An unnecessary remake of Star Wars: A New Hope

Rating: 6/10 (2 January 2019)

This is not a Star Wars sequel. This is primarily a remake of Episode 4. It is so jam-packed with original trilogy references and direct plot ripoffs, all trying to ram the nostalgia down our throats It gets to a point where it's actually overbearing and distracting from the movie. If you can look past that, it's a decent movie.
My least favorite aspect of the movie is the total abandonment of the prequels. There are no scenes showing the full scope of the battle or any battle sequences occurring with non-main characters, which were easily the best aspects of the prequels for giving us a taste of the bigger picture.
My favorite aspect was almost Kylo Ren, but his reveal happened far too soon. A character with potential to be extremely cool was turned into an angsty teenager. It almost seems as if he is a poor Sith because he mistakes his angst for the rage that a Sith requires. So instead, my actual favorite part was the lightsaber duel. Both of the characters involved have no reason to be experienced with a sword, and their lack of experience is really obvious on screen.