onsdag 17 februari 2016

Exeter ( The Asylum )

Let´s go back into the year 2003. This was the year where Limp Bizkit released their 4th studio album Results May Vary. This was also the year Metallica returned with a new album, after many years, called St. Anger. This was also the year we got to experience the film Matchstick Men, where Nicolas Cage did a surprisingly good performance as con artist Roy Waller. Of course we had more great films released this year, but one film that actually surprised me alot, was the new remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. When i heard about it online, i was not sure if this was a good idea. But director Marcus Nispel proved himself, to be the right man for the job. Very brutal, very gory, and actually some good performances. Critics praised the remake, as well as fans of the original film. And i still enjoy it very much, even today. Marcus moved on to direct more films, including 2 remakes more. First one of these remakes was Friday The 13th. I did not enjoy this remake, and there are several reasons why, but let´s move on. In 2011, Marcus released his remake of Conan The Barbarian. It became a box office bomb and was seen as an awful remake. I would say that Jason Momoa, as Conan, did a descent job. The problem was that the film was quite messy. Nice to see Ron Perlman though as Conan´s father, at least he gave the film some fun moments. After the terrible box office numbers, Marcus took a break, and you really did not hear much from his future projects. Until i saw that his latest film Exeter ( The Asylum ) got a dvd release. I did not pick it up at the release, but eventually got a chance to see it. Is this another great horror release from Marcus Nispel since his Texas Chainsaw remake, or is this even worse than his Friday The 13th remake ?

Father Conway ( Stephen Lang ) is in charge of volunteer work, restoring an abandoned asylum, that used to lock up mentally insane people. Patrick ( Kelly Blatz ) is one of the volunteer workers, who have agreed to help fix up this building. Father Conway is disappointed that Patrick have not applied for college, but he still have hope for him. When Patrick´s friends discover where he works, they begin to plan a party at the asylum. Patrick is not happy about the idea, but agree to let them arrange the event. Amber ( Gage Golightly ) suggest that they should levitate Patrick´s younger brother Rory ( Michael Ormsby ). As they do the ritual, at first nothing seems wrong. Until Rory seems to be possessed. This is just the beginning of a nightmare, that never seems to end.

Since there are so many horror films released every year, i only pick out a certain amount of films to watch. Sometimes, you can get a sense if some films looks really bad, but then again, you could also be wrong. I usually try and look for something original, or classic influenced films, that might have something to offer. So when i found out that director Marcus Nispel have released a horror film called Exeter ( or The Asylum as the title is in the UK ), i thought i might as well check it out. The plot is very basic, young teenagers party in an abandoned mental intitution, and everything goes straight to hell. From here, we get demon possessed people, gory scenes and hysterical people, trying to handle the situation. The plot is not very interesting, but in a film like this, you really care more about the gore, and the demonic bodies. The cast is not completely awful, some of the characters fit into the enviroment. So what is the bad side of this film? Since it is very basic, and we have seen this before, you don´t really get any surprises. When Marcus Nispel directed The Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake, he did manage to throw in a few unexpected twists. In Exeter, he makes things much more easy, and go with the traditional style. if you have at least some surprises, the film might become more interesting. Apart from this, i would say that Exeter is that tries to blend classic horror elements. You can laugh at the special effects, and just enjoy some of the gore scenes. Nice to see legendary actor Stephen Lang as Father Conway, the priest who tries to help teenagers work for a good cause. He is the most interesting personality in this film, and manage to make a pretty solid performance. Is there anything fresh about Exeter ? Not at all.  But that´s ok, this is more of a drunk horror film, that fits when you are having a party. Are you tired of british costume films and just want some flesh wounds and demons ? Then you might give this film a try, besides, if you plan to have a party, nothing works better than demon possessed people going nuts.

