Star Wars VII is the worst film out of the current main 7 movies.

*dodges the blaster shot with a slight, unnaturally editted jerk of the head* 1.Story - My opponent"s main complaint with Ep. VII"s story seems mainly to be that it"s a repeat of Episode IV's - an accurate accusation. However, just because a story is familiar doesn"t make it weak (just as Ep. IV"s story was a repeat of other "Hero"s Journey" tales). Ep. VII"s version of the Hero"s Journey is stronger than Ep. IV"s (for example, Rey"s rejection of the call has more impact.). Even aside from this point, Ep. VII"s story simply outplays the meandering, "unique" stories of Ep. II (Man searches for assassin, finds army), Ep. III (Pointless villain is defeated, archvillain takes over government), and even Ep. VI (pointless villain is defeated: final battle). In short, Ep. VII"s story is fairly strong when compared to the rest of the saga, and as my opponent admits, he doesn"t find much fault with it. 2.Characters " My opponent seems to concede that most of the main characters here are well-written, with the exception of Rey and Poe (whom I will address soon). I would suggest that given this concession, Ep. VII is already cleared from being the worst film of the Star Wars saga. Kylo Ren as the film"s villain handily succeeds better than Darth Maul (Ep. I), Count Dooku (Ep. II), General Grievous (Ep. III), or even the New Hope"s Darth Vader (Ep. IV). Finn"s role and growth as a character easily puts him as a rough equal to the best protagonists of the prequels (Qui-gon Jinn and Obi-Wan) while being more likeable than Anakin or Padme. Defense of Rey as a Mary Sue: Rey is rightly suspected of being a Mary Sue: she is shown to be an expert pilot, a genius mechanic, holds her own in a lightsaber fight against Kylo-Ren. I considered Rey a Mary Sue character for a while, and sincerely hope her abilities are given more clear limitations in the future films. However, Rey"s abilities are not of place when compared to other prodigy protagonists in the saga. Rey"s skills as a mechanic are directly supported by her backstory as a scavenger and fixer, and are overshadowed by Anakin"s fixing abilities in Ep. I (remember, Anakin built pod-racers and droids from scratch). Her one stint as a pilot (in the tie fighter chase) is directly comparable to Luke"s surprising gunner ability in the very similar scene in Ep. IV, and certainly more believable than Anakin"s piloting abilities in Ep. I (again, recall that Anakin _accidentally_ launched his fighter, survived a dogfight, and destroyed a mothership, saving two armies" as an 8-year-old). In these abilities, it is clear that Rey is not as much a Mary Sue as Anakin in Ep. I, and is comparable to Luke in Episode IV. The final overblown skill, supposedly, lies in Rey"s lightsaber fight with Kylo-Ren. However, on a review of this scene, Rey is not shown to have particularly strong dueling abilities. Kylo-Ren is very pointedly badly injured before the fight begins. In Kylo"s fight with Rey, he very clearly seems more interested in her natural force abilities, rather than her threat to him as a duelist, (a comparison to the duel in Ep. V would be a good one). And of course, Rey very clearly does not win this fight: it is interrupted before Kylo even brings his full skill to bear. In summary, Ep. VII had a strong villain and average protagonists. Enjoyable side characters seem just as plentiful here as in any other Star Wars films. Altogether, I would suggest that Ep. VII"s cast of characters clearly exceeds Ep. I and Ep. IV, and rivals Ep. II and Ep. III. 3.Effects " My opponent says that Ep. VII is a good-looking film, without much criticism to be levelled at it here. I must admit myself to not seeing much difference between the Star Wars films in terms of technical ability in special effects. Aside from some glaringly out-of-place greenscreen usage in Ep. II, and some noticeably aged stop-motion in Ep. VI, all seven films are as technically proficient as I could expect of them. 4.Locations " My opponent criticizes Ep. VII"s use of Jakku (as essentially Tatooine 2.0), and Starkiller Base (as Hoth 2.0), and suggests that the prequels had a better variety of locations. Ep. VI is rightly criticized in its recycling of a desert planet environment (Jakku) as a simple replacement of Tatooine. However, even a Tatooine replacement is a slight step up from a reuse of Tatooine itself, placing Ep. VII as better than Ep. I and Ep. VI in this respect (the desert planet environment is used about an equal amount of time in all three films). I would defend Starkiller Base as a legitimately different feel than Hoth (a snowy forest, for me, is quite I different aesthetic than a barren snowy plainscape), but at the same time, I admit that the use of Hoth (and it"s contrast with Dagobah and Cloud City) is much better in Ep. V. Ep. II also has a much better mix of locations. However, I would suggest that Ep. VII is not notably worse than Ep. I or Ep. VI in its settings. 