Disappoints

Rating: 3/10 (19 December 2015)

Spoiler-free review below:
Given the diverse cast, I was expecting a Star Wars without the problematic racism and gender exclusion of the Star Wars of the 1970's. This is where I was disappointed. Yes, it was a very Star Wars movie. J.J. Abrams did a fantastic job of keeping in the spirit of the original Star Wars. So much so, in fact, that I literally feel like I went to the theaters to watch A New Hope. Yes, one of the main characters is a girl, but she's constantly reminded that she's a girl. Yes, one of the main characters is black, but this caused problems that appear not to have been there in an earlier version of the script. I get the sense that the part was written for a white character and was changed for this particular actor -that his blackness was a problem to be worked around, not a point of pride. And the bit players were as problematic as ever. There were just as many examples of racism and sexism -barely subverted by the technically diverse cast. Hint: ironic racism and ironic sexism are STILL OFFENSIVE. It was flashy and fun, but progressive it was not. If you're expecting Star Wars, you'll have fun, but if, like me, you were hoping for progressive Star Wars, then you might want to lower your expectations.