A return to form, but it could of been so much more...

Rating: 7/10 (29 December 2015)

Let me start by saying that I am a huge Star Wars fan. Ever since a kid I have been completely captured by the wonder of the SW universe, whether that be with the films, the novels, the games, you name it...
I was bursting at the seams to go and see this film and had such huge expectations for it (which perhaps done a disservice to the film).
It was good. I don't think it was terrible as others have said, but I don't think it was an "instant classic" or "masterpiece". It was simply a good film.
Visually the film was phenomenal. The action scenes were intense and extremely fast paced which came as a bit of a surprise to me. However, it was a kind of fast paced that you could actually follow and not feel completely lost whilst watching it. The characters and the chemistry between them felt a lot more natural as opposed to the previous entries.
However, I have two significant complaints about the direction they took with this film. Firstly, and I don't mean to jump on the bandwagon here, the film's plot is a carbon copy of ANH mixed in with elements from ESB and RotJ. I can understand perhaps JJ Abrams wanting to pay homage to the original films and give a nostalgia factor for the fans, but given that this film is set in a completely unexplored time period and the fact that it is independent of the Expanded Universe, I don't get why a completely new and original plot wasn't used. It was almost embarrassing at times how identical the film was to ANH (sand planet, hero stranded on the planet, droid with desperately needed information, Death Start mark 3, rescue protagonist from Death Star, X-Wings fly through trench and blow up super weapon from inside... you see where I'm going).
Additionally, I didn't like how trivial the force was portrayed. I think this is best reflected by the fact that Rey one minute is completely unaware of the fact she is force sensitive (even as far as believing that the Jedi and force were a myth) and the next she is using Jedi mind-tricks expertly - how did she even know that was a thing that was doable?!
All in all, I left the cinema feeling slightly disappointed, but still optimistic for the next two instalments. I just hope they go for something completely original. I don't mind the odd throwback here and there, but sometimes it can be way too much and even pointless... *cough* C3PO and Leia *cough*