The Force Awakens into a bunch of nonsensical fan film

Rating: 1/10 (18 December 2015)

Ever since George Lucas sold STAR WARS to Disney company, I feared about the future of these movies. I knew it would never be the same, I knew it would never have the same amount of depth, substance, soul, imagination and creativity. I knew that at the helm of J.J. Abrams & Disney company it will degenerate into generic fast paced action film and will lose its essence, magic and mythology. That is exactly what happened to The Force Awakens. Like Mace Windu said: "Our worst fears have been realized." For a STAR WARS fanatic and a huge fan of George Lucas such as myself who loves so dearly all six previous films and who truly understand the mythology and core of the saga, it was very bitter watching episode VII.
The film is a nonstop fast paced action and a showcase of well-known relics from Original Trilogy. The new characters lack development, therefore you can't invest in them emotionally. You have no idea what motivated Kylo Ren to join the dark side in the first place or what made him do all the things in the movie. What hurts me the most is how greatly they misunderstood STAR WARS, The Force and Jedi philosophy. The concept of The Force, a mystical energy field created by all living things (basis for spirituality) was completely mocked and ridiculed in Force Awakens. It became a simple nerdy tool for "probing" mind, throwing people around and freezing shots in the air. First time Rey heard about The Force, she was instantly able to perform a mind trick and do all the silly things with it. In STAR WARS, the lessons the hero must learn are those of the Jedi Master. They combine morality, spiritual faith and strict physical discipline. The Jedi use The Force for knowledge and defense and their greatness lies in handling The Force with wisdom and not with comedy and nonsense. Jedi possess almost magical powers that reflect a lifetime of study, discipline and acquired wisdom. Episode VII destroys this mythical aspect. I missed those perfect memorable conversations given by Lucas - for example Yoda in the prequels was like Dalai Lama in space - Lucas's films had heart, soul, depth and substance. Abrams especially misunderstood the core of the saga - he thinks it's just about action, spaceships and lightsabers. But the STAR WARS saga is a theatrical soap opera in space. It is about family, family problems, about fathers and sons, friendship, love, rise, fall, redemption, mythology and spirituality. That's why it resonated with millions of people around the world. I can't help myself but I think The Force Awakens was a huge disappointment for the hardcore fans of previous six films.
The Force Awakens lacks dialogue and conversations and is just an action fan film with comedy elements that steals ideas and scenes from the Original Trilogy. The originals and the prequels were a monument of human imagination and had great space opera like theatrical conversations, beautiful visuals and amazing music. For example one of the themes of The Phantom Menace was about letting go, about having organisms realize that they must live together and they must live together for mutual advantage. Not just humans but all living things and everything in the galaxy is part of a greater whole. That's basically the idea of midichlorians and the Force, and the realization that Gungans and people of Naboo must live together, in this case the most unlikely character Jar Jar becomes a central figure that brings two nations together. I loved how it taught you lessons like:"Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering." or the scenes with Anakin and PadmÃ© in AOTC were touching: "Attatchment is forbidden. Possession is forbidden. Compassion, which I would define as unconditional love is essential to a Jedi's life. So you might say, that, we are encouraged to love." We didn't get any of the classic dialogue and themes that would have meaning in The Force Awakens.
To sum it up, The Force Awakens is a shallow reboot of A New Hope but without any mythology, soul and depth. It bets on nostalgia and gives you nothing new, nothing that would touch you and is a huge letdown for the hardcore fans.