People Need To Lighten Up. It Wasn't Great, but it was Fun.

Rating: 7/10 (23 December 2015)

I am old enough to have seen every Star Wars film in their original runs and have been a fan of the franchise from the beginning. Seems like everyone wants to be a professional movie critic these days. I read reviews where people just want to complain at a level that tells more about how unhappy they are rather than taking a movie for what it it. Then you have the movie studio shills writing ridiculously positive reviews that makes this film comparable to Citizen Cane. Finally you have the hard-core fans that will not complain about this film under any condition. My message is simple...Lighten Up.
I took my 9 year old to see his first major Star Wars film in a theater for the first time that he will remember and spend as much time observing the movie from a child's perspective rather than a cynical adults that spends as much time looking for the flaws than enjoying the ride. My son cheered when the good guys prevailed, cried when Han Solo died and has spent the last several days speaking of the film.
As Yoda said: "Truly wonderful the mind of a child is."
Now from the cynical adults perspective: It wasn't perfect. This was certainly a "Passing of the torch" movie where you have to deal with the aging original cast while incorporating the new cast of characters. I knew this was going to be troublesome giving ample screen time to everyone. To be honest, the way Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford have aged, they can no longer carry a Star Wars and sell the sizzle like they used to. Father time has caught them.
I didn't have much of a problem re-treading some of the original concepts, but the film certainly went too far. The new Death Star plot was weak. The film did not need another "Ultimate Weapon". The Villains were not particularly meaning. I would call them almost comical. You will have a hard time finding a kind word about Kylo Ren. My biggest disappointment was they made this weenie to be the offspring of Han Solo/Leia and of course the grandson of Anakin Skywalker. I would have preferred this character to have been a non-related Jedi recruit that went rogue rather than a descendant of Skywalker.
Although the new 3 main actors were obviously cast by race, sex and national origin I must say I liked them and they had really good chemistry.
I am going to take the perspective that after ROTJ, the Sith and the Jedi were pretty much wiped out and were are not catching them at their prime. I am hoping the next film cleans up some of the plot shortcomings.
For now, enjoy the ride.