Between a rock and... a better place.

Rating: 8/10 (18 December 2015)

Well, this is awkward. I'll fore-go the usual 'huge fan of SW' etc, because anyone spending time to write a review of anything cares enough about the movie in question to do it.
SW7 is everything that could be expected - and I use that word carefully. It's generally accepted that the prequels are the worst of the bunch, Return Of The Jedi next, then A New Hope with The Empire Strikes Back top of the pile. With one deviation this is also my opinion, and after seeing The Force Awakens it's still my opinion.
SW7 suffers from having to do a number of jobs all at the same time, namely to placate fanboys such as myself with lashings of nostalgia and reference to 'the good old days', entice a new generation into the cinema for obvious reasons and also to set up the next part of the series with quite literally, a 'cliffhanger'.
It succeeds on all fronts - past, present and future - but not without cost. There is the very tangible sense that JJ Abrams and his team have attempted to 'please all the people' with this installment, and to a greater or lesser extent they have managed to pull it off. However, there will be many whose expectations exceed the reality, and as such will not see this episode for what it is - a transitional point.
I thoroughly enjoyed this movie as a fanboy, but I suspect I'll enjoy Episode VIII a whole lot more with eyes anew, thanks mainly to a very tidy set-up. Fun, nostalgic and decent - just don't expect it to knock A New Hope or The Empire Strikes Back of their respective perches - because it doesn't.
So, a hyper-recap for those wanting a ranking: 5, 4, 7, 3, 6, 1, 2.