Ridley, Ford Shine in "The Force Awakens"

As a life-long fan of the Star Wars franchise I will admit I was more than a little concerned when the news broke in 2012 that George Lucas had sold his beloved saga to Disney. Not only did he sell it to Disney, but they were going to make a new trilogy set after the events of "Return of the Jedi."

Would the new films have the same look and feel as the flicks I grew up with or would a new generation of filmmakers take them into uncharted regions where I would barely recognize them? A lot was riding on the first film of the new trilogy and director J.J. Abrams was tasked with setting the tone.

Luckily my fears were put to rest when I was able to attend a screening of "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" two days before the film's official release on Dec. 18. Abrams and crew delivered a film that exceeded most fans expectations, including mine, and brought Star Wars back in a big, big way.

Abrams had the unenviable task of breathing new life into a franchise that many fans felt had lost its way after the prequel trilogy. Wisely the director chose to mirror the original film, "Star Wars: A New Hope," and give fans a jazzed up reboot that felt fresh and was packed with action.

In "The Force Awakens" we meet a new trio of heroes -- the scavenger Rey (Daisy Ridley), the ace Resistance pilot Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) and the defecting Stormtrooper Finn (John Boyega) as they try to find a way to stop the menacing new villain Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) and his relentless pursuit of a map that lead to the last Jedi -- Luke Skywalker.

All the while the new enemy, the First Order, has constructed a new super weapon -- Starkiller Base -- and has its sights set on destroying the central government and seizing control of the galaxy. Our new trio of heroes must team up with some old friends in an effort preserve peace.

Does "The Force Awakens" hit all the beats of a good "Star Wars" movie? Yep. Does it have some problems along the way? Sure. But in the end "The Force Awakens" did what it set out to do -- please diehard fans and bring a new generation of fans into the fold.

Ridley dazzles as Rey, the female Luke Skywalker for a new generation of fans. While she follows a similar path to Luke, her background is shrouded in more mystery and in turns gives fans a character that we feel we know everything yet nothing about. Even after more than two hours we still don't know if she's a Skywalker or a Solo or just someone who is strong in the force. (For the record I think she's a Skywalker!)

Boyega and Isaac are wonderful as Finn and Poe, but it was Driver as Kylo Ren that I really enjoyed. Some fans thought he was a weak villain compared to the iconic Darth Vader, but I found him to be on the same level. Ren is raw, emotional and even bratty at times, yet in the end does something Vader could never do -- kill the person closest to him.

Now let's all be honest, the real star of "The Force Awakens" is Harrison Ford. Ford stepped back into a character, which he has tried to distance himself from for the better part of three decades, and did it was ease. In TFA, the Han Solo we find has the same cockiness and swagger we as fans love, but he's a worn down hero that has seen loved ones fall from grace and is running out of places to hide.

Carrie Fisher is back as Princess Leia and does a solid job in her limited time on screen as does Mark Hamill's as Jedi Master Luke Skywalker. I would have liked to have seen more of them on the screen, but this was obviously Ford's swan song in the Star Wars universe and his time in the spotlight.

The bonus features on the Blu-Ray/DVD/Digital release are a mixed bag. You get a great behind the scenes documentary "Secrets of the Force Awakens: A Cinematic Journey" and some cool featurettes which focus on the building of BB-8, the special effects, John Williams' musical score and my favorite -- Blueprint of a Battle: The Snow Fight.

The deleted scenes leave a lot to be desired. Nothing stands out as exceptional in these very short tidbits and I'm sure there's a lot of material that will eventually find it's way onto future releases of the movie.

The one special feature I was looking forward to most was "The Story Awakens: The Table Read" in which all the principal actors got together to read the script for the first time as an ensemble. The coolest part is Hamill narrating the script during the table read. It doesn't get much better than this. I wish we could see and hear the entire table read at some point -- hint, hint Disney.

While "Star Wars: The Force Awaken" isn't terribly original in terms of story, Abrams was able to achieve a great balance of action, character and humor that brought back memories of the original trilogy. "The Force Awakens" shows that "Star Wars" is back and the future of the franchise is as bright as the twin suns of Tatooine.

Movie: 4.5 Stars

Bonus Features: 4 Stars