Beautiful and stunning visuals accompanied by a pretty average script

Rating: 8/10 (23 December 2015)

I have been waiting to write this review since around 2012 when it was announced to the public that LucusFilm had been sold to Disney and that a Star Wars new movie was going to come out in 2015. So as soon as I could, I hopped into the next open IMAX Theater (which was at 530 in the morning) and saw the film. The movie was pretty much what I expected it would be. The visuals were stunning and crisp. The editing flowed together with the movie very beautifully, so did the sound mixing and editing. The acting was great. The movie was shot in real JJ Abrahams fashion with a lot of lens flares and unique camera angles. The cinematography was stunning as well. Daniel Mindel, who also did the cinematography on Star Trek, did a very good job at setting up shots that capture how well the visuals team revitalized the beautiful landscapes from the previous films. This was a very good remake of the old films and I really think the cast really revitalized the Star Wars franchise. However, I didn't expect it to be perfect and it wasn't. Most of the issues I had with this film, surprisingly, had to do with the writing. The way this film was written was like it was pretty much just a remake of the original movies. Within a couple of minutes into the movie, it started to become obvious that JJ was playing it safe with this movie. I would say that the overall tone of the movie was "Hey, remember this? How about this? This was really cool right? This is a Star Wars movie!!" While it's not bad enough to ruin it as a stand- alone movie, it is enough to call it unoriginal and unimaginative. I wouldn't argue with anyone who had that opinion of it. However, I also wouldn't argue with anyone who says that this is a well a great remake. Overall, my feelings about the movie were pretty mixed. While, it isn't as bad as the prequels, it also isn't as creative and visceral enough to compete with the original movies. It doesn't seem that JJ even wanted to do that though. It seems that he caught a bad case of 'fanboy' when he started working with Ford, Hamill, and Fisher. Also I blame Lawrence Kasden a bit for not going "Ok, we need to come up with something new for this movie. The new characters have to be memorable and engaging. The plot shouldn't copycat the movie me and Lucas wrote in 77'. We should take out the scene where they hide under the floorboards of the Millennium Falcon and every other scene that has that kind of unoriginal feel to it. Let's move forward not backward." But to be honest. I don't there is too much to complain about. It actually felt good to visit those places over again. I don't think that a lot of other audience members mind it either. It wasn't the most revolutionary piece of art to hit the screen. As a matter of fact I would say that the script was pretty average. It just felt like it was another fan remake that has been done a billion times. However, it does get the job done. It isn't a huge disappointment and anyone that thinks so should keep in mind that it was marketed and built-up for more than two years. The expectations for a lot of people shot through the roof. If the anticipation for a movie matched its quality, then 50 shades of Grey would have been the next Casablanca. I give this movie a decent 8/10.