Great pacing but I expected more creativity

Rating: 6/10 (22 December 2016)

I'll start by saying I'm far from being a 'Star Wars' fanatic, or for that matter even really a fan. I happen to have seen all the movies to date and can appreciate them for what they are, but they are not really my preferred cup of tea. Hell, it took me almost 12 months to get around to seeing this entry into the series. All that said, I was still a little bit disappointed by 'Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens' simply because I expected more. I expected more in the way of a complex story and I expected more in the way of new characters. 'Kylo Ren' really didn't do it for me as the main villain. Obviously he had huge shoes to fill the terms of 'Darth Vadar' (this is even touched on in the movie), but I still feel like a better job could have been done. Also the story, while pleasantly easy to follow, felt like it was lacking in creativity. When your come to a 'Star Wars' movie you're prepared for a little bit of complexity.
What I did really enjoy was the pacing of the film. It has a 136 minute run time and yet it feels like your standard 90 minute film, because it just flies by. When the credits rolled I remember thinking to myself moments before that there must be about 30 minutes to go. Daisy Ridley also immensely impressed me as the main protagonist. She was likable, charismatic and impressive in the action scenes. The only work-on for her before the next film would be her line delivery at times comes across a little fumbled. That shouldn't be too hard to fix.
It's hard for me to guess how true 'Star Wars' fanatics are going to feel about this film, but I can tell you that for average folk like myself it's a watchable experience, but not a lot more.