Better production than the prequels, worse script, equal character quality

Rating: 4/10 (22 December 2015)

I'm a bit torn about this movie. It certainly has managed to capture the original Star Wars feeling, but it ruins it over and over again by introducing one Jar Jar after another.
Worst of all is, obviously, Kylo Ren. The spoiled little brat who thinks he has all the power, yet fails at literally every task and then throws temper tantrums like a 12-year-old. From his looks to the voice to the way the character talks, its a god###n disgrace to the Skywalker/Vader-legacy. I know its hard to get someone equal to James Earl Jones for the job, but did they really have to hire a bookworm who sounds like his nose is constantly bleeding? Second is Finn, who seems to have taken over C-3PO's job as the whiny sidekick who's afraid of virtually anything. All he ever does is lose his cool, wave around his arms and cry for help. And why hasn't anybody noticed that he looks exactly like Bubba from Forrest Gump yet? Just google it. The similarities are uncanny. All Finn needs is a shrimp cutter to sail into the sunset.
The last real annoyance is Poe Dameron, who felt like a forced-in Wedge Antilles. The few lines he had could just as well have been spoken by a nobody side character.
***What saves this movie in my eyes--or rather who saves it--is Rey. I am a huge fan of strong female leads ever since Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but I was a bit concerned about it. Yet, Rey blew all my doubt right out the airlock.*** Let me make this clear: Rey *is* this movie. Everyone else, including the poor Han Solo, is a sidekick, no matter what the script says. I am looking forward to the next movie only to find out what's going to happen to Rey.
There are a lot of other problems, though. Both Finn and Rey seem to learn lightsaber combat in five minutes. Its probably going to be explained for Rey (she appears to copy Kylo Ren's force abilities), but not for Finn.
There's also supposed to be some kind of new "Republic", the successor of the Empire, but the fight is--again--left to a bunch of hotshots in their X-Wings. If the First Order is such a big threat, where are the Republic Fleets? I'm not even talking about Wedge Antilles' Superstardestroyer, but ... something other than 40 year old X-Wings! Han's death was also rather stupid, sorry. There just isn't a better word for it. I don't mean Han's actions as a father, I mean the sacrifice of such a glorious character to a horribly written brat like Kylo Ren. Its like letting Yoda die to Jar Jar.
Anyway, this movie is okay. Its not very good and definitely not the second coming of Star Wars. I really missed the grand scheme of the prequels, too. Especially Episode 2+3, not 1. Its not a sequel either. Its a typical JJ Abrahms reboot with a few different story hints.
For me, The Force Awakens felt more like "The Forced Reawakening".