The brand is strong with this one. 65%

Rating: 6/10 (28 December 2015)

"Star Wars: The force awakens" could easily be retitled "Star Wars: The next generation" because this long time coming sequel to the original trilogy introduces a new cast of characters, as well as some familiar ones. Providing a lot of fan service to those who've seen the original trilogy, those who see this new chapter in the franchise will find a lot of this fan service goes over their head if they haven't caught up with the original trilogy (a cynic might say that the movie is a rehash though). It seems pitched at a young audience at times ('cute' new robots etc.) but occasionally I'd say that the action is more suitable to young teenagers.
I'll refrain from giving away too many details about this movie, apart from the basic plot concerning the search for Luke Skywalker (the hero of the original trilogy) in order to restore "balance to the force"...or some such.
Becoming a key player in the search for Luke is our heroine, young Rey (played by Daisy Ridley). She's not far from being this movie's analogue to Luke Skywalker in the original trilogy, as in it seems to be her journey that we will be following the most, although other new characters are a focus of this movie. Rey comes across as potentially a character to root for but I'm not convinced that the story or script has done Daisy any justice in accomplishing this.
Towards the end of the movie, it was tracking to score 60% but I quite liked the last 30 odd minutes of this movie and so pushed my score up to 65%. You can tell from that score that this movie didn't really excite me that much. Maybe that is due to it being a recycling of story and references from the original movie? No, not that. Here's my biggest fault for this film: it's designed to push your buttons, to manipulate you into a state of euphoria...and fails. It's this failure which sees my score so low. In other words, I don't have a problem with movies trying to push your buttons or to manipulate you...but please, just be good at what you're trying to do!
The brand is strong with this one, though, as worldwide box office receipts are showing. Maybe this movie could become the highest grossing movie of all time...or enter the top 5 or even top 3 spots. That it's having this impact speaks volumes for the work of George Lucas, whose first movie in this franchise ("Star Wars: A new hope", which is episode IV in the series!) created the "Star Wars" brand, from nothing. If that film had bombed at the box office, we'd have heard no more of this space opera.
Maybe I'm nostalgic for the original trilogy and this colours my views on the revival of this franchise by Disney Inc.? I doubt it. Ordinarily, I don't see movies more than once, but I have returned to the original trilogy more than I have for most other movies (from memory, I've seen the first ever Star Wars movie maybe about half a dozen times or so). To tell you the truth, the prequels to Star Wars I've only ever seen once. They were that mediocre. "The force awakens" is roughly in the same league as the very last of the Star Wars prequels, and that was the only good one in that prequel trilogy. That being said, I can't imagine returning to this current movie. If this current movie repeats its founding movie's status as the highest grossing movie of all time, will it have the same repeat viewing value? THAT is the test of its worth, in my view. Lacks that, it does. Reminds me of those reports about blind taste test between various colas...when you know you're drinking Coke, you rate it the best, but when blindfolded, you prefer the taste of other colas...not even brand names, necessarily. I suspect that that's the case with this new Star Wars movie...the brand is selling it.
The movie walks a tightrope between being ponderous (and therefore uninteresting) and intending to be euphoric with its action. Characters are 'hothoused' (like Rey) and not allowed to grow as characters over time. Other characters are foisted upon us with metaphorical cardboard signs around their necks, telling us how to relate to them. E.g. one X-wing fighter pilot is spotlighted as being "the best pilot in the resistance". As if we couldn't be SHOWN that. And what I did see wasn't that remarkable. There's a huge contrast between this tightrope balancing act when compared to the great TV shows of recent years...even shows which have no action to speak of, like Mad Men. Sure, nothing much thrilling happens, but it sure is engrossing. And even a great show like "Dexter" had some characters remain static for years, only to suddenly evolve to great effect near the end of the series. It's a pity that Rey's evolution was fast tracked.
Back to failing to push the right buttons...the fate of one character should have moved me but...no...I was indifferent to it.
A very minor gripe...the cheesy dissolves between scenes in this movie.
I saw this movie in 3D. Barely noticed the effect...except for a few stunning scenes which demonstrated vast scales. It's a pity that more couldn't have been done with this, e.g. exploring the huge battle cruisers.
Speaking of failing to manipulate...the final scene didn't even rate as unintentionally funny, with that long, soapy gaze from an old character.
On a positive note, the villain of this piece becomes interestingly complex in the last 30 odd minutes of this film, contributing to my higher score.
Lastly, I'm surprised that the bad guys don't go broke in this galaxy...expensive infrastructure is a favourite of theirs!
Disney's Neverending Story? I may lose interest in this franchise at some point then.