high concept films where cyber thiefs try work their way into subconscious of a target for some reason or another.  And despite featuring a very fine cast of the likes of Leo DiCaprio, Ellen Page and Tom Hardy its just not a very interesting film to watch and its concept is pretty boring overall.  I liked it the first time I watched however at the cinema but on the second viewing I quickly realised it really wasn't that great.  Inception is a dull and frankly overrated experience and that's why its on here.
   
4. Lethal Weapon 4 

OK this might be a bit of a weird choice at this stage (although the list isn't strictly in order of the most boring from 10 to 1, although the last two ARE!) but I thought that this one would go in here, Lethal Weapon 4, which was the last film of the otherwise very enjoyable action series.  However in LW4 things just went really downhill and it featured the usual cast except this time they were given a dull script and a boring storyline which lead to alot of very poor pacing, meadering and VERY long and drawn out end sequence which goes on LONG after the bad guys have been bumped off.  The film's only saving grace is of course the martial artist, Jet Li, who's work is incredible here but other than that Lethal Weapon 4 is more than good reason that not every franchise needs a 4th film.

3. Nixon

At No.3 is one of Oliver Stone's worst films, not to mention of his most boring as this biopic deals with the life of the former president, Richard Nixon, played by Anthony Hopkins.  This is a film I can safely say is one which I probably didn't even pay attention to from star to finish so far that reason alone it had to let it have a spot on here and I think it was just a waste of talent from all those involved in it. (Sorry Oliver but you've made way better than this!).


2. Star Trek - The Motion Picture

So the runner-up spot goes to this utter borefest that made 2001: A Space Odyssey seem like a fast paced action thriller and the only thing it outdid 2001 on was boredom itself.  Yep  ST-TMP was the first big screen outing for the original Star Trek crew but here they were really handed a bum steer with one of the most boring films ever made.

The pacing of the film is mind numbling slow and we are even subjected to VERY long panning shots of the Enterprise in motion and not to mention that the cast are all suprisingly very stilted in their performances, they just don't act naturally at all!  And the film itself doesn't even have a proper villain, its just some sentient lifeform at the end of the day and in a way that sums up the film, just some lifeform with no presence.

Thankfully the series creator Gene Rodenberry was passed over as producer for the infinitely superior sequel, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (which was produced by Harve Bennett) so that ensured audiences wouldn't have to sit through yet another boring pile of crap like this one!

So make no mistake Star Trek - The Motion Picture (or the Slow Motion picture as it is also aptly known as) is only good for catching up on your sleep and not for watching and that's why its on here at the runner up spot.

And the No.1 most boring film (well on this list anyway!) is..........

1. Wall-E  

OK so I'm sure there will be plenty of people that might disagree with this one but for me Wall-E is one of THE most boring films of all time.  Its a film that is yet again essentially trying to copy 2001: A Space Odyssey in its slow paced style and it tells a so-called endearing love story between two robots.  However the execution of the film is just so downright dull and boring I couldn't enjoy any of it at all and you really don't care about any of the characters in it!  Not to mention the film's human characters are so lazy in they can't even get out of their seats!

And the strange thing this is the film itself is highly regarded to this day and received critical acclaim on its release but I personally just don't get it why its so popular.  Its dull, boring, has no real story to it and you are treated to long silences and scenes that don't go anywhere in a hurry and so for me it just had to be at the top of the list. 

Right!  So that's it for another list and apologies if this sounded like a rather negative one but its sometimes fun to be critical too of some of the not so good stuff out there.

So with that I shall say goodnight and see you soon!

The Force Awakens Revisited "That's not how the force works!"

OK!  So this is another post where I revisit one of my previous ones and even though the film in question has only been out for almost 6 months already I figured most people will know the main spoilers in it and the film of course is Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens.

So this post will be expanded a fair bit more and yes it will feature MORE SPOILERS than the previous one but it will also allow me to look at some aspects of the film that I didn't before.  But anyway let's get a move on, get those sabers ready and let's dive in and give this fine flick another look......