Rating: DDD

måndag 15 februari 2016

The Last Witch Hunter

Yesterday was Valentines Day, worldwide. People are going crazy about buying chocolate, flowers, cards, underwear ( at least this is a good idea ). But people seem to forget the 80´s way of Valentines Day. Back in those days, we celebrated with Cannon Films, all the classics like American Ninja with Michael Dudikoff, Delta Force with Chuck Norris and many more. Valentines Day back in those days were more about big guns, special kicks and explosions. If someone handed a bouquet of flowers to Chuck Norris, he would kick them down, faster than the bite of a cobra. This is what Valentines Day should be like, just like in the good old days. But times change, and people seem to be too soft. Luckily we do have some guys who still like to play rough, as Vin Diesel. Most of you know him from the Fast And The Furious Films, or perhaps from the first XXX film. He did do a different action film in 2003, in the film called A Man Apart. This was more of an Steven Seagal type of film, and actually not that bad. Vin Diesel may not be one of the greatest actors of all time, but in the right film, and the right character, he can deliver. I personally enjoyed him in the films Pitch Black and Riddick. Seeing him fighting aliens was a fun ride. The Chronicles Of Riddick, the first sequel to Pitch Black, had a few funny scenes, but was clearly not the right sequel for the first film. The third film Riddick managed to capture more of the style, and feeling of the first film. There are rumours that Universal wish to do a fourth film, but until we get this confirmed, let´s just hope it is possible. Vin Diesel is usually working on more Fast And Furious sequels, so we don´t really get to see him do different genre films. He did do The Pacifier, back in 2005, a comedy that i think reminded us of Kindergarten Cop with Arnold Schwarzenegger, but did not manage to be as funny as this 90´s classic. About a year ago, i was hearing rumours that Vin Diesel would be in an horror action film called The Last Witch Hunter. Considering he have done so many sequels to Fast And Furious, i think the concept of Vin Diesel being a witch hunter would be fun to see. I just got myself a blu ray release of this film, since i was curious to see if he would manage to deliver in a completely different character, and another genre film. Is this the best film we have seen lately from this massive guy, or is this a film that he should have stayed away from ?

Kaulder ( Vin Diesel ) is a witch hunter, who was cursed with eternal life in the Middle Ages, by the Whitch Queen. The Black Plague have been released by the Witch Queen, as she kills Kaulder´s family. Kaulder manage to survie though, but as he is killing her, she gives him a curse, eternal life as punishment. Kaulder works for an organization called The Axe and Cross. Their mission is to make sure that witches who break the law, are imprisoned. Also, they make sure that ordinary humans are not harmed by witch craft. Ever since Kaulder was made imortal by the Witch Queen, he is accompanied by a priest called a " Dolan ". This priest is meant to be record the achievements of Kaulder, and to be his keeper. As the years go by, the 36th Dolan ( Michael Caine ) is now ready to retire. He had a long good run with Kaulder, but decide to retire and let 37th Dolan ( Elijah Wood ) take over his place. The 36th Dolan is found dead in his home, at first it seems to be a natural Death, until Kaulder find traces of black magic have been used. It seems to be the same type of magic that the Witch Queen used, so Kaulder suspect that she might be back. To find out more information, Kaulder visit a bar, where Chloe ( Rose Leslie ) might be able to help him. She is a witch, but a good one. Chloe helps Kaulder create a memory spell, so he can go back and see what really happened that moment, when he became immortal. Is the Witch Queen really back, or is there another explanation to all the evil events ?

Let´s start by saying that this is not a film that will ever be Oscar nominated. With that said, i think you might understand where this is going. The Last Witch Hunter is a silly film in some ways, but at the same time have a nostalgic look from 90´s action films. There were plenty of horror films back then mixed with horror, and i can sense that there are some influences from this time period. Is Vin Diesel a better actor ? Not really, but he works best in action films, where he does more violence, and less talking. In some ways, it is fun to see him do a film like this, because i did not excpect him to do this mix. Remember when Schwarzenegger did End Of Days ? That is actually a good horror action film, and one of the better ones in this genre. The Last Witch Hunter does not manage to reach that high, but i enjoy the concept. I get a sense that here are influences from the 1986 film Highlander here, since Vin Diesel´s character Kaulder, have lived for 800 years, and is still fighting against witches. When we see some scenes, where we see Kaulder as an ordinary human, before he was cursed by a witch, gives us a different perspective of his personality. He had a wife, a child, and all of that was taken away from him. The action scenes looks pretty good for the most part, except from some CGI effects on the witches. One of the best performances here in this film, is Michael Caine. He may not do one of his better performances, but his presence feels welcome. And he does fit to play the 36th Dolan ( a different kind of priest ). Elijah Wood is also here as the 37th Dolan, unfortunately, i don´t feel that he put much effort into his character. Considering he was so damn good in the remake of Maniac, i know he can act, so he have proved himself. Director Breck Eisner have directed many different types of films, maybe his most known ones are Sahara with Matthew McConaughey, or the horror remake of The Crazies from 2010. In my view, i think he manage to deliver some popcorn entertainment with The Last Witch Hunter. It is silly, and you know the acting won´t be very good. But once the action scenes kick in, we can still have a good time. This became a major box office flop in America, doing better in international ticket sales. I guess people did not care about Vin Diesel doing this, so my advice is to give it a chance. Sometimes, it is fun to be reminded of the cheesy action horror films of the 90´s. Excuse me a moment, those damn witches of Granloholm is back, good thing i keep my chainsaw ready.

