Wow, didn't take long did it?

Rating: 8/10 (16 February 2016)

So this review will be a bit of a change from others on this site at the moment. I am going to review the movie of course but I am also going to offer some brief thoughts and insight into the current early signs of audience backlash against this movie in the month and half following its release.
So when this movie came out I was unable to see it due to having no money and had to wait for payday, just under a week after the release date. Needless to say I went to see it as soon as I had money in my account without even waiting until my friends were free to see it with me (not because I have no friends or anything....*sob*). For the most part, I was frickin blown away. The film has some breathtaking action sequences, some great humour and it's great to see our favourite characters back in the franchise along with some captivating new leads. Overall, the film is a blast and the most fun i'd had at the movies all year (at the time at least, "cough" Deadpool "cough"), but.....
Like many people, I was caught up in the hype train and would be ready to love anything this movie had to dish out. I mean with JJ Abrams as director, Lawrence Kasdan as writer and all 3 members of the original cast returning, I told myself that nothing could stop this movie from being amazing. Make no mistake, it is a lot of fun and a great time at the movies like I said, but now that the hype has died down and i've had the chance to get many of my friends and colleagues opinions, I can say objectively that the film has a lot of problems. Now you've most likely by now heard the biggest problem of all: that the film's plot is derivative of A New Hope. Now everything you've heard is true and the plot bears nearly all of the similarities and emotional beats that the original contained, but this film was hyped up to be a homage to the original trilogy so I have to admit im not sure why people were so surprised. On the other hand, it does markedly at points feel like an attempt to recreate the original film's magic, which presents a problem in that the original was the very first of a franchise, whilst this film is a sequel, and therefore should be a continuation and progression of not just the story, but the story format. However, if you're willing to get past that, I believe that the film does introduce enough originality to stay fresh.
There are other problems, some being that the character development and chemistry may be too rushed for some, but to be honest, so was the chemistry in the first one. I mean come on, Luke and Ben have barely known each for a day/day and a half at a push by the time Ben dies and yet Luke reacts as if he's lost a much closer relative. Some other movie-goers may also find that the film raises more questions than it answers, but if you give the forthcoming sequels a chance, i'm sure that they will shed more light. All we can do now is hope that Episode 8 improves The Force Awakens in the way that Empire improves A New Hope.
Well there you have it, there are my condensed thoughts on The Force Awakens. I hope that you wont be discouraged by the waning hype train and audience backlash that this film is currently starting to receive. The movie really is a lot of fun and you will enjoy it, just don't expect to be blown away by it the same way A New Hope and Empire did. This is the first film in a trilogy after all and i'm sure they're holding back their trump card for Episode 8.