Uninspired remake of 1977 Classic

Rating: 5/10 (31 December 2015)

Like every Star Wars fan, I approached this movie with the thrill of tremendous anticipation. With Disney's investment, and the combination of new and old talent, the possibilities were limitless. I would never have believed that with so much potential, this movie could deliver so little. Yet, it is so unoriginal and un-compelling, that I have no hesitation recommending you to pass on it.
Describing this movie as a remake of the original (Star Wars IV) is perhaps slightly exaggerated -- but only slightly. It is clear the filmmakers deliberately intended to mimic the concept of the original. In fact, it is surprising how far they took this. Since I'm avoiding spoilers, I won't go into specifics, but let's just say the original Star Wars movie is more of a spoiler than any review I could write. This film is therefore entirely predictable. I suspect the filmmakers took this to be a safe approach. The problem is that what was genius in 1977 becomes lifeless cliché when clumsily transplanted into 2015.
What little has changed from the original, is the weakest aspect of this film. In particular, an attempt at creating romantic tension between two characters that have no chemistry, fell flat, especially with the movie's rushed pace, a gender role reversal, and embarrassing racial stereotyping. As to the latter point, you would think that after the debacle over the offensive racial caricature, Jar Jar Binks, Disney would have been more sensitive.