Apart from the beautiful visuals, an average on-time watch

Rating: 6/10 (3 January 2016)

First of all, I do not consider myself a hardcore Star Wars fan. Episodes IV, V and VI were part of my childhood, but compared with the Alien or Terminator movies, they played only a minor role. Nevertheless, I enjoyed them, and a few days ago I watched them again, together with The Revenge of the Sith.
More than two weeks after its premiere, out of sheer curiosity, I watched The Force Awakens. I didn't put much effort into avoiding spoilers, so I knew what to expect: great visual effects, and from that point of view Episode VII is phenomenal.
But there should be more than just beautiful scenery, fantastic battle scenes and great costumes, and I am not thinking about scientific accuracy. I accept that in Star Wars laser beams barely reach the speed of a normal bullet, and lightsabers cut through solid metal, yet, in interactions with each other, they behave like ordinary sticks. So I clench my teeth, put aside facts about the size and mass of stars, and accept also that the newest Death Star gets energy from a star by sucking it in altogether, even if nowadays this grandiose nonsense is on the intellectual level of a three-years-old.
Measured strictly by Star Wars standards, Episode VII lacks real heroes. Luke had the Force within him as an inborn talent, but he started small, and for his talent to manifest he needed heavy physical and mental training. He reached greatness not overnight, but through a long process full of success and failure. This is one of the very few messages of the old Star Wars movies, which can be found in the prequels too, that applies to real life.
Compared with the above, Episode VII protagonist Rey picks up a lightsaber for the second time in her life, and defeats the villain Ren. A villain, who has the Force at least as strong in him as she has (after all, he stops laser beams), not to mention his considerable routine with the lightsaber in combat. If that is not silly enough, Finn, without the slightest Force in him, uses a lightsaber relatively successfully in the fight. All these make the portrayal of the Force somewhat comical.
Speaking about Ren, to achieve a great goal, good or evil, one needs to be disciplined and organized, otherwise nobody follows him. Ren is more like a parody of Vader: he is infantile and hysteric, and in his fit of rage destroys his own valuable equipment. The funniest moment in the film is when, after Rey escapes, two storm troopers catch Ren in an angry mood, and wait by the corner for him to stop punishing the hardware. Silly.
Countless plot elements are taken from episodes IV, V and VI, and I find that unimaginative. The family tree thing is also rather forced and dull. I wasn't moved by the presence of the old characters, except maybe by Luke's. Daisy Ridley's portrayal of Rey is sympathetic, but the rest are average. Finn doesn't convince me a bit that he was a storm trooper, who got an austere training from his very youth.
In conclusion, I enjoyed Episode VII for its magnificent visual effects and scenery; in 3D it was breathtaking, although the pointless haste of a superficial storytelling didn't allow me to fully appreciate it.