Hate Star Wars but liked this

Rating: 8/10 (16 December 2016)

I've never liked Star Wars - it's dumb juvenilia that, while fine for kids, should never really have found an adult audience or have been continued beyond the original film (which was fine on its own terms). It misunderstands good and evil, misunderstands war, is bad sci-fi and has zero subtlety.
This, however, was decent - OK, it still has its share of typical Star Wars hokiness (I could have done without Darth Vader, the walkers, the CGI Peter Cushing and cartoonish British Bad Guys, the mind-reading octopus, the cliché blind guy who uses "the force", the stormtroopers who serve as pure cannon fodder, and the frequent overintrusiveness of the score) but by about half an hour in, once we've gotten to know the characters - who are engaging and human - it becomes real and compelling. The performances, plot, pacing and direction are effective and come together well, in particular during the Eadu scenes. I especially liked Diego Luna, who really grounds the film. Felicity Jones was convincing throughout, except in the two scenes where she gives speeches (though perhaps that was deliberate). The robot character, who I initially thought would be annoying, was engaging and a couple of times even reminded me of Brian from Family Guy. The romantic elements weren't overdone, just a tenderness borne out of the situation and proximity - depicted gently with the perfect amount of nuance and restraint. The film's action scenes feel more visceral than the glib ones in previous Star Wars films (though can still be somewhat contrived), and like they have real stakes, though the final action sequence on the tower lacks credibility (mostly due to the use of physical storage media) and is a little reminiscent of Galaxy Quest.
This isn't art-house, and if it wasn't a Star Wars film it wouldn't even be breaking new ground, but for the franchise it's a massive step up. First Star Wars film I've liked since the original, and an effective companion piece to it as well as a respectable and enjoyable film in its own right. For once the overriding goal seems to have been to tell a good story (albeit not one which needed to be told) on realistic terms with values that resonate in our times, rather than to sell merchandise to kids and pacify audiences with simple narratives and happy endings.