'Star Wars' a hit in Jacksonville

New Star Wars film getting rave reviews

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Force has officially awakened. Thousands of people stayed out late Thursday to become the first people to watch "Star Wars: The Force Awakens."

At the Regency Theater, we caught up with several "Star Wars" fans who gave the film rave reviews. 

"It's really good," Wes Smith said. "It has a lot of heart-stopping moments. It's awesome."

Even those too young to remember the older films when they came out were still excited about the movie. 

"It starts a new generation of 'Star Wars' and it creates a new chapter," AJ Vallalrelli said.

Diehard movie fans said the film made them emotional.

"I thought it was awesome. A lot of familiar things in there. I cried a little bit," Jenifer Ann said.

Despite the great reviews, several people said they still preferred "Return of the Jedi" or the original film.

Two more "Star Wars" films will be released in the coming years. Episode VIII will debut in May 2017. Episode IX doesn't have a release date yet.