Starring John Boyega and Daisy Ridley. Rated PG. Now playing

Relief!

Of all the emotions I had while watching the latest chapter of Star Wars, relief is the most relevant to this review.

That’s right, in case you were thinking about Jar Jar Binks and midi-chlorians, or how J.J. Abrams’s last film, Star Trek Into Darkness, makes less sense the more you think about it, I am here to reassure you: Force Awakens does not suck!

At least, not for me, a normal person who does not live and breathe Star Wars and merely has seen every episode many times, bought tickets to this movie two months ago, and takes an Anakin Skywalker towel to hockey. The true Talifans are surely planning to march through the streets in protest, or whatever the keyboard warrior equivalent might be.

I found it to be a worthy addition to the canon, albeit more of a handover to a new cast than a significant advance on the overall narrative. Although those horrible dancing teddy bears celebrated the Return of the Jedi, Force Awakens continues to see a small resistance battling the First Order, star destroyer-jockeying villains in black armour who are the Empire in all but name. To defecting stormtrooper Finn (Boyega) and desert scavenger Rey (Ridley), the old cast are figures of myth. Before you can say “hero’s journey,” they must unite in order to find spoiler Han spoiler Chewy spoiler lightsaber spoiler... and so on.

You could certainly nitpick any of these things, but for something that is primarily on Earth to sell lunchkits and T-shirts, it's a well-acted, fun, and zippy time at the movies.