So here is the usual warning: SPOILERS WILL BE AHEAD!!

STORY


Right so to recap the main story which is set about 30 years after the events of the Return of the Jedi and the opening scroll tells us that Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) has disappeared.  Also a new evil regime has risen from the fallen Galactic Empire called the First Order who are intent on eliminating Luke aswell as the New Republic.  The resistance are aided by Luke's twin sister, Lei Organa (Carrie Fisher) who is against the New Order and is also determined to try and find Luke.

Meanwhile on the planet Jakku in a village a resistance fighter pilot, Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) obtains a map with the location of Luke, and the village is soon ambushed by First Order stormtroopers lead by the evil Kylo Ren (Adam Driver).  Kylo takes Poe captive but not before Poe stores the map data inside his droid BB-8 who escapes the scene where Ren orders the massacre of the villagers.  BB8 later meets a scavenger, Rey (Daisey Ridley) on Jakku who reluctantly takes the droid with her.

Meanwhile Ren tortures Poe and forces him to reveal BB-8 and then sends an airstrike to Jakku.  Poe however manages to escape with the help of a stormtrooper, FN-2187 (John Boyega) who Poe nicknames "Fin" in a stolen TIE fighter.  Fin reveals to Poe that he felt even though he is a stormtrooper that rescuing him is the right thing to do.  Fin and Poe then crash land their TIE fighter on Jakku where Fin loses sight of Poe and soon encounter Rey and the two of them along with BB-8 escape in the Millenium Falcon.

The Falcon however is soon captured by a larger ship, which turns out to be manned by Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and his good friend and Wookie, Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew).  Together they escape from gangs wanting Han to pay smuggling debts and Han tells Rey and Fin of Luke and how he did create a Jedi order where he trained students but one of them betrayed the order and that is why Luke went into hiding.  And its from here than Han, Rey, Fin and Chewie travel to join up with the resistance to help them to fight against the threat of the First Order aswell as locate Luke.....

THOUGHTS

As the first sequel in quite some time in the Star Wars trilogy, The Force Awakens is a very entertaining, charming and worthy successor to the Return of the Jedi which sees the introduction of some new engaging characters aswell as the welcome return of some olders ones.  The film also manages to succeed in evoking the atmosphere of the original trilogy and it nicely brings in the characters of Han, Chewie and Leia. 

And having watched the film a few more times since then and bought it on Blu-ray its still a film where there is much to enjoy and it looks like it will be one that is worth watching for years to come but I will say a little more on than in my sum up.

PERFORMANCES AND NOTABLE SCENES (Warning this section contains SPOILERS!)

Well moving onto the performance section of the review here is a bit more of what I thought of the performances and overall they are pretty good.

So to start off we have Harrison Ford who is great as Han Solo again and you get the impression that Ford had never really been away from the part as he plays Solo very much the way he did before with a mix of charm, good humour aswell as the rough and ready quality that Solo's character has.

Ford naturally has some great moments such as his opening scene where he arrives oboard the Falcon and he smiles at Chewie saying "Chewie, we're home!".  Then there is the scene where Rey excitedly says when they are onboard the Falcon "This is the ship that made the Kessel run in fourteen parsecs!" and Han angrily corrects by shouting "TWELVE!" and he walks off irritated and says  under his breath, irritated "fourteen".

Then there is the scene where Fin says to Han "Sorry. Han. Mr. Solo. I'm a big deal in the Resistance. Which puts a real target on my back. Are there any conspirators here? Like, First Order sympathizers?".  And Han who sees right through Fin, realising that he isn't really with the resistance says to him "Listen, Big Deal. You got another problem. Women always figure out the truth. Always!".

