Star Wars Reviews: What Critics Are Already Saying About The Force Awakens

We’ve heard here at Patch that some movie is coming out this week. Something about space and force and galaxies far, far away.

Of course, unless you’ve been living under a particularly large meteorite since, oh, 2012, you know that “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” hits theaters across America this Friday, December 18.

The reviews were allowed to be published Wednesday, and they’re already pouring in — mostly positive, but a few negative. Patch picked out our favorites (completely spoiler-free, of course) to get you ready for the weekend.

• You can also order your tickets in advance here to plan your holiday viewing. (We hear they make great gifts.)

Patch VIDEO REVIEW: Will Star Wars Awaken a New Generation of Fans?

“The Force Awakens” is a poignant homage to the first Star Wars film. It is a delightful marriage between the old and the new – an undying nostalgia in the making. We see the main cast members with their excellent gravitas: Harrison Ford’s Han Solo, his sidekick Chewie, Carrie Fisher’s Princess Leia. This seventh installment is a cinematic beauty to behold. The screenplay is well-balanced. Moviegoers are in for a great treat as they ride the peaks and valleys of the storyline. Daisy Ridley is ready to take the reins to new heights! In all, “The Force Awakens” is a rare cinematic gem of pure ecstacy. Go see it and find the whereabouts of Mark Hammill’s Luke Skywalker.

The Guardian: ‘A Spectacular Homecoming’

The Force Awakens re-awoke my love of the first movie and turned my inner fanboy into my outer fanboy. There are very few films which leave me facially exhausted after grinning for 135 minutes, but this is one. And when Han Solo and Chewie come on, I had a feeling in the cinema I haven’t had since I was 16: not knowing whether to burst into tears or into applause.

The Verge: Our Spoiler-Free Review

Abrams and his collaborators have made a movie that feels resoundingly fresh and new by paying tribute to a style and story that is decades old. In the process, they’ve lived up to fan expectations of the name Star Wars, and largely undone the damage done to the property over the last 10 years (you can understand and enjoy every moment of The Force Awakens without having seen anything but the original trilogy, and no doubt that’s just how everyone likes it).

• SEE ALSO: 12 Star Wars Gift Ideas In Time For The Holidays

Forbes: The Empire Strikes Out

In this case, the Star Wars movie we got is one we’ve already seen more times than we can count. Nonetheless, with box office glory assured and a relatively receptive fan base waiting with open arms, it is inevitable that this franchise will continue to live long and prosper. Let’s hope Rian Johnson’s screenplay is up to snuff for Episode VIII. Because as Lucasfilm’s marketing campaign once proclaimed, tongue-firmly-in-cheek at the time, plot does matter.

The New York Times: ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ Delivers the Thrills, With a Touch of Humanity

Mr. Abrams may be as worshipful as any “Star Wars” obsessive, but in “The Force Awakens” he’s made a movie that goes for old-fashioned escapism even as it presents a futuristic vision of a pluralistic world that his audience already lives in. He hasn’t made a film only for true believers; he has made a film for everyone (well, almost).

Wall Street Journal: A New Hope With the Old Force

A search for Luke Skywalker, a disaffected Stormtrooper and a new heroine are among the elements—from nostalgic favorites to potent surprises—that await audiences in the J.J. Abrams-directed ‘Star Wars.’

• Order your tickets to see “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” here