Forget the sour grapes - "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" is fun!

Rating: 7/10 (30 December 2015)

Spoiler alert: The original "Star Wars" made cinema history, and movie magic, but it was a clever, shallow mash-up of many other films. In fact, the movie it most resembled was "The Adventures of Robin Hood," a spirited Hollywood entertainment with relentless and irresistible pacing and a fabulous score, and no depth or resemblance to reality.
I loved the original "Star Wars" and saw it many times. But, to watch the new "Star Wars" film with impossibly high expectations and come away disappointed is to never have really seen or understood the original pop culture phenomenon. Alec Guinness, the best thing about the first "Star Wars," thought it was utter dreck. Perhaps the disappointed fans of the old film need to take a clue from him.
"Star Wars: The Force Awakens" does have many call-backs to the original movie. But, it is it's own, very fun, show, mostly because the new character are well written and well played by a charming cast. J.J. Abrams didn't even try to recreate the most compelling character of the original series, the great archetypal villain, Darth Vader, with Kylo Ren. Instead, they give us a Vader wannabe who has the occasional temper tantrum, making him seem quite human, unpredictable, and vulnerable. Instead of merely representing the dark side of the Force, Ren becomes one of the characters we care about in the story.
John Boyega, as Finn, is remarkably charming and low key, essentially filling the Han Solo role of the reluctant hero, and Daisy Ridley resembles Keira Knightley without the annoying mannerisms. Her heroic character no doubt has a back story that we will learn more about in the next installment. It is a pleasure to see a major motion picture with women and people of color in leading roles, and what makes it all the better is that it is taken utterly for granted in the world of the movie. It was also nice to see some of the original stars show up again, and I look forward to seeing some or all of them again in future movies.
One spoilery quibble with J.J. Abrams movies: Is it really necessary to include planetary genocide in nearly every film? Worlds are destroyed, billions or trillions of human (or alien) lives snuffed out in his movies, with nary a whisper of regret.