'Star Wars' rediscovers its force, fans say as film opens

'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' opened in cinemas on Dec 16, a decade after the last episode of the space sagaIt may be one of the most hyped films of all time, but "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" opened Dec. 16 to ecstatic reviews from both fans and critics.

Fan whom had waited a decade for the next episode of the space saga emerged from the first screenings in France and Scandinavia clearly moved, with some even in tears.

"I was happy to see Luke Skywalker again," cried Suzanne Sundsvall, 55, as she left a cinema in the center of the Swedish capital Stockholm.

"I've lived with the character Han Solo since the first movie, when I was 17. I even have a Han Solo car license plate."   Others, who had flown halfway around the world to see the film in Paris two days ahead of its release in the United States, said it had been worth "every cent" of the cost.

A smiling Tim Mersch, 44, from Las Vegas, who had spent "several thousand dollars" to see the film early, said it had breathed new life into the franchise. "I just want to see the next one now," he said.

The first critical reactions were also overwhelmingly positive. "The Force Awakens re-awoke my love of the first movie and turned my inner fan boy into my outer fan boy," wrote The Guardian critic Peter Bradshaw.

"There are very few films which leave me facially exhausted after grinning for 135 minutes, but this is one." 

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In honor of the film's release, Nelson's Column in London's Trafalgar Square was lit up with the image of a lightsaber on Wednesday night, while Star Wars creator George Lucas took to the red carpet in Leicester Square for the European premiere.

"All of the premieres have always been in London. It's...