‘Star Wars’ cast and crew revel as fans and critics praise movie

LONDON - With fans and critics giving "The Force Awakens" the thumbs up, cast and crew of the latest "Star Wars" film expressed "huge relief" as the movie rolls out in cinemas worldwide.

The seventh episode of the popular sci-fi saga won over fans globally after months of secrecy surrounding the film, billed as the biggest movie release of the year.

Few details on the J.J. Abrams-directed picture have been released, except some broad character outlines in the run-up to this week's release.

As reviews were published on Wednesday following an embargo, cast and crew relished the positive feedback at the movie's European premiere in London after first hearing from the critics while travelling from Los Angeles, where "The Force Awakens" premiered on Monday.

"We were just getting ready to land and started looking at the reviews coming in and it was pretty exciting," producer Kathleen Kennedy told Reuters.

"There is nothing better than working really hard ... like we have on something that has such huge expectation and have it being well received. ... I was sitting behind J.J. Abrams and he kept turning around (saying) 'listen to this.' ... We were really excited."

The critical receipt to work done revitalising a franchise that began in 1977 and whose latest film came out 10 years ago was a "huge relief," Kennedy added.

Veteran "Star Wars" actor Anthony Daniels, known for his C-3PO character, said the reviews reflected work done filming.

"It sort of mirrors what I felt on the set because the atmosphere was so exciting, so loving, so full of fun ... it didn't matter what job anyone was doing, everybody felt good to be there," he said.

John Boyega, who plays troubled Stormtrooper Finn, said he had not yet read reviews but was "glad to hear there's positive feedback."

"I'm now fixated on the fans having a good time and having positive feedback also," he said.

"Star Wars" old hand Mark Hamill who reprises his role as Luke Skywalker, was happy the story was finally coming out.

"Secrecy is agonising, it's not fun," he said. "They're not trying to tease anyone they're just trying to keep the surprises for the movies instead of letting it out all on the Internet."

Newcomer Daisy Ridley, who portrays scavenger Rey, welcomed the reviews, but said there was one audience's views she was still awaiting.

"I think it's wonderful that ... everyone's work has been appreciated," she said. "I just want my family to like it." — Reuters

'Star Wars' director faces hype, history in 'Force Awakens

LOS ANGELES - The new installment in the "Star Wars" movie saga opens in theaters this month against a formidable force: the galactic hopes of devoted fans who have waited a decade to revisit their beloved universe of Jedi, droids and lightsabers.

Can "The Force Awakens," the seventh episode in the celebrated sci-fi series, meet those expectations when it debuts in theaters on December 18? "No," said director J.J. Abrams. "How can anything live up to any expectation like that?"

What the movie will offer, Abrams told Reuters, is great performances and visual effects, music "that breaks your heart and soars," plus a story, characters and creatures that are new, but feel like they fit in the universe created by George Lucas in the original 1977 film.

"George was creating a world that we wanted to go back to in order to tell a story we'd never seen yet," Abrams said. "In a way, we were going backward to go forward."

For example, he said, the filmmakers created droids "to feel completely new and different and at the same time something that was so of 'Star Wars.' That was always the challenge."

Lucas bowed out of "Star Wars" after he sold his film studio to Walt Disney Co in 2012 for $4 billion.

"There's no way that I can imagine anything touching the magic of what he did," Abrams said, "and yet we all did the best we could to make that happen."

Set 30 years after "Return of the Jedi," the new movie brings characters Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) and Han Solo (Harrison Ford) back to their galaxy far, far away. Newcomers Rey (Daisy Ridley) and Finn (John Boyega) lead a younger generation that grapples with the conflicts that haunted the past.

Disney is guarding details about the plot of "Force Awakens." The secrecy has stirred rampant online speculation, particularly about the fate of Skywalker, who is absent from trailers and posters promoting the new film.

Abrams said the character was purposely left off to keep key parts of the story under wraps.

"It's just what our narrative is," Abrams said, "so if it's driving anyone crazy, apologies. But it's mostly about wanting to protect the experience for the people who might go see the movie."

Ridley, who plays a scavenger, said the film captures the "delightful" tone of the earlier movies. "'Star Wars' never had like insane violence or anything," she said. "It's always joyful and always uplifting even though bad things happen."

"Force Awakens" also features "classic Star Wars humor, choppy dialogue," said Boyega, who described his role as a conflicted Stormtrooper.

Adam Driver plays Kylo Ren, a character dressed similar to Darth Vader who is presumed to play the main villain, though that depends on the perspective.

"I don't think he's evil at all," Driver said. "I think he's right."

Aside from fan anticipation, the movie faces lofty box office projections for the opening weekend, from $170 million to $220 million in just the United States and Canada, a level never achieved in December. "Jurassic World" holds the record with $208.8 million in June. —Reuters