Another good scene is when Han arrives at the Starkiller base along with Chewie and Fin and Han asks Fin "What was your job when you worked here?" and Fin says "Sanitation" causing Han to angrily grab him and say "Sanitation?!  Then how do you how to disable their shields?!" and Fin says he's doesn't and is here to get Rey.  And this leaves Han dispairing at Fin's naivety and says to him "People are counting on us!  The galaxy is counting on us!" and Fin says "Solo, we'll work it out.  We'll use the force!" and Han says to him scornfully "THAT's not how the force works!".  And as the terrain outside the base is barren, freezing and covered in snow, Chewie grumbles at Han saying something, prompting Han to sarcastically say "Oh, YOU'RE cold?!".

And then there is Ford's last and somewhat heartbreaking moment (SPOILER!!!!!) where Han is killed off by his own son, Kylo Ren, aka Ben Solo.  And its a great moment in the film when Han slowly walks out towards Ren who walks across a platform overlooking a large chasm below and Han shouts out "BEN!".  And in the scene Han confronts Ren and tells him "Take off that mask, you don't need it" and Ren says to him "What do you think you will see if you do?" and Han says "The face of my son" and Ren obliges and takes the mask off.  And as Ren tries to deter Han from his plea to reach him, Han says to him "Snoke is using you for your power. When he gets what he wants, he'll crush you. You know it's true".  And this soon leads into Ren pleading Han to help him rid him of his pain and will he help him and Han says "Yes. Anything!" which leads into Han's demise.  

Daisy Ridley (who actually resembles Hilary Swank) in her first major debut screen role is excellent as the plucky young scavenger, Rey, who get's caught up with the resistance and their cause to fight the First Order.  Daisy is very well cast in the part and she is one of those rare actress who can make a goofy run look quite cute as her run is somewhat goofy in places but she manages to pull it off and make it look strangely adorable.   

Ridley also has some fun moments as well as some good dramatic ones which I will mention one or two more of than before in my last post on the film.

And for starters there is the scene when Rey and Fin are being chased by stormtroopers and TIE fighters and Fin asks if they should escape in one ship that is offscreen and Rey says "That one is garbage!".  However the ship they are running for is blown up leaving Rey no choice but to say "The garbage will do!" and run towards the Millenium Falcon.

Then there is the scene where Rey and Fin meet Han and Chewie onboard their freighter but it is boarded by gangs looking for money from Han and in order to cause a diversion, Fin manages to release carnivorous alien creatures onboard the ship.  However one of them grabs holds of Fin and Rey looks on in horror and runs off to find the nearest control panel and checking the security monitors she manages to close one of the doors on the tentacled beast, severing some of its arms off, releasing Fin.  Rey then runs up to Fin who says to her "It had me!  But the door...." and Rey sarcily says to him "That was lucky!".

And then there is the scene when Rey has been captured by Kylo Ren, who tries to use his force power to interrogate her only to find that she too is strong with the force.  And in the scene Rey struggles against Ren's power at first saying "Get out of my head!" but she soon fights back and looks into Ren and discovers what he is afriad of and she says slowly to him "You are afraid that you will never be a strong as Darth Vader!" causing Ren to let go of his force grip in surprise.

Then there is the fun scene where Rey starts to discover her force powers as she uses the jedi mind trick on a stormtrooper, amusingly named JB-007 and was played by Daniel Craig (who was filming Spectre at the same time of the production of the film).  And in the scene Rey says to JB-007 "You will remove these restraints and leave this cell with the door open" but JB-007 angrily says "I will tighten these restraints, scavenger scum!".  But in the next moment Rey concentrates and refocuses and says again to JB-007 "You will remove these restraints and leave this cell with the door open" and JB-007 obediently does so and Rey then tells him "And you will drop your weapon" and JB-007 casually drops his weapon walking out!

And lastly there is the awesome scene near the end where (SPOILER!!!) after Ren has badly injured Finn in their lightsaber fight, Ren tries to use the force to grab a hold of Luke's lightsaber in the snow but it instead flies past him and right into Rey's hand!  Its easily one of the best moments in the film without a doubt.  
    
