This is when the gap between expectations and reality widens to a maximum

Rating: 3/10 (22 December 2015)

The irony is that when reviewed on its own merit, this movie would be tossed in the clearance bin after a few months with a red sticker saying "$5.99" but...
It has the Star Wars brand name and so it won't.
This movie is not memorable other than widening the gap between people's expectations and reality. It really ought to be a case study on how to be lazy and successful at the same time. If there is a life lesson to learn here kids, it's to do the minimum and get paid handsomely. It is absolutely astounding how many mistakes the movie got away with that critics would destroy other movies on. I'm not talking about Star Wars fanboy mistakes, just basic movie mistakes.
Let's list the pros: 1. Got the old characters back for nostalgic value
2. Special effects were OK, but not memorable
3. There are big ships that take up the screen
4. There are light sabers and costumes were fine
5. Bass gets loud and the theater room shakes
Let's now list the cons without spoiling anything yet
1. Acting was not good at all. Not good. The movie felt rushed so maybe some first takes were used in production.
2. The interactions are just not even close to real. Maybe they are social norms in a distant galaxy but for crying out loud: Poe and Finn. How the heck? Can I say any more without spoiling?
3. This movie forced too much political correctness that it was just blatant and would make one uncomfortable. Why can't a movie be a movie? Oh wait, it's Star Wars which is going to be seen by more than a billion people so yea the priority is to send political messages to the masses.
4. A movie of this caliber whose OT had a generational impact on society DEMANDS high creativity. It's not a lot to ask but I guess creativity was in the bottom tier of priorities while special effects and some forced romance between two characters took the highest priority.
It doesn't matter, any movie with Star Wars in the opening credits is going to be a hit. It just depends on how many magnitudes the studios want to make this a hit. Unfortunately, they decided to set the lowest bar one could think of. Oh, it's too much work to make this a 5x magnitude success, I'll be content with 1.5x.
If it was well thought out, equivalent to an Avatar which was better than this for sure, people would flock to come back and relive the magic but no, I foresee a lot of one-and-dones. Unfortunately, if $ was the primary motivation, this movie didn't maximize it.
3 stars: 5 for being an average flick but -2 stars because there is an ingrained expectation here that a Star Wars movie should be bold and new but this wasn't and in fact it was not a reasonable acknowledgment of the power and contribution of the brand.
###SPOILERS BELOW###MORE LIKE RANTS####
1. Poe and Finn: these guys shouldn't be best buddies. Otherwise I would be best friends with every cashier and coworker I meet.
2. Finn and Rey: Finn is too white knight and way kow-towing to Rey for "some reason." Maybe being a stormtrooper bottles up too many hormones so the first girl he meets (who doesn't wear a helmet) he falls in love with. Possible scenario but STUPID. Secondly, Rey demasculates Finn especially when she kept demanding him to give her the proper tape but it's OK, she's a girl and Finn's stormtrooper suit is just not good for his privates and he's willing to do anything to get some.
3. Bad guy Kylo: again, on purpose, they selected an almost goth/emo high school kid to be the badass Empire/destroyer of planets. His take off the mask moment was I guess an attempt to show he's just human (or just your typical emo high school kid). Once again, we see a skinny insecure kid who's easily schooled by strong independent super- teenage girl. Yup sends a message that guys are insecure and emo and are easily messed around with.
4. Superwoman Rey: the producers decided it was best to type in IDDQD and let her run amok. There is no way to explain how she out of the blue gained the force, destroy a Darth Vader wannabe, destroyed countless stormtroopers, and commandeered the Millennium Falcon. This is sending the wrong message to a generation of tween girls. "Yes you can do anything and no one can stop you. Say no to boys and walk all over them because they suck and are easily defeated."
5. Starkiller Base (oh wtf I don't remember the name): Death Star v3.0 got BIG but got super WEAK. How could one x-wing fighter go "pew pew" and destroy something the size of a planet.
6. X-Wings: again there were no more than 30 in that battle scene and yet the entire empire loses. Maybe the empire has learned its lesson: no more emo/skinny young leaders. Go full extreme next time and cast THE EXPENDABLES as the baddies.
7. Han Solo Goodbye Scene: this was like you saying goodbye to a friend leaving your drunk house party. A wave and then back to more drunkenness.
8. R2D2: wakes up from his coma out of the blue and says hey guys no time to celebrate the death of a death star (again), we got to find Luke!
9. Luke's appearance: you're telling me that they could find Luke on a random mountain in the middle of the ocean without any searching? Oh that's right, each scene probably occurs 5 months after the last, that explains it.