Fails to Deliver

Rating: 3/10 (20 December 2015)

With all the hype surrounding the release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens and after viewing the film, one might be lead to believe that almost all of the budget was devoted to the marketing department. Perhaps it's not that simple, but the film itself was, overall, a complete letdown. From unwelcome and distracting humor interjections that fell short of adding a comedic essence, to one of the worst character deliveries in the introduction of new villain Kylo Ren, Star Wars: The Force Awakens left many leaving the theater unsatisfied and skeptical of the series' future. Many also claim the film is just 'lacking' something, which I believe are the result of three major flaws in the film itself:
1) Was this a modernization of Star Wars: Episode IV or what? Read the 'most helpful' review, "It is not a sequel, but a remake"
2) Lack of Star Wars' 'epic' nature: Perhaps it is due to the above issue, but the latest installment of the series lacks the grand- scale-like nature of the first six movies. The movie couldn't even successfully establish any excitement for how the story will continue.
3) Save for Kylo Ren, yawn-worthily weak character backgrounds will anger those who relish a deep character connection: (however, I was very pleased to see the fantastic performance by John Boyega as Finn). I agree with an earlier review, that simply showing Kylo Ren's internal struggles way before they did would have provided at least some empathy/personal connection to the character. Are those two things not what made Darth Vader so unsettlingly adored? Before this drags on too long, I'll only mention that the new protagonist, Rey, has her likability threatened by an exceedingly mediocre background and character development then subsequently doomed by a boring delivery on Daisy Ridley's behalf.
I understand that most viewers are torn between either loving or hating the new film, and that many opinions (including my own) may change after seeing it a time or two more. When all was said and done, I was left entertained, but disappointed. A short-term success for Disney.