A new start and a new line yet so much is familiar...

Rating: 6/10 (25 December 2015)

You're never going to win when it comes to Star Wars. Most of us now have in one way or another grown up with it, and love it for multitudes of reasons. No point bringing up the prequels as that's polarised people, so I'll leave it there on that.
This one is a continuation from the original three and sees us being introduced to the 'new hope' for the next trilogy. We see some old favourites back and but both new & old seem to share the screen equally enough without one hogging the limelight.
As enjoyable as it is, the truth is that much of it feels like you've seen it before in the Star Wars films. There's lots of homages to the old films, and that can grate at times. The storyline feels like its the same old with a few changes.
It's well made, and the lead lady is exceptionally good in her role, but many others seem not to fit well. Harrison Ford seemed to have just faxed in his role in this one for Han Solo.
I don't want to say too much more, maybe need more time. It was fine but still left a big gap. I still want to watch the sequels but hoping for a big jump in quality.