Rating: DDD

fredag 12 februari 2016

In The Heart Of The Sea

A clear blue sea, what could be better than that ?

Well, not much, except for a white beach, a sunny day, and some Ron De Jeremy Rum in a glass, next to your towel. I simply love being close to the ocean, because that is where i belong. Some people love snow avalanches, snow storms and snow tsunamis, i love palm trees and desert sand, where no snow is ever seen. Ever since i was a child, i loved being close to the ocean, and in the ocean, swimming. As a child, i did read some children books, including some of the old classics that could be found in the school library. Adventure stories would take you away, on great continents, and exotic locations, that felt unreal. I would guess that most people know who director Ron Howard is. Most of you have probably seen in in the classic tv show Happy Days. He was also included in the classic film American Graffiti, where we could see a young Harrison Ford, and Richard Dreyfuss. As the years went on, Ron worked more on directing films, instead of being an actor. And he have plenty of good films in his career that are worth mentioning. You might have seen Cast Away with Tom Hanks ? Or how about the 80´s classic Cocoon ? He also directed the very powerful film A Beautiful Mind, where Russel Crowe did a fantastic performance as John Nash, the nobel prize winner. But my favourite film so far from his catalogue is without a doubt Frost/ Nixon. Based on the true story on Richard Nixon´s tv interview with british journalist David Frost. If you have not seen it, i suggest you buy the dvd. Now, i have not seen either Rush, or Made In America, that he directed in recent years. But when i read that Ron Howard was going to make a movie adaptation on the classic story about Moby Dick, i became curious to see what he would try and bring this adaptation. Knowing that he can direct all kinds of genre films, and have worked with many great actors in many years, is The Heart Of The Sea a worthy adaptation of the classic tale of Moby Dick, or should this film have been left out at sea for good ?

In the year 1850, Thomas Nickerson ( Brendan Gleeson ) invites author Herman Melville ( Ben Whishaw ), to tell him the story of the ship Essex. Thomas is the only survivor left, who knew what happened on the ship, back in 1820. As a young man, Thomas Nickerson ( Tom Holland ) is chosen to go along on the ship Essex, to retrieve whale oil. The ship captain George Pollard ( Benjamin Walker ) is determined that they can manage to get as much whale oil as possible. As they head into an awful storm, it seems that captain George not may have much experience out in the ocean. Luckily, they have Owen Chase ( Chris Hemsworth ), the First Mate on board the ship. He knows how to handle situations, even if the storms can be complicated. Without any luck, it seems as if they crew have problems finding whales. If they don´t get the whale oil, they can´t get paid. In Atacames, Ecuador, the crew see an enourmous white whale, that attack the Essex ship and destroy it. 6 men are killed, and the rest of the crew is forced to travel in a smaller boat. Not knowing how they will survive so far away from home, without water and enough weapons, all they can do is work together. As the days are going by, the crew is in desperate need of a sollution, but is it possible ?

As i sat down in the cinema, i was hoping that Ron Howard would give us a tasteful version of Moby Dick, that feels traditional but still enjoyable. Unfortunately, i have to say that In The Heart Of The Sea is not as effective as it should be. When you have a cast of Chris Hemsworth, Cillan Murphy, Tom Holland, Ben Whishaw, Brendan Gleeson, and many other great actors in the cast, you would expect a lot of great performances. Somewhere along the sea adventure, we do get to see some whale hunting, and some nice special effects. But the story based on the book In The Heart of The Sea, by author Nathaniel Philbrick, is not as powerful as it should have been. Considering that this is the kind of film, a lot of people in all ages enjoy watching, there are some details that could have been made better. The most interesting part of the film, is when Brendan Gleeson as Thomas Nickerson, invite author Herman Melville ( Ben Whishaw ). Brendan is actually the strongest character here, and his story telling makes the film feel more interesting, as he gives the best performance in this film. Ben Wishaw is also good, as he usually is, especially as Q in the James Bond films Skyfall and Spectre. I like Chris Hemsworth as an actor in the Thor films, or in The Avengers films, but here he kind of feels pretty dry. He does not give his character enough power to look like a lead character, where the best scenes are seeing him trying to kill the whales. So even if the cast is ok, the film does not manage to lift the story of the Essex ship much further. We find ourselves in different dangerous sitiations, but without powerful performances, the action scenes are not more than the usual storm outbreaks. I can sense that Ron Howard had a good idea on this film, because i do like some of the whale attacks. Especially when Moby Dick is shown, we finally get what we asked for. But for a film that is over 2 hours, we should have had much more to be served with. In The Heart Of The Sea is not an awful film, it just does not make you inspired of the classic tale of Moby Dick. Such a shame, i was actually looking forward to this film. I still respect Ron Howard, he have given us so many great films over the years, and i still belive in him. In The Heart Of The Sea is not a film i think many people will remember.

