Did I expect too much ? Is retro OK for a modern new Star Wars.

Rating: 8/10 (11 January 2016)

The Force didn't so much as Awaken as not really get out of bed. Maybe it's having a slow start.
I really really wanted to love this ... a lot ! I wanted to come out of the cinema saying oh wow that was the best movie I have seen in years. I wanted to give it a 10. But I didn't & I can't. I rarely go to the cinema these days but wanted to see this on the big screen for that extra wow. I came out turned to my Mum (who I took with me) and we both said "oh that wasn't as great as I thought it would be". I came out and didn't feel wow and it's hard to put my finger on why.
It had fights in space, it had a death star (bigger), some great music score, it had the old awesome greats (who you fall in love with all over again), it had a bad guy (who was OK but not Darth Vadar or Daul Maul or even Darth Sidious great), it had the force, it had some new characters (who are likable and I hope we find out more about them) and it had a new awesome droid. I still left the cinema not quite sure why I didn't absolutely love it.
I'm not sure if partly it's because I feel as if this is the film I have waited a lifetime for and the expectation didn't live up to the reality. A bit like putting lots of time into Christmas Day and finding it's just a day after all. So why wasn't I wowed and am I being too harsh because seriously the original movies are only awesome on reflection actually they are littered with overacted scenes and terribly obvious lines. But maybe that's OK because we now see them as retro and maybe in that case this movie is good too in the same way.
So maybe I shouldn't expect more than to be entertained & see all the things I did love in the previous films. The storyline felt old..... which to be honest it is but maybe that's OK too. That shouldn't really matter should it? There are really only so many stories to tell anyway but somehow there were moment's it felt so familiar it was like deja vu and what I wanted was the new story.
The special effects didn't wow me either and that's OK in retro movies but I remember being wowed when the death star blew up when I first watched it we still woop now but this time the overall movie effects didn't seem as great. I've watched Abrams do better with the Star Trek reboots and frankly as a fan of marvel movies and Transformers I was expecting big special effects and awesome battle scenes. They weren't there. The super huge planet wasn't great in focus, there was lot's of desert and woods. It was all very retro and maybe that was intentional but even the remade first 3 parts of the existing 6 movies had better grand scenes.
OK the new droid is BB-8 is fabulous. BB-8 is modern and old- fashioned a marvelous creation and steals every scene he is in. Beeps and clicks and a rolling body with a moving head and you feel exactly like you would if this was an awesome cute animal. You find yourself watching him rolling to keep up in the racing scenes not the actors.
Han and Leia are awesome. In fact their characters saved the movie for me. Han Solo delivers one liners like no one else in this movie could and I'm fangirling over General Leia who yes she's aged but is wonderful. She seems more in control of herself and has that grand lady air of quiet authority and gravitas that is totally believable of an older Leia who's grown into her role. She's a proper grown up now. Han is an old rogue and from the moment he deliver's his first line you know why you fell in love with him first time around. But...... even their scenes feel a little.... over acted at times. As if someone told them to go all Shakespearean and over dramatic..... and pause... stare into each others eyes... pause ... que dramatic music .... action ! There is a lot of that over acting in the movie as a whole. In the start of the movie it helps build a beautiful image of Ren and you start to love her a lot but by the closing scene with Mark Hamill (Luke) it all feels so over dramatic you feel they should be on stage not screen.
Oscar Isaac is fabulous too and you almost feel as if he is the new Han Solo. He could be a scene stealer given the chance. He has plenty of charisma and a twinkle in his eyes that everyone will love. He and BB-8 were my new loves.
I liked it. I will watch it again on DVD and might love it more when I watch it again but I hope the next instalment gives me more love. Oh and I want some more awesome costumes !!! Ray's rags do not live up to Leia's great costumes at all !