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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Entertainment
Catherine Shoard

Star Wars: The Force Awakens – initial verdicts suggest 'overwhelming experience'

Mark Hamill on the Star Wars red carpet: ‘Oh no! It’s happening again!’

There were “smiling faces” from the crowds exiting the Los Angeles premiere of The Force Awakens on Monday night. Amongst these, presumably, were Disney executives ecstatic that the $4bn they paid George Lucas for franchise rights looks to have been a sound investment.

Initial reactions from all three screening rooms where the film was shown for the first time – as well as from social media – suggest that JJ Abrams has the chops to please both critics and fans, and that The Force Awakens may well recoup at least half the $4bn by itself.

A journalist for the Hollywood Reporter was one of the first to tweet following the event, at which mobile phones were confiscated.

A consensus quickly emerged: whether Abrams had killed it, nailed it or just done it, this was a job executed decently.

Oswalt skirted the closest to a spoiler in a later tweet.

But by and large, audience members erred on the side of caution. Andrew Stanton, the director of Finding Nemo (from Disney’s Pixar), simply endorsed the film.

Likewise Hunger Games actor and Pitch Perfect director Elizabeth Banks.

Others were a little more fulsome in describing how the film related to instalments past, and the performances of key cast newcomers.

Keegan – a reporter for the LA Times also provided reassurance about just how “female friendly” the new film really is.

And others revealed that Abrams’ big-budget blockbuster does, as you might imagine, contain a number of high-octane scenes.

Dickey was among those who also sought to place the film within the seven-strong series.

Others upped the hyperbole yet higher.

The sole seed of doubt was sewn by entertainment writer Germain Lussier.

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