A fair sequel: Great for fans, but average for everybody else

Rating: 7/10 (18 December 2015)

First of all I admit I am not a die-hard fan nor a fan of the series, but I did enjoy the first and second Star Wars movies from the first trilogy (the one from 1977). I have seen the prequels as well and the Family Guy parodies (hilarious, you should rather see the parodies rather than the prequels!).
Contains spoilers 1. I enjoyed that it had way more action and things happening than the prequels, but at times it felt it was a bit too much. There isn't really a longer part of the movie where the viewer can relax his senses from being bombarded with tons of things exploding and everybody shooting at each other. All in all it felt kind of rushed as if the movie was dragging the characters towards its conclusion and not letting the story unfold itself naturally.
2. Old cast. You'd think you'd like seeing the old cast in this new movie, but after seeing the old Star Wars gang in this one even for small amounts of screen time, I'm done with wanting to see old actors from older successful franchises in modern sequels. It just doesn't work. I'm sorry and I do not wish to offend them, but they're just way too old, wrinkly or fat and just ruin the whole atmosphere. It's like with the band ABBA, they quit while they were ahead and didn't continue to play on like the Wrinkling Stones. Sometimes it's just best if you leave the old movies and cast alone so that everyone can remember them as they should: in their prime. Sorry fans, Luke Skywalker only turns up at the very end of the movie in his big-old-fat-beardy greatness not even saying one word. For me this really ruined it because the whole movie centered and evolved towards that moment. I'm sorry, he looks very bad for his age and for this movie.
3. Acting. Not much character development in this one, the fast pace of the movie weakened this aspect. Rey seems to have one facial expression throughout the movie and Finn seems, I'm sorry, I don't want to offend anyone, but Finn honestly feels like he's there because of the political correctness and racial diversity obsession of today. If the movie really wanted to be brave, it should have put a strong African American in the lead role and not in a role portraying a weak, clumsy, confused and not even funny or likable character. Rey's transition to the Jedi ways is really out of nowhere with not training whatsoever from anyone. As if this was not enough, even before she gets acquainted to the Force, she is literally Supergirl, beating and shooting everybody on the spot. Again, an over the head ridiculously politically correct character which aims to demolish the damsel in distress cliché. I am for political correctness, don't get me wrong, but with these two characters, Rey and Finn, just simply parody the concept by "super-sizing it", without naturally exploring it.
The "new Darth Vader" as the trailer and the movie desperately want you to regard as such strongly reminds me of Hayden Christensen's Vader: a weak, whinny and fake teenager. I honestly did not feel he was the "bad guy". The guy playing the head general or Space Hitler for that matter (there is actually a scene where this guy shouts and screams like Hitler in front of a huge army which at the end of his speech salute him with the Nazi salute!) seemed way more bad-ass! Sorry, but when Solo goes to try and get close to his son, Kylo Ren/Ben it was sooooo obvious that the "new Darth Vader" would kill his father so that he could become stronger in the Dark side of the force. Honestly, did you actually think that the "new Darth Vader" would jump and jug his dad and cry? 4. Evocation and reverberation: remake?. Due to the many similarities in plot and actors with the first Star Wars (1977) I honestly felt several times I was watching a remake and not a sequel! Death Star? Check! This time it's bigger then ever. Weak spot? Check! Destroy it by flying an X-wing and firing a laser blast in its center? Of course. A lovable droid carrying out an important piece of information in an extremely lucky chain of events to the leaders of the Resistance? Check.
As I said in my title, this movie is great for the fans, far better than the prequels, specifically tailored for their tastes. The general audience however or light fans such as myself will only find it as being average, still better than this year's other sequels such as Jurrasic World or Terminator Genisys. I really wanted to enjoy this movie, but unfortunately it only ranks as my third favorite movie in the Star Wars series: 1. Episode IV, 2. Episode V, 3. Episode VII, 4. Episode VI, 5. Episode III, 6. Episode II, 7. Episode I.