Disney + Jar Jar Abrams = GARBAGE

Rating: 3/10 (1 January 2016)

Everything old is new again.
Writers J.J. Abrams and Lawrence Kasdan have essentially rebooted the Star Wars franchise. THE FORCE AWAKENS: EPISODE 7 is being marketed as a sequel to RETURN OF THE JEDI, but all they've done is recycled the story for A New Hope with the same plot devices and same character roles. Abrams has done for Star Wars what he did for those horrible Star Trek movie reboots he made recently: tweaked the story, cast fresh young actors, inserted some original cast members, added fan service in-jokes, and updated the special effects.
THE FORCE AWAKENS is well-paced and entertaining on a superficial level. Like the original trilogy, THE FORCE AWAKENS is a live-action adventure cartoon aimed at kids. These movies are not designed to hold up to critical analysis. It's just disappointing to see Abrams and Disney take the safe (lazy) option of recycling a story line that has been done twice before, i.e. the rebels mount an offensive to take down a doomsday weapon that just happens to have a weakness.