Next is John Boyega who I admit I wasn't so keen on at first in the film when I first saw it, however since then his performance as Finn has grown on me a bit more and he does provide some entertaining moments in the film as Fin is essentially a good guy caught up in bad company and he chooses to do the right thing by rebelling against the First Order.

So Boyega has some good scenes in the film that include the one where Fin starts Poe's rescue and Poe asks him what is he helping him and Fin says "Because its the right thing to do".  And in the following scene we see Fin escort Poe as a prisoner and Fin says "OK, stay calm, stay calm" and Poe says "I am calm" and Fin says "I was talking to myself".

Another good scene comes when Fin tries to help patch up Chewie who was shot in the shoulder during a gunfight with stormtroopers but Chewie keeps angrily resisting Fin's attempts to try and bandage him up.  And Han looks back to Fin saying "You hurt Chewie, you're gonna deal with me!" and Fin struggling with Chewie says "Hurt him?  He's almost killed me six times!" and Chewie grabs him by the throat, leaving Fin to gasp and say through his teeth "Which is OK!".

Then there is the scene where Fin tells Rey the truth about being a former stormtrooper and that he was not with the resistance.  And Fin says to Rey "I'm not Resistance. I'm not a hero. I'm a stormtrooper. Like all of them, I was taken from a family I'll never know. And raised to do one thing. But my first battle, I made a choice. I wasn't gonna kill for them. So I ran. Right into you. And you looked at me like no one ever had. I was ashamed of what I was. But I'm done with the First Order. I'm never going back. Rey, come with me".  And Rey looks at Fin and says "Don't go" and Fin says to her "Take care of yourself" and then walks away.

And THEN there is the fun scene where Finn, Han and Chewie arrive inside the Starkiller base and they capture, Finn's former stormtrooper commander, Captain Phasma (played by Gwendoline Christie).  And as they hold Phasma at gunpoint, Fin gloats at her and says to her "Remember me?" and Phasma says "FN-2187" and Fin then says "Not anymore. The name's Finn. And I'm in charge. I'm in charge now, Phasma! I'm in charge!" prompting Han to says "Bring it down".  And in the next scene after Phasma disables the base's shields being held at gunpoint, Finn says to Han "What should we do with her?" and Han asks "Is there a garbage chute.... or trash compactor?" and Finn grins saying "Yeah there is".

There are of course still some moments where Boyega's performance is a bit grating such as early on his incessant gasping and panting in the film after he arrives back at the First Order base in a panic and later when he makes his way through the desert of Jakku, looking for water.  OK these in context are actually both appropriate but they just feel like they overdone by John B quite a bit.   

And of course Boyega's worst moment in the film comes when Finn runs after Rey in the scene where Ren carries her, unconscious, onto his ship and from a distance Finn looks on in horror and shouts at the top of his lungs "REY!!!!!!!!!!!!!".  Its pretty much the equivalent of Darth Vader's "NO!!!!!!!!!!" scene in Revenge of the Sith although I do admit that was far worse than this!  

But to finish on a more positive note for John I just have to add the bit where near the end, Finn confronts Ren using Luke's lightsaber and Ren glares at Finn with hatred and yells "TRAITOR!!!!!".  And as Finn activates the lightsaber, Ren says to Finn "That lightsaber... it belongs to me!" and Finn says "Come and get it!" and they charge at each other and fight.   

Adam Driver is great in his role as the villainous Kylo Ren who is a commander of the First Order and is strong with the dark side of the force.  Driver early on in the film makes a strong impact and he proves to be a very scary and effective villain although Ren's effectiveness does ware off a little as the film goes on but he nevertheless still remains a fascinating character and interesting one to watch.

Driver naturally has some great moments in the film too that include the scene where one of the first order officers delivers the bad news to Ren that they did not retrieve the map from BB-8 and that it escaped with Finn, which causes Ren to go ballistic and smash up a control panel with his lightsaber.  And afterward, Ren switches off his lightsaber and says calmly "Anything else?" and the officer says "Yes they escaped with a girl" which causes Ren to suddenly force grab the officer by the throat and shout "WHAT GIRL???!!".  

