Get swept up in the nostalgia and enjoy it... just don't think too hard about it.

Rating: 4/10 (3 January 2016)

OK so I went into TFA with very low expectations, mostly because it was directed by JJ Abrams and he single-handedly slaughtered the Star Trek timeline with his two horrendous movies (don't get me started on that we'll be here all day).
So I was pleasantly surprised at the beginning of this film that it actually felt like a Star Wars film. From the opening credits to the storm troopers and ship designs it gave me that warm and fuzzy nostalgic feeling from my childhood which pretty much carried me throughout the movie and let me walking out of the cinema having thoroughly enjoyed it.
However when the nostalgic feeling eventually dissipated and I actually thought about the content of the movie there were so many plot holes it was ridiculous (I've actually seen a blog where someone has collated a total of 40 plot holes in total. Google it, it's impressive).
SPOILERS AHEAD! You have been warned!
As so many have before me have pointed out I can't start this review without acknowledging that it was a blatant re-hashing of Episode IV. And through my nostalgic delirium JJ managed to avoid me noticing this until the moment in the command centre when they discussed how to destroy the Star Killer (and in particular how to disable the shield). Yeah we noticed JJ.
Oh and FYI once you take all the fuel from a sun it burns out and there's no sunlight any more. It doesn't just magically re-ignite itself.
Overall everything was too convenient to the point that I roll my eyes now just thinking about it. The best example being that Han and Chewy just HAPPENED to be near Jakku at the same time Rey and Finn flew the Millennium Falcon off the planet in god knows how many years? Riiiiight.
So in order to truly articulate all of my feelings about this movie I shall break it down by character:
Leia: No disrespect to Carrie Fisher but she couldn't act in 1983 and she clearly hasn't taken any acting classes in the last 22 years because she still can't act. Her only saving grace is that her most important scene was with Harrison Ford and he made her look really really good. Also what qualifies her to be a General when she's not completed any military service?
Han Solo: Yep Harrison Ford pretty much makes this movie watchable. Let's face it, a cantankerous, sarcastic Han Solo is funny. Also unlike some people who have reviewed on this site I totally buy the whole going-back-to-being-a-smuggler-even-though-he's-well-past-his-prime- as-a-way-to-deal-with-his-son-going- Dark-Side thing. A lot of the times when we're in emotional turmoil we like to run away to a point in our lives where everything was good. And finally he deserved a much better death than what he got quite frankly. He just stands there while his son guts him with a light saber? And what the hell were Chewy, Ren and Finn doing just watching it happen?!
Kylo Ren: Yeah don't make a petulant 20-something-year-old with major daddy issues the bad guy of your movie. And if you are going to do that, DON'T LET HIM TAKE OFF THE BADASS LOOKING HELMET.
Rey: I liked Daisy Ridley's performance a lot. My criticisms about her character are not a reflection of her acting, but of the writing. Making the female character instantly an expert at flying the Millennium Falcon was just laziness. Oh and even though she had never heard of the Force and believed it was a myth before this little adventure she instinctively knows that she can manipulate weaker minds to release her from her shackles and successfully carry on a light saber fight with her cousin (who has actually trained as a Jedi). Ugh!
Finn: Oh where do I begin? A storm trooper who was kidnapped as a child, raised by the First Order and then on his first mission he freaks out and releases a prisoner to escape? And for some reason it seems like this is the first time this has ever happened in 30 years + but the First Order don't seem all that concerned about it? And for someone who's been indoctrinated by the First Order for most of his life he's social skills are remarkably well developed. And don't even get me started on how convenient it is that he knows everything about the Star Killer even though he worked in sanitation and how to shoot blasters on the Millennium Falcon like he's been doing it all his life. And finally YOU'RE NOT A JEDI SO PUT THE DAMN LIGHTSABER DOWN. Not cool man. Not cool.
Poe: I like Poe a lot. Although I thought it was rather convenient that when the fighter crashed into Jakkhu and he was thrown free from the crash his jacket was left behind? How did that happen I wonder?
Snoke: Yeah if you're going to rip off a bad guy from another sci-fi movie don't make it a cross between Gollum from LOTR and Parallax from "Green Lantern". Enough said.
Captain Phasma: WHAT WAS THE POINT OF A HAVING A BADASS FEMALE STORM TROOPER CAPTAIN WHEN AT THE FIRST SIGN OF CAPTURE SHE JUST DOES WHATEVER HER HOST TAKERS WANT??
I could go on and on and on but I should get back to work now.
Last word: Entertaining with a few laughs but plot holes big enough to fly the original Death Star through.