5.Music " My opponent suggests that Rey"s Theme and Kylo Ren"s Theme are inferior when compared to the music of the Prequels (Battle of the Heroes, Duel of the Fates, and Across the Stars (Love Theme)). However, this compares the music of a single film to the music of an entire trilogy: when compared to any one film, Ep. VII"s music is of comparable quality to most films in the Saga. I would rank Rey"s Theme as better developed and altogether a better piece than Duel of the Fates" presentation in Ep. I, or Battle of the Heroes in Ep. III. The amount of new music introduced (and it"s use) is also greater than in Ep. VI. In short, the music of Ep. VII rivals each of the prequels, and is better than the music of Ep. VI. 6.Battles (large scale) " My opponent seems to say that most of the battles in Ep. VII are well-done, but criticizes the destruction of Starkiller Base as repetitious. In this area, I actually must agree with my opponent and go even further to say that in terms of large-scale battles, Ep. VII may well be the worst of the saga. For most of these battles, the exciting sense of tactics and battle progression (e.g., the progression of the walkers at Hoth, the removal of the shield at the final death star battle), simply wasn"t present. In comparison to other films, The Force Awakens must stand on other categories. 7.Themes " In this department, I feel that Ep. VII doesn"t get enough popular credit, and it stands out among many other films in the saga. Ep. VII takes familiar themes of the series (ties to fatherhood, the dual nature of the force, redemption, personal growth) and takes them in a new direction. Kylo Ren"s stand off with Han Solo mirrors the father-son tension between Luke and Vader in Ep. V, only this time the rejection of the son is a fall from grace (the decision to kill his father). The dangerous and somewhat terrifying power of the Force is excellently shown in Rey"s terrifying vision, and in Luke"s apparent rejection of his past. Finally, both Rey and Finn show character change and growth throughout the film, in ways unseen in the prequels or Ep. IV. 8.Lightsaber Battles " Our final point of discussion is, fittingly, our most contentious. My opponent cites the lightsaber battle between Rey and Kylo-Ren as a particularly weak point of the film. I consider it one of the better lightsaber battles of the saga, beating out all three prequels, and possibly Ep. IV as well. My opponent"s main criticism is that Kylo Ren should have easily dispatched of both opponents, and that Rey"s skills with the lightsaber were unwarranted. I will first defend against these accusations, and then offer some counterpoints. The charge that Kylo Ren did not fully defeat Finn is unwarranted: Kylo easily defeats Finn, and deals him such a maiming blow that, for all he knows, Finn is dead (certainly Finn is out of the action, and apparently very close to death"s door, since he is still in a coma at the end of the film). More importantly, the idea that the next duel shows Rey to be a superior fighter simply isn"t true. Kylo, although clearly badly wounded, several times shows that he is much more in control of the fight, and also that his goal is not to kill Rey, but rather to test her, to get her to surrender, and to offer to train her. Contrary to what my opponent says, Rey does not overpower Kylo in a tug-of-war for the lightsaber: she merely pulls it further than he intended in the same direction. It"s true that Rey shows some moments where her ferocity and innate force strength surprise Kylo Ren, but she certainly does not win the fight. Finally, this lightsaber battle showcases a battle of characters, explicitly referencing the tension that has built up between Kylo and Rey up to this point. Rey has a personal reason, built up over. In short, this fight has emotional investment, representing the clear climax of the film. This alone makes this duel better than those found in Ep. I, Ep. II, and Ep. IV. In most areas, The Force Awakens can easily show itself to avoid being the worst film in the saga. While not perfect, it clearly outshines Ep. I and Ep. II, while rivalling Ep. III, IV, and VI. *tosses coin to bartender* Sorry about the mess!