New Star Wars: A Spoiler-Free, Bullet-Points-Only Review

I saw the new Star Wars film (The Force Awakens) last night. It was fantastic. Here’s a bullet-point, spoiler-free, in-no-particular-order reaction:

• The new characters were stellar. They were written and developed well, and their acting was top-notch
• There were lots of female heroes: Rey (played by Daisy Ridley: above, left), the General of the Resistance, Resistance fighter pilots, etc.
• Another lead was a man of color: Finn (played by John Boyega: above, right)
• This is to say–they really did a good job with diverse casting, more so than with the George Lucas films
• The first scene is action-packed, and the movie is exciting and compelling all the way through
• THE MUSIC. Whoa. So good
• There are some good surprises that, even halfway through, you can’t see coming
• Even if you haven’t seen previous movies in a long time (or ever), The Force Awakens makes sense on its own

There’s a lot more to say, but I’ll leave that to the Star Wars bloggers. I already want to see it again.