Disappointing...no original content...

Rating: 6/10 (18 December 2015)

I have been an avid fan of Star Wars since I was a small child. My brother and I grew up on the original trilogy. I was also a still a kid when the 2nd trilogy came out. I was ecstatic to find out that this epic and my beloved childhood favorite would be continued. Though I enjoyed I-III as a little kid, well at least the first one maybe (I was 9), I would argue they're a travesty as an adult. I was hoping this movie would be better than I-III...and it was, but by a very small margin. This is mostly because it was less cringe-worthy. Sadly...I-III, despite the known outcome because of its predecessor trilogy, have a one up on this movie...god I can't believe I'm saying that. Why? It's because they at least have original content. Yes it sucked in its execution, horribly, but it was original. The Force Awakens is not.
When I heard J.J. Abrams had gotten his hands on this movie I was excited. I thoroughly enjoyed the two Star Trek movies. They weren't perfect, but they were enjoyable. I feel no joy for The Force Awakening. I feel nothing. I have watched IV-VI way too many times over the years because they are fun, exciting, have decent story development, etc. They are highly re-watchable. This movie has no re-watch value. It is utterly predictable. This could be forgivable, I still can enjoy a predictable movie, but it's not just that it's because it's a copy of IV. I would argue at least 80% of the movie doesn't nod to, but is an outright copy of IV. Another 5-10% is a copy of various portions of I-VI. There is nothing new.
Last night after seeing it I thought that their nod to nostalgia was killing it for me. It's not nostalgia, its the fact that it's a reboot of IV despite being 20+ years later and a new generation, etc. Basically this movie did what new Star Trek did, which would have been fine if it was a reboot, but it's not. It was supposed to be a new story, with new characters and some old. It was supposed to be a continuation. It's VII, not IV rebooted that's how it was advertised and how it is titled. So why does it have almost the same plot without only a few twists to try and make it different? I feel like this movie had relied way too much on the original fan base to carry it and not THINK about what they're watching. And many will do this. They'll sit down and just get lost in the action...ignoring the rushed nature of the later portion of the movie, ignoring the replication of plot, ignoring the lack of character development, etc.
I'm not saying this movie doesn't have some positives. I did enjoy some of the movie. The, "new" characters are fairly likable. There are some funny moments. The action is a nice blend of CG and models. But these things aren't enough.
The tag-line for movie: "Every generation has a story." It should have included: "Except this one it's a 90% copy of the heroes, villains, and their accomplishments and failures of the last generation."