Rating: DD

The 5th Wave

If you want to make money, all you need is a solid story about vampires and love triangles.

I think we all knew that after author Stephenie Meyer released her first book about Twilight. Girls went crazy for the story about Bella and Edward, as if this was the greatest book ever written. I will be honest and say, i have never read any of the Twilight books. Why ? Because reading about a romance between a vampire and a teen girl is simply not my thing. I prefer reading about realistic characters, or at least stories that feels interesting. I did see 3 of the Twilight films, the first one and Breaking Dawn Part 1 and Part 2. I made the mistake to see any of them, but at least i can be happy i did not see all of them. These teenage adaptations of books, made into feature films, have been done many times. We had a movie adaptation of The Host, Mortal Instruments - The City Of Bones, and other ones ( that i seem to have forgotten ). I think the best movie adaptations so far, made into motion pictures from famous teenage favourite novels, is without a doubt The Hunger Games. Jennifer Lawrence proved herself in the lead role as Katniss Everdeen, and i doubt we will ever see anyone beat her in this genre. As we all know, making movies from popular novel adaptations are always difficult. And i understand that fans hope that the directors capture the feeling of the books they love. So, here we are with a new film, based on the novel The 5th Wave, written by author Rick Yancey. There are three novels to The 5th Wave, and the final third one is not released yet. Since i have not read these books so far, i did not know what to expect, when the news came out that a movie adaptation of the first novel is being made. But then i saw the name Chloe Graze Moretz in the lead role. As many of you might know, she was really good in the Kick-Ass films. I am looking forward to see her also in Dark Places, a thriller with Charlize Theron. Since i have enjoyed The Maze Runner films, and the Divergent films ( so far ), could The 5th Wave be the adaptation from a sci fi novel, or is this another release in Twilight style, that no one asked for ?

Cassie Sullivan ( Chloe Graze Moretz ) is a normal teenage girl, enjoying life with her friends. One day, everything suddenly changes. Earth is being visited by aliens, who have placed out a giant spaceships, floating all over the world major cities. No one really knows who they are, or what they want. But once the disaster waves strike worldwide, people understand that this is very serious. For each wave, there is a scale. The first wave seems pretty harmless, but for each wave it becomes more dangerous. Cassie escape her home with her little brother Sam Sullivan ( Zackary Arthur ) and her father Oliver Sullivan ( Ron Livingston ). Oliver know of a camp, where people go to eat, get supplies and live as normal as possible. They locate the camp, and decide to stay, while waiting for answers on what will happen next. Suddenly one day, the camp is visited by military forces, led by Colonel Vosch ( Liev Schreiber ). He promise to make sure every child is safe, if they are transported to their military facility. Cassie watches her brother Sam being taken away, while all the grown ups are told to get information. As Colonel Vosch begin to inform everyone, something goes terribly wrong. One of the camp visitors draws a gun, feeling that something is wrong with this operation. People are shot down, as Cassie escapes, trying to get to her brother. Is Sam really safe, or is the military planning something else with the kids ?

