Episode VII is an entertaining ball of fluff.

Rating: 7/10 (28 December 2015)

Star Wars: The Series re-Awakens
Star Wars has been rebooted by going back to the future. Many of the characters and plot elements that made original 1977 film classic were brought back, to hearty applause of the audience where I attended. Even the Millennium Falcon got a big cheer. Moreover, many new characters, played by ACTUAL actors, were introduced and accepted into the mythology of the series.
The Star Wars franchise lost it's originality and spirit gradually from the first to the third film (episodes IV-VI) and fell off the cliff with "Episode One, "Phantom Menace" (EOFM). Episode Six, "Return of the Jedi" went from curious to terrible with the introduction of the Ewoks and the Christian savior ending with Darth Vader, who killed millions, destroyed a planet and was consumed by the dark side of the force most of his life. Somehow, Vader found salvation by asking for forgiveness on his death bed. I vowed never to see another Star Wars film after the Ewoks and the Darth Vader salvation nonsense. However, my girlfriend at the time convinced my to see Episode I, so I went.
"Fantom Menace" featured the racially insensitive Jar-Jar Binks, a terrible actor for the pivotal Anikan Skywalker, and a lot of talking instead of action. My girlfriend and I were both appalled at the clearly racist Jar-Jar character, among others. Again, I vowed never to see another Star Wars film, and I didn't see episode II and III. It appears I didn't miss much.
However, another important women in my life, my mother, convinced me to see "Episode VII: The Force Awakens." And it was as advertised: a return to the classic with more action than talking, a western in space.
The Ewoks moment in Episode VII is the drone, BB8, which must stand for "Ball Bot 8", right? It was an improbable rolling ball robot, and it was used as a plot device much like R2D2 was in Episode IV. Fortunately, they didn't go over-board with the droid and have it kill storm troopers.
The film was cheesy and with many improbably plot elements, and that didn't matter. It was fun. And the man having the most fun in the film was Harrison Ford, reprising his role as Han Solo. My mother and I agreed that he brought the fun back to the series.
Besides fun-time Ford, the new actors did not disappoint, mainly Daisy Ridley as the swash- buckling motor-head, Rey and John Boyega as the run-away storm trooper, Finn. Both Ridley and Boyega break with Star Wars tradition by acting conflicted about their actions, carrying more than on emotion at one time, and by being more than just card-board cutouts spewing dialogue. This break with terrible acting tradition, and I also mean you Hamill, Ford and Fisher, help propel and carry the film's flimsy plot.
Adam Driver scares and intimidates with or without a mask as Darth Vader's heir, Kylo Ren. There were some great decisions over his mask in the film. While episodes I-III had laughable villains with terrible dialogue, Ren lives up to the task of dark lord and Driver carries it well. Oscar Isaac as Poe Dameron, the "best pilot in the resistance", is misused and would have been much better cast as a villain of the dark side. His role is under-written and plays too much like a frat boy. Otherwise, the casting was a step above previous Star Wars films.
The music is fine, and the effects are spectacular, which is no surprise. The dialogue has some gems and some groaners which is par for the course. There are some funny call-backs to the first three films and much of the plot is rehashed from episode IV, and that is fine. For older audience members, it is nostalgic; for younger audience members, it is the first time they have seen a good Star Wars film.
Rating: Matinée
I certainly can't rate it as high as "The Room" or "The Big Short", other films on screens currently. However, for Star Wars fans young and old and forever, this Star Wars re-awakens the franchise and is an entertaining romp of fluff.
Peace, Tex Shelters