Entertaining and that's what matters

Rating: 8/10 (23 April 2012)

This movie has received a lot of hate and while it's true that it's not as great as it could have been, it's a very entertaining, fast paced ride that looks stunning and manages to draw you in that beloved galaxy far far away.
On to the details.
The GOOD:
1. It's Star Wars.
2. Most of the locations and costumes look breathtakingly beautiful.
3. The pacing is good, you can't possibly get bored watching this movie despite it being over 2 hours long.
4. The music is brilliant. John Williams outdid himself yet again.
The BAD:
1. The plot. It's unnecessarily complex and nonsensical at times. The film is aimed at younger audiences and it's very hard to follow it during the first viewing.
2. Character depth. There is very little character development. Too many characters share screen time and you can't really get attached to any of them. This is tied to the plot problems. Generally the movie lacks strong focus.
3. The CGI. It's too much. And while most of the time it looks good, it also does look fake. Especially the aliens and their costumes. Whenever there's live actors mixed with CGI on screen, the faces of the aliens and the texture of the CGI costumes look annoyingly fake.
Overall, it's a very entertaining film that gets the job done. I'd give it a 7.5 if I could. Between 7 and 8 though, I'm leaning more towards 8.