Totally Honest TFA review

Rating: 7/10 (19 August 2016)

*CONTAINS MILD SPOILERS*
I am not a hater, I was reared on Star Wars, both the Original Trilogy and the prequels. When I first saw this film in theatres I enjoyed it, then saw it a second time and enjoyed it a little less. By the time of my third viewing I was finding so many things desperately wrong with The Force Awakens (TFA) which has forever marred my enjoyment of this film.
Firstly what was good: the CGI, like in any Sci-Fi movie, had to be believable and not distracting from the overall story and I felt like TFA achieved this well. The actors, especially newcomers Daisy Ridley and John Boyega, carried their roles well also, commendable seeing as they were relative unknowns before. John Williams' scoring of the movie was flawless as always, although I couldn't help but feel a lack of connection between the movie and the score which throughout his other movies seemed so spot-on. Most importantly, I was pleased to see the first female lead in a Star Wars film and felt like a huge milestone was achieved in this regard.
However this movie's flaws are hugely apparent. I desperately wanted to like Rey, but her 'super powers' for me made her totally unrelatable. How is she able to pilot and fix the Millennium Falcon with no audience explanation as to how she learned this? Later in the movie it is revealed she is Force-sensitive and pulls out mind tricks, force-pulls a lightsaber, and is immune to Kylo's powers at one point and is able to do this was absolutely zero Jedi training. All a bit too convenient. I agree with the many reviews saying that TFA copied the plot of the original trilogy, particularly A New Hope: a droid containing secret information ends up in the hands of a desert orphan, who then seeks the help of elders pointing them to a wise figure who then teaches them about their past. Not to forget the new 'bigger, badder Death Star', Starkiller Base, which essentially has the same operation as the original Death Star and is destroyed in the exact same way. You'd think the First Order would learn from the two previous examples. The writers could've done so much more with storm-trooper-turned-good-guy Finn; instead he quickly became a bumbling idiot clearly there for comic relief. Disappointing. Also his friendship with Poe seemed strained and lacking chemistry.
I wouldn't go so far as saying don't watch this movie, I enjoyed it to begin with. Ultimately TFA lacks the soul of the Original trilogy and the originality of the prequels, making much of it largely forgettable. With 30+ years of hype behind it, Disney really needed to please the fans as well as the next generation, and I fear it grossly failed the former.