It was a feeling that was noticeably absent when Lucas dove back into the Star Wars universe in 1999 with The Phantom Menace.

When the first film took off in 1977, it captured a feeling: nostalgia, yes, but also a stirring call to action that could make anyone feel that just outside their door was the promise of adventure and undiscovered greatness. It’s impossible to evaluate The Force Awakens outside the dramatic ups and downs of the films it succeeds. (We’ll be delving into the details later this week after people have had a chance to see the movie.) The secretive marketing efforts and subdued trailers are part of a cohesive whole, and it has somehow, surprisingly, all worked - so if you’re looking for big reveals and a beat-by-beat breakdown, you’ll have to wait. It’s a film meant to be viewed without the audience knowing a single thing about it - and while I’m sure that subsequent viewings will bring their own discoveries and surprises, the first time you see this movie should be with as clean a slate as possible. From the opening title crawl to the final frame, Star Wars: The Force Awakens is a movie that has a sense of discovery in its DNA. First things first: this review is not going to spoil any plot details.

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