A very entertaining movie, but if you are a Star Wars fan...

Rating: 5/10 (18 December 2015)

If you are a real Star Wars fan, be ready for a rough ride. While I did enjoy the show, when the credits rolled at the end of the movie, I sat there wondering where this new Star Wars franchise is going. I have a bad feeling about this!
GOOD: Harrison Ford delivered his character perfectly across 38 years. Han is still that cranky no-nonsense smuggler. "Escape now! Hug later!" Ford uttered as if it was still 1977. Credit also the script writer (Abrams?) for giving Ford lines that are true to Han's character.
BAD: the same cannot be said about Leia. Feisty and passionate, Princess Leia was a true heroine. The General Leia character felt flat, with no fire in her. She might have mellowed with age, but her core personality should not and cannot change. Leia was like a different person (Fisher's face also bore little resemblance to her younger self; plastic surgery?) Consequently, you don't feel much chemistry between Leia and Han. SPOILER AHEAD. Worse, after Han was killed by their own son, there was no reaction from Leia. She was too busy saying goodbye and may-the-force-be-with-you to Rey, who everyone has already figure out to be her daughter and Kylo's twin sister. END SPOILER
GOOD: BB8 was like a puppy. It followed Rey around, peeked out timidly from around the corner, and even gave thumbs up. BB8 is made up of just a half-dome head magnetically attached to a rolling sphere beneath, with no real face and no limbs. Yet we can feel the droid emote and can appreciate its distinct personality. In contrast, R2D2's personality was entirely narrated (disguised as dialogue and banter), mostly by C3PO and a little by Luke.
BAD: how the Force awakened in Rey, i.e. the central theme of the entire movie, was unconvincing. She only heard of the myth about the Jedi, and only received anecdotal knowledge from Maz Kanata. OK, I totally buy the idea that because the Force is strong in her, her grasp of the Force is instinctive. SPOILER AHEAD But how do you explain that she knew how to pull a Obiwan Jedi mind trick on the stormtrooper? Similarly, lightsaber battles require skills above instincts (Jedi reflex). Yet she just picked up Luke's lightsaber and had a go against her brother, even defeating him. Right, suspension of disbelief. My bad. END SPOILER
BAD: speaking of light saber battle. Its place in the movie is cheapened. Each previous battle was consequential and full of portent; they mattered to the plot and pushed the story forward. Examples:
EP5: Luke's battle against Vader set up the I-am-your-father climax of the entire trilogy. It was central to the Skywalker family saga.
EP1: Qui Gon and young Obiwan's battle against Darth Maul set up Obiwan taking Anakin as padawan. The incompatibility between master and padawan and the subsequent revolt of Anakin was immensely consequential to the entire Star Wars universe (Obiwan even admitted to this in ROTJ).
EP4: the older Obiwan's battle against Vader set up Luke's uncertain journey toward being a Jedi without a constant guardian. It injected the doubt of whether Luke would remain with the Force or join the dark side. This tension propelled the entire trilogy forward until the end of ROTJ.
In comparison, the battle in The Force Awakens is not essential to the story. Awakening? Rey already knew how to use the Force and the audience doesn't need the battle to inform us of that fact. Basically, Abrams needed a lightsaber battle as a climax - this is Star Wars! - so there it was, however little purpose it served.
BAD: the entire movie is a rehash of A New Hope. Yes I get it; Disney spent $4B to buy Lucasfilm, and another $200M to make this movie. Therefore the movie must be a safe bet. But making this movie a repackaged ANH is an utter sell out. Frankly, as a Star Wars fan I feel cheated.
GOOD: Some reviewers thought Kylo was not very menacing. You can't gripe about the movie being a rip off of ANH (it absolutely is), while complaining that the new villain is not bad-ass enough like Darth Vader. This is a different character; immature, angry, impulsive and not in control of his emotions. Abrams probably overplayed his character flaw and, understandably, turned off some audience because Kylo came across as an annoying child rather than a mature, calculating and bad-to-the-core killer. But at least Ren is a fresh and distinct character not borrowed (ahem, ripped off) from previous episodes. Hopefully, after their initial lightsaber battle, Kylo will further develop and lead up in the next movie to another brother-vs-sister battle worthy of Star Wars legend.
As Yoda said to Luke: "Clear your mind of questions". Let all the questions go, simply sit back and let the movie take you away. The movie is well-made enough to entertain you for two hours. The big problem is, a Star Wars movie is not just any movie like the crappy Transformer series. TFA carries the burden of history and high expectations. Disney and Abrams have dumbed down this episode to cater to the largest number of movie audience - it's just business. But in the process they have steered the movie closer to other action movies in the blockbuster class - lots of shoot-em-ups, explosions, fast moving vehicles, and plastic characters because there is not enough room between the action sequences to develop the characters (to Abrams' credit he tried). The franchise is in danger of losing its distinction, or what makes it uniquely Star Wars. Please, Disney, don't be seduced by the dark side of the force (a.k.a. profit)!