Going in to see The 5th Wave in a full packed cinema, i did not know what to expect. I was mostly shocked that so many wanted to see it this night, i think there may have been only 6 chairs empty, and that does not happen very often. As the story begins, i kind of get a feeling that this could be pretty good. You don´t see the aliens, just an enormous space ship floating in the sky. So you really don´t know who these visitors are. Once we are told how they look like, through special made glasses, i kind of felt dissapointed. Luckily, there is a twist further into the story, so everything may not be what you think. Once we find out that the humans, who have survived these waves ( they get bigger for each threat level ), are trying to fight back against the visitors. I have seen a lot of science fiction action films in my days, and after watching The 5Th Wave, i can honestly say that this is not a good adaptation. First of all everything feels very predictable. You really don´t feel interested in the story, and the only times you actually feel interested is the scenes with Chloe Grace Moretz. To see her try and survive, does have a few descent scenes, but not much else. My favourite character in this film, is actually Bailey Anne Borders. She is really tough as the character Julia, who is actually the strongest soldier in her team. If they do make a sequel on The 5th Wave, i hope she returns. The rest of the film is basically following the basic concept of survival, against another life form. That could have been ok, if the story would have been more complicated. Instead, the plot is very simple and very predictable. Director J Blakeson directed the really good thriller The Disappearance Of Alice Creed, so there is no question that he can direct. I don´t know why he choose to make The 5th Wave so simple, i would have liked to see a much darker version, with better developed characters. It is like he choosed to use some parts of the book, but just made it simple. The 5th Wave is not as good as the fans of the book probably was hoping for, but at least it is better than any of the Twilight films. Is there a sequel coming ? Hard to say, but i am guessing we will at least see one more film, depending on how the box office numbers end for this first film. If we ever get attacked by a 5th Wave in Sweden, i have all figured out. I will escape in Ulf Ekmans private jet, and ask Fadde Darwich to fix the champagne party on board the plane. See, i know exactly how to handle the apocalypse.

Rating: DD

torsdag 11 februari 2016

Warning , do not see this documentary film........

Greetings everyone , Daniel here!

I am working on fresh movie reviews , and will hopefully post 2 of them this week. Now , i am writing this to warn you all. Svt , swedish television have made a documentary film called Black Jack - Från Film Till Verkligheten. So what is this documentary film about? A satanic band that have since 1990 made Sweden suffer in eternity. They might look friendly , but once they control your mind with their music, you will forever be trapped in darkness. So why are they not stopped? Because they have too much power and political friends. Make sure no one see this documentary film. If you do, you might not survive.

Cheers from Daniel 

tisdag 2 februari 2016

Jeruzalem

One of the great things about travelling, is that you can learn so much history on many places of this world. Since i have been to 15 countries....so far, i try to check out some museums, and go on history tours when i can. I remember going on one tour especially in Edinburgh, Scotland. The history about Edinburgh is very cruel, and how people were tortured by the bubonic plague, is fascinating, and also disturbing. Witch hunting, and killing people in all kinds of ways, shows us a time, where laws were very different. Of course, every country, or city, have a history that have many details to tell. Glasgow, Dublin, London, Berlin, Prague, there are so many stories i could tell you of what i experienced, but let´s continue with the review instead. I was born a christian, but don´t really go to churches, or read the bible. I think we can make a choice, of how we want to live, and what we want to belive in. But i do know that Jerusalem have a very important history, when it comes to the bible. Every year, millions of people travel to Jerusalem, capital city of Israel, to see very famous locations, and hear stories from biblical scripture. There are many museums to visit, that have a lot to tell about the history of Jerusalem, and i am actually thinking about going here someday. From what i have heard, from people who have visited the city of Jerusalem, is that they love the city, the people, and so much to learn from the history of Israel. I remember seeing some very interesting restaurants on Travel Channel, as they did an episode on the food culture of Israel. Speaking of the bible, i think most people know that the book tell about God and Satan. So what if you get to experience evil in Jerusalem, right in front of your very own eyes ? Jeruzalem, a new found footage horror film, takes on this subject. I actually discovered this film while it was shown at the Fantasia International Film Festival, in july last year. The reviews were very varied, but i could not help to be curious about the concept of the film. Since very few of the found footage horror films are any good nowdays, is Jeruzalem finally a film that keeps the genre alive, or is it pretty much the same as the rest, with no surprises to deliver ?

