"This is not the movie you are looking for."

Rating: 5/10 (15 January 2016)

While the movie had some cool moments as a whole it fell short. The main aspect of the movie that bothered me most was the heavy reliance on this being the "setup" film for the new trilogy. This exercise by the filmmakers took away from all that could truly be developed and truly flushed out. It seemed that the creators were concerned about setting things up that they neglected to present a compelling and coherent story. This became so obvious that by midway through the screening that I found myself no longer caring what was taking place. So, by the apex of the picture I was not invested in what was presented. I was not able to apply my sensibilities into any character or their plight because I wasn't given enough time or development to be able to do so. As soon as I was getting into a character they did something that took me out of what I thought the character was being developed into. Or the character within the chronology of the story stopped making sense for an amount of time until it sort of corrected itself. Or the characters just disappeared for no good reason and without adequate explanation and randomly show up again. So, I end up feeling cheated when I invest myself into wondering what happened to them. I just feel that they played it too safe and took no chances to make the movie truly compelling. There are a few qualities that I enjoyed while watching the movie. The cinematography was very innovative at certain points in the movie especially during the flying and ground battles. I enjoyed the fact that the score was more subtle than I was expecting. I also enjoyed some of the characteristics of Rey, Finn, and Poe before I was pulled out of taking them in by the happenstances I mentioned above. There is so much potential here! Nonetheless, I feel that if I am going to invest myself, time, and my money to see a blockbuster movie I should not be sitting in my seat imagining what they could and should have done while the movie is happening in front of my eyes. I don't like wondering and hoping about what the filmmakers will do in part two (VIII) when part one (VII) is not even over yet. Unfortunately, the movie came across as hollow and I left feeling cheated out of experiencing a noteworthy film. Hopefully the next film in the series will tie up loose ends and delve into the story and history on a deeper level.