Driver also has a good moment which was shown in the trailer where he feels conflict over his emotions between light and the dark side and he says to something or someone off screen "Forgive me. I feel it again... the call from light. Supreme Leader senses it. Show me again the power of the darkness, and I'll let nothing stand in our way. Show me, grandfather, and I will finish what you started!".  And as Ren walks off we see the twisted burned remains of Darth Vader's mask.

Then there is the scene where Ren finally meets Rey in the woods of the planet Takodana and as Rey tries to fire off a few shots of her gun at him, Ren easily deflects them and then uses his force power to freeze Rey on the spot.  And he approaches her saying "The girl I've heard so much about!" and as he uses his powers on Rey he says "You've seen the map" and as the stormtroopers arrive, Ren tells them "Forget the droid, we've got what we need" and let's his force grip go on Ren who simply falls unconscious into his arms as Ren takes to his ship.

Another good scene comes when Ren has Rey held captive and she asks him "Where am I?" and Ren says to her "You are my guest".  And as Rey asks where the others are, Ren asks her "You mean the murderers, traitors and thieves you call friends? You'll be relieved to hear I have no idea" and he looks at her and says "You still want to kill me?".  And Rey replies "That happens when you're being hunted by a creature in a mask" prompting Ren to remove his mask and reveal he has a normal face (or normal-ish!) with no scars and he drops his helmet in what appears to be an ash pit (apparently containing the ashes of his former slain enemies).

And last of all there is Driver's most potent dramatic scene (BIG SPOILER!!!!) where Han confronts Ren at the Starkiller base.  And as Han tells Ren to take his mask off and as he tries to convince his son to come home with him, it leaves Ren in torment.  And Ren tearfully says to Han "I'm being torn apart. I want to be free of this pain. I know what I have to do but I don't know if I have the strength to do it. Will you help me?" and Han says "Yes. Anything" only for Ren to hand Han his lightsaber and he ignites it righ through Han's chest and Ren says to him "Thank you!" just before he deactivates it and we see Han fall into the chasm below.  

Carrie Fisher is also pretty good and its great to see her return as Leia although it has to be said she probably hasn't aged quite as well as Harrison Ford has in appearance and her voice has grown a bit weary sounding with age too.  Regardless of that though Fisher plays Leia with a nice sense of maturity and the old feisty and bitchy Leia is no longer there and instead we have a more serious and mature character.

Fisher also has some good moments in the film that include her first scene where she is reunited with Han and she says to him "General Solo, it is such an honor to see you again".  And as they stand and look at each other Han smiles and says to her "You changed your hair" and Leia quips back at him "Same jacket!".

And later Leia says to Han "You know, as much as we fought, I always hated it when you left" and Han smiles and says to her "That's why I did it, so you'd miss me" and Leia says "I do miss you".  And just after Han hugs Leia goodbye, Leia emotionally says to Han "If you see our son, bring him home".  

Andy Serkis who does the voice of the character, Supreme Leader Snoke, who is strongly associated with the dark side is excellent and makes the character very sinister and makes for a decent replacement for the Emperor.

And as Snoke, Serkis delivers some crucial plot details particularly that (SPOILER!!!!) Han Solo is Kylo Ren's father.  And one scene worth mentioning of Serkis is when Snoke reveals this info as he speaks to Ren and says to him "The dark side, and the light. The droid you seek is aboard the Millennium Falcon in the hands of your father, Han... Solo".  And as Ren says "He means nothing to me" Snoke warns him "Even the Knights of Ren never faced such a test" and Ren says "By the grace of your training, I shall not be seduced" and Snoke says to him "We shall say, Kylo Ren, we shall see!".   

Domhnall Gleeson is not too bad as General Hux, the commander of the First Order's starkiller base but his character is not anywhere near as effective Kylo Ren's as he comes across morely just as an officious bureaucrat and an equivalent of the pompous Imperial officers we had seen in the original trilogy.

