Didn't expect much, was still disappointed.

Rating: 5/10 (6 October 2016)

This movie was exactly what I expected it to be. A safe, unimaginative, nostalgia-filled cash grab. I cant exactly blame Disney or Abrams for taking the safe route after the backlash Lucas got for attempting to do something new, but I was still surprised at exactly how safe they decided to stay. Nearly everything is a rehash of episode 4. Same plot, same characters, same factions, even another death star.
There is a painful lack of exposition. Nothing is explained about the state of the galaxy or what happened after episode 6. The viewer is not told what the New Republic is, not told what the First Order is, what the motivations of either party are, who Rey is or why she so good at everything. I know this is the first in a new trilogy, but that doesn't excuse bad writing in this movie. There is zero world building. Even the musical score is lackluster, something I figured for impossible in a Star Wars movie.
For all the hate he gets, Lucas was a master world builder. I genuinely enjoyed the machinations of Palpatine within the Senate, the political scheming of the trade federation, and the build up to the start of the Clone Wars. It made the Star Wars universe seem so real seeing a functioning government and the power struggles within it. Abrams' entry in the series is devoid of all of that context. And the lesser for it.
I was seriously surprised at the lack of criticism the is movie received in the days and weeks after its release. Star Wars fans ripped into every. single. little. flaw. in the prequels, yet this movie was getting a pass on major deficiencies. I even went out to see it two more times just to make sure I wasn't missing any hidden dialogue or bits of exposition. Nope.
Even now, nearly a year after its release, its still being called the best Star Wars movie by many people. I don't understand it.
Star Wars is supposed to be a fantasy series, and maybe I'm wrong, but world building and exposition are supposed to be important parts of fantasy writing. How the movie with arguably the least exposition and world building is being hailed as the best is beyond me.
Bottom line: This a decent action movie, but a sub par Star Wars movie.