You could do anything in the universe and you redo A New Hope?

Rating: 5/10 (12 January 2016)

THE PLOT A droid containing vital information escapes the imperialist First Order onto a desert planet where it is befriended by a young woman. The droid has to get back to the resistance forces. They escape the barren planet on a junked out smuggler's ship with the First Order in pursuit. A masked man in black wielding the force captures the girl and takes her to his giant battle station and interrogates her. Then the base fires its secret weapon destroying entire planets in one shot. A group of unlikely heroes both young and old band together on a rescue mission to save the girl and destroy the battle station before all is lost.
THE GOOD The actors. It really is amazing seeing Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew, Tim Rose, and Mike Quinn back in another Star Wars film. It was a great experience just seeing them again in the roles I've loved since my childhood. Then there is the new cast. Daisy Ridley delivered a great performance as the mysterious Rey (she reminded me of a young Keira Knightley). John Boyega and Oscar Isaac both make likable characters and ones you genuinely care for by the end of the film. Add into that veterans like Max Von Sydow (whom I swear hasn't changed in the last 20 years) and Andy Serkis and you've got an awesome team of actors. There was even a brief appearance by amazing martial arts actors Iko Uwais and Yayan Ruhian from the action epic THE RAID. Those two guys are extremely talented and it was a welcomed surprise to see them.
THE BAD A New Remake. When you read my plot synopsis above did it sound familiar at all? Basically this movie is a remake of A NEW HOPE. While that isn't a bad thing it certainly isn't what I wanted from a new Star Wars film. A New Hope is actually my least favorite of the original trilogy. It is also one of the most familiar films to the general populace, the last film in cinematic history that needs to be remade (in my opinion). The whole time I kept waiting for this movie to do something new, to really take off into a new direction, but it never did. Sure the genders are different for some of the roles but that's it.
The Scale. The whole time I'm watching the movie I'm waiting for the moment when things ramp up to the next level, that moment when the stakes gets really high. But it never happens. At one point Han Solo has a line that essentially says "Been there. Done that." Again, treading familiar territory isn't always a bad thing, especially when you're repeating a formula that so many people love dearly. But Star Wars should be setting the new standard, not going the safe route. The last three films, each of which taking new directions, have been panned and mocked by fans and none-fans alike, but at least they gave us something we hadn't seen before.
THE VERDICT I realize that this is the first film of a new trilogy and as such it is merely a set-up film. Set-up films have this feeling of just existing because it is necessary for the next films. It's like eating the vegetables on your dinner plate because Mom told us to. Some of us like vegetables. Some of us prefer our steak, mashed potatoes, and ice cream. I'm being harsh, but seriously this film should've upped the game. You know something is amiss when you find yourself thinking of going back and watching the prequels again.
All that said, I still enjoyed the film for the novelty that is Star Wars and the wondrous experience of seeing Han Solo, Chewbacca, Princess Leia, C-3PO, R2-D2, and my absolute favorite Star Wars character Luke Skywalker in a new film. I want to be excited for future films but it's hard to get stoked when it looks like we're going to be receiving a pound for pound remake of THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK. Maybe this movie was intentionally blah to make the next two movies look even better. Maybe?