A satisfactory viewing

Rating: 7/10 (19 December 2015)

Generally, I'd say the enjoyment surpasses the criticism I would make.
However, I cannot ignore the criticism, which really brings the film down. First, the good parts. The modernization of the film franchise is really good. The blaster shots and light sabres actually make visible damage for example. The good characters: they are all very different and fairly complex, unlike in the original trilogy where even the protagonist seems to be just a vehicle for the plot. The film wasn't just a string of explosions (it wasn't directed by Michael Bay, after all), there were some visually stunning scenes, and some of the scenes I could not tell if it was flying over a location or if it was CG (which would have been easier). Generally, it was an enjoyable film, it wasn't bad.
On the other hand... eh. The continuous attempts at jokes were poor and really took away from the film. The funniest parts were the parts that involved no words, rather wry. My biggest bugbear was just how tame Abrams was with the film. It felt like a rehash of the original trilogy. I really didn't care if the main antagonist, who should really occur in the next films (he appeared too much to be insignificant) was going to be dead by the end of the film. I didn't hate him, like one maybe should an antagonist, or feel some sort of compassion towards a complex character. Fact is, he is not complex, we are given very little about his back story and as such, he has less character than Uncle Owen.
This is an enjoyable, all round, part of a series, but it could not stand alone like A New Hope could.