Best friends Sarah ( Danielle Jadelyn ) and Rachel ( Yael Grobglas ) are travelling to Tel Aviv, to experience new things, meet people and learn a different culture. At the airplane they meet Kevin ( Yon Tumarkin ), who loves to travel worldwide. His plan is to go to Jerusalem, because he is very interested in history, and old scriptures. Rachel convince Sarah that they should change their travel plans, and go to Jerusalem first. Sarah eventually agree, even though she is skeptical. At the hostel they find, they meet Omar ( Tom Graziani ) who welcome them to Jerusalem, and promise to show them around town. Everything looks great, and all 3 of the tourists are having a great time. Until Kevin begin to act strange, as if he is changing his mind on Jerusalem. He seems to know that they are in danger, after a history tour in caves. Rachel is not worried though, she is ready to enjoy her time with Omar and Sarah. But what if Kevin is right, maybe everything is not what it seems ?

The so called found footage horror film is usually very basic, with pretty much the same concept as most releases. One of the few films in this genre, that actually managed to do something different, was a film called Afflicted. It is still one of the better releases in this genre, and if you have not seen it, you should run down and rent it at your local dvd store. Jeruzalem have some elements that you can recognize from Afflicted, it is a story about young people travelling to experiencing the world, and they love to party. The biggest difference between these films, is that Jeruzalem is more based on biblical influences. We do get to see some locations in Jerusalem, where historical places gives the film a realistic look. Of course, since we know this is just a fictional story, we know it will become more unrealistic, once the demons attack. Once you see the demons, they do look kind of creepy with their wings. So the film does manage to make you scared, in certain situations. Directors Doron Paz and Yoav Paz ( both brothers to each other ), have directed one feature film in the past, called Phobidilia. I have not seen the film, but i know that critics have praised the film. This second feature film of them, is perhaps not original in any way. But from an horror perspective, i feel that the concept works pretty good. The camera work is intensive, and the location in Jerusalem is a good location, with mystical dark buildings. One nice detail, is that you are supposed to be following a new camera method, used by wearing digital glasses. So the whole film is basically seen from these special designed camera glasses, where it also scan people, finding their Facebook profiles, and you can also use it as an gps. You get the sense that there is an evil presence over the city. Especially when the demons begin to emerge, things really take a different turn. While watching Jeruzalem, i could feel that we have influences from the spanish horror film Rec here. And that is a good thing, because in found footage horror films, you need to make it instensive eventually, instead of just relying on a few creepy scenes. The acting from lead actors Danielle Jadelyn and Yael Grobglas are fine, but the most interesting character in Jeruzalem is the crazy man known as King David ( Itsko Yampulski ). You will see what i mean, when you hear his story at the mental institution. Jeruzalem may not be original in any way, but from the found footage genre, Jeruzalem manage to deliver at least a good time. Besides, how can you go wrong with demons in a city full of religious people ? A good advice people, next time you go to Jerusalem, make sure you have plenty of Ron De Jeremy Rum, a bag of weapons, and Åsa Romson by your side. This way you know the party will never end.

Rating: DDD

Star Wars The Force Awakens

I am a movie nerd, and i am proud to be one.

I can tell you that, i have seen so many cool movies since i was a child, that it would take forever to count them all. But lets talk about one film that changed the whole world in 1977. It was the science fiction film Star Wars , by director George Lucas. This was a very unique film in many ways. A completely different world of planets, monsters, costume designs, weapons,and strong characters. The film became a worldwide box office hit, and a whole new franchise gave life to an entire new world of science fiction fans. As the sequels came along, the audiences did not let the films down. They are some of the most loved science fiction films of all time. Since the release of Return Of The Jedi in 1983, it seemed as if Star Wars would not return. We all know that it did come back, but it was a long progress, and many ideas shifted apart. It would take more than 15 years, before George Lucas decided to make the three first chapters of Star Wars, back on to the screen. Beginning with The Phantom Menace, this was the first time we were introduced to Anarkin Skywalker as a child. My biggest problem with this film was the character Jar Jar Binks, a character we should not have had included. On the other hand, there are plenty of good looking action sequences, and nice to see Liam Neeson fighting with a laser sword. The second chapter Attack Of The Clones included even more action, and nice to see Yoda in battle. Revenge Of The Sith, the final film of these three films was the most epic film of them all, with much more darkness, more details on the characters. The final battle scene is also something i really enjoyed, as i look back. Since the release of Revenge Of The Sith, you could hear rumors that there was an discussion to bring Star Wars back. Of course, no one knew when this would happen exactly, until information came out that director J.J. Abrams would take on the job, to direct The Force Awakens. Fans worldwide were very pleased about this, because he managed to bring back Star Trek, on a whole new level. And i had a feeling that he could be the right man to continue the story of Star Wars. So, when the film finally arrived to cinemas, i just had to see if cinema magic would be possible again, 10 years later. Is J.J. Abrams finally giving us a Star Wars film in the old school feeling we all wished for, or should they have given the job to another director ?

