The Jurassic World syndrome

Rating: 6/10 (18 December 2015)

In a year in which throw backs from the yesteryear were the norm, oh how I hoped that this would be the one where I would not want to get up from my seat, the one that would give me the joy and chills of excitement that make cinema the greatest of art forms. How I wished to be moved by emotion and feel that special something, that on screen magic that touches the soul and makes you grateful that in spite of everything that is wrong in the world, you were born in a time when you can witness stories like the ones happening a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away.
While the Force has indeed awakened, it did so with a lot of the magic feeling manufactured. There were so many throw backs to the original trilogy that to me it didn't feel like it stood on its own feet as a movie. Although it was clearly not, it felt like a remake throughout, it felt like "Nostalgia: the movie" because of not only plot points and visuals (the desert planet, the snow planet and more) but also entire scenes taken from the original trilogy.
The characters on the light side of things were all enjoyable to watch, easy to relate to and understand. And they were not completely what the trailers led you to believe. The motivations although kind of finicky in some cases, worked as a whole. The old cast was great and the new faces were even better.
On the dark side of things, I found that a lot did not work. While most characters (the ones from the trailers) are visually appealing we do not get to understand what they are about. Not a lot of motivation is given and this makes the scenes that are supposed to be very emotionally charged, a lot less so.
The direction is on point, the pace of the plot keeps you engaged, the acting is great, the humor does not feel forced. The soundtrack is inspired, although lacking anything with the impact of Duel of the Fates or Battle of the Heroes which stayed with you in spite of what you actually thought about the movies that featured them.
So can a good movie feel like a disappointment ? In my case, the answer is yes. We got just what we asked for and nothing more. I wanted it to be great so badly, that good enough wasn't actually... enough. It made me want to see Lucas' version. It might have been bad, but it also might have been great. It certainly would have not been safe.