Went in with low expectations. Was completely blown away.

Rating: 10/10 (24 March 2017)

I actually had an IMDb account since 2010 but deleted it in anger when they did away with the message boards. However, I had never written a review before. I usually relied on the message boards to get a general feel for the movie as I found it hard to trust reviews. Since this is our only way now I read through the reviews before checking it out. I saw many either very good/ or very bad ratings. I tend to be pessimistic when it comes to Hollywood so I gave it a go with very low expectations and was very pleasantly surprised at the outcome. I decided to remake an account to help others who may be needing average Joe opinions.
You will know very few of the characters aside from a few that are brought in from both the originals 4-6 and the newer Eps 1-3. I won't give away who they are but you will have a few nostalgic moments and smile when you see them.
Let me state that this movie was created with substance and storyline and forewent the graphical technology so prevalent in Hollywood over the last decade or so. For me this was a breath of fresh air and something that has been sorely missing for quite some time. The less is more was evident here. The story itself was very intricate. It wasn't shallow and built just as a popcorn flick just to make an easy buck. I felt as though they really put their hearts into creating something special for the audience. The acting was spectacular from all involved.
Here's something else I was pleased with. I have really gotten sick of franchise films (or films in general) such as Marvel and the newer Star Wars movies relying on the cheesy nostalgia gimmicks, cheesy humor/ joke scenes, and general fear of making serious story lines that aren't basic formulaic packages they feel the entire family of all age groups can be brought to. Where's the serious story lines that really encapsulate the thinking person. Do any of you go into a Marvel movie and get swept away in imagination like you would in a really good book or do the cheap "same old formula" movies like Marvel and the new Star Wars movies make you groan with their attempts to win you over with their overkill of "humor scenes" and CGI?
This Star Wars was made for those who fell in love with the original Star Wars 4-6. Who were swept up in the story and were in the movie for its entirety. This movie, in my opinion, stands up there in greatness with the original Star Wars trilogy unlike eps 1-3 and the newer Star Wars Ep. 7. It had that "feel" to it you only got from the original episodes 4-6.
Sorry if I made this review a bit long, but I didn't know what to expect with the either extremely high and low ratings. I watch a ton of movies and shows and so I have pretty high standards. I want to see movies with substance and storyline and could care less if they have over the top graphics. I wrote this review for those of you out there like me that look for the same. I rated it 10 stars, but have a tendency to do that for any movie or show I really enjoy. I would imagine most who look for the things I do as mentioned above would rate this an 8-10 star though. We don't have the message boards anymore so hopefully more average joes like myself begin writing reviews. I'm not looking for "professional critic" like reviews, just honest opinions.