It's official - the magic of the original trilogy can't be recreated

Rating: 3/10 (18 December 2015)

Overall, a letdown. Rehashes far too many ideas from A New Hope to a much lesser effect.
Kylo Ren looked and sounded awesome until he removed his helmet, then he just became a whiney douche with daddy issues. It was a joke that an ex stormtrooper with no training could give a Jedi a run for his money in a lightsaber battle.
There was virtually no reason for Leia to be in this film, Carrie Fisher gets to do nothing but look old. It was great to see Han Solo again though.
It was also great to see real sets and real locations again after the CGI fest of the prequels, but the movie was plagued by many computer animated characters looking very fake.
When I saw Max Von Sydow's name in the credits I expected him to be in a Count Dooku type role, but alas, he's wasted and killed off within minutes.
John William's score was utterly unmemorable (recycled themes excluded, obviously).
There were some good comedy moments but frankly I don't go to see a Star wars film to laugh.
I felt just underwhelmed initially, but the more I reflect on the film the more deeply disappointed I find myself becoming. This film is about on par with Attack of the Clones in the overall Star Wars cannon.