In October 2012, George Lucas, the legendary creator of Star Wars sold his company Lucasfilm to Walt Disney Studios for more than $4 billion. Pretty soon, an awakening occurred that produced plans for a new Star Wars trilogy. With J.J. Abrams in the director’s chair, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, the most anticipated film of 2015, has blown apart the box office with its massive interest and loyal fans who have helped the movie smash hundreds of records worldwide. The main record it’s broken is the highest grossing film in history in the United States and Canada, beating the record Avatar has held for six years and doing it in only 20 days.

Directed by Abrams, The Force Awakens is the seventh and latest installment of the Star Wars franchise and features the return of several characters from the original trilogy: Harrison Ford as Han Solo, Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia, Peter Mayhew as Chewbacca. In addition to the original trilogy characters, several new characters and actors are introduced to the Star Wars universe. The main newcomers are Adam Driver as Kylo Ren, Daisy Ridley as Rey, John Boyega as Finn, and Oscar Isaac as Poe Dameron, all relatively unknown actors who, with The Force Awakens, are now at the top of Hollywood. In addition to The Force Awakens, the Star Wars franchise is going to be expanding further with The Force Awakens being the first film of the new “Sequel Trilogy” and an “Anthology Trilogy” starting this December.

Personally, I loved The Force Awakens. It was so good that I cannot wait for the next chance I get to see it. I enjoyed how the producers chose to make the story thirty years after Return of the Jedi; this way, they could establish a brand new storyline with brand new characters and add on to the timeline. Speaking of the characters, I enjoyed the fact that the Original Trilogy characters came back and intertwined with the new characters, who did an excellent job in their roles. However, I thought that one character had very little screen time even though everyone was excited about him returning, but it was a central part of the plot. I was also surprised about how one character left the movie; it was, in my mind, a premature departure. The producers could’ve done more with him in the upcoming Sequel Trilogy, but from what I’ve heard, they’re not completely done with him yet.

The plot and climax were great, just like every other Star Wars film. I agree with the critics’ beliefs that they’re similar to those of the original Star Wars, but I don’t mind at all. Also, back in the 70’s, CGI was a thing of the future, so the producers had to make do with cutouts of starships and planets, but here in the 2010’s, we have CGI and it makes everything look so realistic. Combine that with seeing it in IMAX 3D, it feels like you’re in the movie, watching a firefight or lightsaber duel right in front of you.

Overall, The Force Awakens was a great movie; you will not be disappointed and it is so worth it to see it in IMAX 3D. I’m really excited to see what the future will hold for Star Wars and its upcoming films. And even though it’s been out for a month, I know people who haven’t seen it yet, so please keep the plot details to yourself or between yourself and a friend. Even before the movie came out, I had a feeling that The Force Awakens would break a lot of records and had a chance at beating Avatar. However, I am truly surprised at how much it has done over the last month.

The next movie in the series and the first movie of the Anthology Trilogy, Rogue One, will be coming out on December 16, 2016. There’s no doubt that Star Wars has certainly awakened once again.