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New Star Wars 2015 Force Awakens movie got mostly positive reviews from top critics. Walt Disney Studios released their new sci-fi/action flick, “Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens” into theaters this weekend, and all the reviews are in from the top movie critics. It turns out that most of them did indeed like it, giving it an overall 81 score out of a possible 100 across 51 reviews at Metacritic.com.

The movie stars: Adam Driver, Carrie Fisher, Daisy Ridley, Domhnall Gleeson, Harrison Ford, John Boyega, Mark Hamill and Oscar Isaac. We’ve added comments from a few of the critics,below.

Joe Morgenstern at the Wall Street Journal, gave it a great 100 score. He said: “Rarely have age and shining youth been juxtaposed more affectingly, but that’s only one of many moments of grace in a movie that mines its resonant mythology while moving its story ever forward.”

Brian Truitt at USA Today, gave it another 100 score, saying: “The Force Awakens reveals surprising connections, begins a few bromances, solves mysteries while digging up others, and sets a strong tone for what comes next in Star Wars lore. Best of all? It’ll make you feel like a kid being introduced to something truly special once again.”

Mick LaSalle from the San Francisco Chronicle, gave it a 100 grade. He said: “The storytelling in The Force Awakens is masterful, in that it seems to be taking its time but is always moving relentlessly forward and coming up with surprises.”

Richard Roeper from the Chicago Sun-Times, gave it a 100 score, stating: “What a beautiful, thrilling, joyous, surprising and heart-thumping adventure this is.”

Manohla Dargis over at The New York Times, gave it a 90 grade, saying: “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).”

Peter Travers over at Rolling Stone, gave it an 88 score, saying: “The action, from lightsaber duels to X-wing dogfights with TIE Fighters, is explosive and buoyed by John Williams’ exultant score. And the movie is also funny as hell. Abrams knows how to build a laugh and fill the emotional spaces between words.”

Matt Zoller Seitz from RogerEbert.com, gave it an 88 grade, saying: “The film ultimately runs up against the limitations of its own nature…. But it’s still an exhilarating ride, filled with archetypal characters with plausible psychologies, melodramatic confrontations fueled by soaring emotions, and performances that can be described as good, period, rather than “good, for ‘Star Wars.'”

Ty Burr from the Boston Globe, gave it an 88 grade,saying: “Abrams understands what George Lucas never quite figured out: that we’re less interested in the science fiction future than we are in revisiting the past. We don’t really want to see what happens next in that galaxy far, far away. We want to recapture what it felt like the first time we arrived, in 1977, with a movie called “Star Wars.” We want to go home. Star Wars: The Force Awakens takes us there.”

Chris Nashawaty at Entertainment Weekly, gave it an 83 score, saying: “The ending he’s come up with for The Force Awakens feels so perfect it’s hard to imagine it any other way. In an age when we’ve all become binge watchers, we feel as if it’s become our right to immediately roll right into the next episode, the next sequel. And when The Force Awakens ends, it’s bittersweet because you so badly want to head right into the next chapter.”

Alonso Duralde from TheWrap, gave it an 80 score, saying: “Abrams had the benefit of learning what didn’t work in Lucas’ prequels, and he’s gone in the opposite direction. He’s also set an interesting course for moving forward with this engaging cast playing new characters making their way through this beloved universe.”

Todd McCarthy from The Hollywood Reporter, gave it an 80 score. He said: “Star Wars: The Force Awakens pumps new energy and life into a hallowed franchise in a way that both resurrects old pleasures and points in promising new directions.”

Ethan Sacks from the New York Daily News, gave it an 80 score. He said: “You would have to be practicing some pretty dark arts to not smile as you watch the iconic Millennium Falcon take off into battle one more time.”

Michael Phillips from the Chicago Tribune, gave it a 75 score. He said: “It is good. Not great. But far better than “not bad.” Solidly, confidently good.”

Justin Chang over at Variety gave it a 70 score. He stated: “The reassuring familiarity of Abrams’ approach has its limitations: Marvelous as it is to catch up with Han Solo, Leia and the rest of the gang, fan service takes priority here over a somewhat thin, derivative story that, despite the presence of two appealing new stars, doesn’t exactly fire the imagination anew.”

Kyle Smith from the New York Post, gave it a 63 grade. He said: “The shamelessness with which Star Wars: The Force Awakens replays the franchise’s greatest hits is startling. To put it another way, it’s a satisfying meal — but it’s $200 million worth of leftovers.”

Kenneth Turan from the Los Angeles Times, gave it a 60 score, saying: “Though a definite improvement on the last three abortive Star Wars prequels directed by series creator George Lucas, The Force Awakens is only at its best in fits and starts, its success dependent on who of its mix of franchise veterans and first-timers is on the screen.” Stay tuned.

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