If Looks Could Thrill

It’s like seeing an old friend. Unlike his take on Star Trek — where he threw out the mythology and turned its sombre tone upside down — Abrams made Star Wars a wonderfully paced, beautifully landscaped story that focuses on the family drama that is at the heart of the saga. With a focus on tradition, it’s a wonderful revisit to a world we already know well, but a well-crafted if cheeky update with a new heroine and villain whose journeys follow closely the footsteps of the saga’s classic hero and villain, Luke and Vader. Played by Daisy Ridley, Rey is a mesmerising, courageous, and hopeful character who draws us back into that world, starting from the beginning again.