However Gleeson does have some good moments and I will mention just one where Hux addresses what appears to be the whole First Order army and delivers a speech just before the Starkiller base launches its first deadly strike against the republic.  And Hux says to them "This fierce machine which you have built, upon which we stand will bring an end to the Senate, to their cherished fleet. All remaining systems will bow to the First Order and will remember this as the LAST DAY OF THE REPUBLIC!".    

Oscar Isaac on the other hand is really good as Poe Dameron, the resistance fighter pilot who plays a key part in the resistance's fight against the First Order.  Isaac plays Poe in a simialr vein as Han Solo, a cocky and plucky pilot who has a good sense of humour but does what he has to in the face of danger.

Isaac also has some good moments in the film such as the scene where Poe is captured by Ren who uses his force powers on him but before hand Poe says nervously to Ren "Do I talk first or you talk first?  I talk first?".  Then there is the scene where Finn helps Poe escape and Finn asks him "Can you fly a TIE fighter?" and Poe confidently says "I can fly anything!".  And as they escape Poe asks Finn what his name is who gives him his Stormtrooper code name and Poe says "What kind of name is that?! You need a name!  I'm gonna call you....Finn!". 

And I will mention quickly, Peter Mayhew who nicely reprises his role as Chewbacca and this time round Chewie is a bit more responsive as the big Wookie and is given a little more to do and Chewie's crossbow weapon is given some real use so much so there is even a moment when Han uses it!   

Anthony Daniels also does well in his role as the trusty C-3PO (or if you want to be crude the gay robot in the franchise!) and provides the odd comedic moment in the film such as when Threepio first appears one of his arms are red but he doesn't really explain why.    

And then there is Dave Chapman and Brian Herri who were the puppeteers for the new droid, BB-8 who just happens to be one of the most likeable robots you will see in any film.  BB-8 actually even manages to succeed in being a better droid than either Threepio or R2-D2 and the droid has some funny moments in the film such as when it uses its mechanical arms to keep itself from falling over onboard the Falcon.  And most notably in another Finn gives BB-8 a thumbs up and BB-8 brings out a small flametorch that is shaped like a thumb to thumbs up back at Finn, which is easily one of the film's funniest moments.

And last of all there is Mark Hamill who doesn't appear long in the film but he does make his presence well known when we finally see him arrive in the film (which is of course right at the end).

DIRECTOR AND MUSIC

As I previously mentioned in my first review, J.J. Abrams has done a great job here with the film and he knows how to work with actors, unlike George Lucas, so he does well at getting good performances from the cast aswell as confidently handling the film's action scenes.  J.J. also has managed to succeed in making Star Wars enaging and just pure fun again after the somewhat boring mediocrity that we were subjected to in the prequels (although to be fair Revenge of the Sith was a pretty decent film).  But anyway in short, J.J. Abrams deserves nothing but credit with what he has accomplished here with The Force Awakens.

As for the music, John Williams again provides the music and he delivers a nice score that perfectly fits in with the previous ones and even though it doesn't stand out as one of his very best, its a score that still stands head and shoulders over many of the ones you hear these days in films.  And the themes worth listening out for in particular are Rey's theme, the music where Rey and Finn try and escape from Jakku in the Falcon and also the music used during the Starkiller base sequence when it launches its first attack (which is very similar to some of the music used in Williams score for the Oliver Stone film JFK).   

FLAWS (Warning this section ALSO contains SPOILERS!!)

So nearly six months on and after re-evulating the film again, does it have any flaws worth mentioning????  Well yes the film still does have some problems and to start off the film borrows heavily from Episode IV and it does recycle quite a few of the plot lines from that film.   

And to elaborate further on this the film uses similar plot devices such as the Starkiller base (named after Luke's initial penned named by George Lucas, Luke Starkiller) which can be used to destroy whole planets is obviously based on the Death Star.  And in order to differentiate the new base from the old Death Stars, they have simply decided to make it much bigger than the other two so that way it can inflict more damage.  Great!  But when it actually appears it still has the same sort of exhaust ports that can be exploited as its weakness so it can be destroyed just like the previous Death Stars anyway regardless of how big it is.