30 years after the destruction of the second Death Star, Luke Skywalker ( Mark Hamill ), the last jedi, have disappeared. The first order have risen from the fallen Galactic Empire. They seek to eliminate Luke and the New Republic. The Resistance, led by Luke´s twin sister General Leia Organa ( Carrie Fischer ), opposes the First Order, to make sure they can´t find Luke. Resistance pilot Poe Dameron ( Oscar Isaac ) meets Lor San Tekka ( Max Von Sydow ), on the planet Jakku to obtain a map on where Luke is located. Suddenly stormtroopers arrive with commander Rylo Ken ( Adam Driver ), who destroy the village and capture Poe. Poe´s droid BB-8 manage to escape out in the desert, with the map to Luke´s location. BB-8 encounters scavenger Rey ( Daisy Ridley ). She decide to let BB-8 follow her. Meanwhile, Poe is tortured by Rylo Kenn, using the force, as he get the information he needs on BB-8. But stormtrooper FN-2187, also known as Finn ( John Boyega ), helps Poe to escape into a stolen TIE fighter. The ship crash on the planet Jakku, and Finn seems to be the only survivor. Finn encounter Rey and BB-8, but the First Order locate them and launch an airstrike. But they manage to escape together in the rundown ship, the Millennium Falcon. Eventually, the Falcon breaks down and is captured by a much larger ship, run by Han Solo ( Harrison Ford ) and Chewbacca ( Peter Mayhew ). The crew on board Millennium escape when gangs attack, who want to settle with Han Solo. With the help of C-3PO and BB-8, they hope to find the location to where Luke is hiding. But Rylo is prepared to stop the Resistance force.

If you love Star Wars, and if you love the old films mostly, then be prepared to love The Force Awakens. This is definetely a throwback to the George Lucas classics, with more depth and stronger characters, than in the first films, that started off with The Phantom Menace. Now, don´t get me wrong, i enjoy all the Star Wars films for different reasons. But i will say that chapter 4, 5 and 6 feels both more nostalgic, and magical, compared to the first films. There are plenty of reasons to why i feel this way, but i suggest we talk about The Force Awakens instead, and i will explain more later. I was worried that a new Star Wars film would not be as good as i was hoping for it to be. After walking out from a cinema, i can guarantee that you will be very pleased. You have amazing CGI effects here, very good acting performances, a solid storyline, and very well made cinematography. We even have princess Leia ( Carrie Fischer ) back on screen, including Han Solo ( Harrison Ford ), and of course Luke Skywalker ( Mark Hamill ). But these are not the main characters, in fact we have 2 new characters. Finn, played by Joey Fodega, and of course the strong female character Rey , played by Daisy Ridley. Since there is a new generation, and Star Wars have also developed in certain details, we also get classic characters to come back. We have Chewbacca, of course played by legendary actor Peter Mayhew. But that´s not all, C-3PO is also back, played by Anthony Daniels. There are more characters you will recognize, but we also have new ones, that fit very well with the story. The Force Awakens feels much more detailed, than the first films from the millennium. And i will try and explain why. Even if The Phantom Menace, Attack Of The Clones and Revenge Of The Sith, were packed of action, and many great actors, you always felt that perhaps the true spirit of chapter 4, 5 and 6 was not there. This is something director J.J. Abrams picked up with The Force Awakens. Everything feels more majestic, more cinematic, and more detailed to bring the true spirit of Star Wars back on a bigger level. The evil character Kylo Ren, have a unique style, and is well played by actor Adam Driver. In the battle scenes, you get a sense that he is a different version of Darth Wader, but still not as cool as Darth Maul. Either way, this is a step in the right direction for Star Wars, and you feel so much joy to see the classic characters back, with a new cast included. There is no doubt that The Force Awakens was needed to be made, Star Wars feels more relevant today than ever, and we need this franchise for the next generation of new fans, and old fans of course. Be prepared to have a blast, there are many details that you will enjoy along the way. The acting delivers very high quality from most of the actors, and the CGI effects is really well made. Thank you J.J. Abrams, for bringing Star Wars back to classic ground. The whole world needed this, and we might see a bigger chance of world peace, thanks to The Force Awakens.

Rating: DDDD