And further to this I also felt the whole idea of the Starkiller base using the sun to charge its energy, or rather drain the sun to recharge its energy also quite ridiculous given that the sun in the film is WAY bigger than the Starkiller base itself!  So how can something smaller possibly drain the energy from something that is much bigger than it?!!  Its simple logic and common sense and it basically makes none in this case!

As for other subplots that were borrowed from Episode IV there is also how Rey is the new Luke Skywalker figure, a scavenger stuck on a desert planet who has no family and eventually escapes to learn about the force.  Not to mention there is the whole idea of Han, Chewie and Finn infiltrating the Starkiller base to rescue Rey (just like Leia in Episode IV) but also to disable the base's shields.  They also recycle aspects of Han, Luke, Leia and Chewie's original escape in Episode IV only this time around, Han is the Obi-wan figure who is killed off as the force apprentice, Rey, looks on above (similar to Luke in Episode IV, well OK he was on the ground level!). 

Another issue is to do with Kylo Ren's character who at first comes across as being quite scary and sinister but as the film progresses and he removes his mask, he loses that fearsome impact that his character had.  And this also highlights a bit of an issue with a bit of inconsistency in Ren's level of training as a dark force warrior, as he appears to be something of experienced dark lord but later on after Ren fights Rey and loses to her, its apparent that he is still something of an intermediate apprentice.  And this is backed up by Snoke's comment near the end where he says to Lux to bring Ren to him so they can complete his training.

I also felt that some of the film's action could have been a bit better although to be fair most of it is pretty good but what was lacking was the actual light saber fights that we see.  Now fair enough, Finn has no force power and he actually does OK at yielding a lightsaber but he is simply outdone by Ren.  However it would have been better to have seen a more dramatic and lengthier lightsaber battle between Ren and Rey and at the end its a bit underwhelming that the seemingly more experienced Ren just get's his ass handed to him by the very inexperienced Rey!  It also suggests that Ren is so use to bullying everyone else who has no force powers that he has become complacement in his own actual fighting skills when it may come to his worthier opponents or more to the point, he hasn't really faced any!   

And last of all it has to be said the film's final scene still really bugs me (SPOILER AGAIN!!!) where Rey finally travels to Luke's location and finds him and she presents him with his lightsaber and the two of them share an emotional silent moment.  Now OK that is fine in itself but the way in which it is presented is just plain daft in that Rey holds out Luke's lightsaber for what feels like FOREVER and she doesn't even move forward to give it to him or anything.  So the film just finishes on the overheading panning shot of Rey holding out the lightsaber to Luke and neither of them make a move!  Now if this was a play in theatre then that would be fine but in the convention of film that last moment just looks stupid!

And I think Jeremy Scott of the Youtube channel, Cinemasins, made a good point when he said he felt that they should have ended the film with Rey taking off in the Falcon to make her journey rather than show her reach her destination and present the lightsaber to Luke.  Ultimately they were just paying lip service to the fans by showing Luke but for me I just felt it was something the film could have done without.  

Anyways that's it for the flaws.

SUM UP

So in summing up after nearly 6 months of its release and having seen about five or six times already, The Force Awakens is still a very entertaining and at times exciting film which serves as a very fine follow up to The Return of the Jedi and it pays plenty of homage to Episode IV even if at times it pays a bit too homage to it! 

The film also has fine performances, great visuals, a sinister villain, some engaging new characters, particularly Rey and Fin and it saw the welcome return of some familiar ones in Han, Chewie and Leia.  And J.J. Abrams here really has managed to make a film that feels like it does belong to the Star Wars series.  And if you STILL haven't seen it yet its well worth checking out.

Right so that's it for now and I will be back again sometime soon with a new post of new hope, erm sorry new content!

Till then may the force....erm sorry what I meant to say is bye for now!