The force awakens and the audience goes Zzzzzz

Rating: Null/10 (1 January 2018)

J J Abrams (with the blessing of Disney) has manages to reunite the band, but fails to awaken the force. His sence of pacing has the rushed feel of the television world, as if he thought he were making a one hour pilot. He has somehow managed to edit out almost the entire story leaving nothing but action scenes behind. Aquaintances and friendships are made between characters in such absurdly rushed fashion that it makes you yearn for the more zen pace of Lucas' writing.
Kudos for the removal of all the racial stereotypes. There are no Jar Jars or Wattos here, but then again there is little in the way of imagination either. We've seen everything before, all the characters, weapons, costumes, fight scenes. They simply do not stand out in an age that is over saturated with CG characters. The one highlight in the 'animated cast' is the supreme leader Snoke seated at his throne in the shadows. If nothing else he may be the tallest speaking part in the Star Wars universe.
The movie rests very much on the shoulders of two new youths Rei (Daily Ridley) and Finn (John Boyega). Both of them have the kind of Tom Cruise hyperdrive that make them essentially excellent video game characters; Two bodies who can never do a thing wrong regardless of the circumstances. In one scene Rey first demonstrates that she can use the force and pulls off a trick so easily that it insults all the long days that Luke spent training with Yoda. Finn meanwhile gets to wield the Skywalker Lightsaber, long before he has earned the right to even touch it. (This is a crown jewel in the treasury of classic film props for god sake)
What this moment demostrated to me is the that film does not really have much respect for all that is sacred in Star Wars, it merely showcases the pieces. Sure we have Han and Leia back but their so their funtion is mostly plot advancement. They have a short exchange which hints at some inner demons regarding events that took place somewhere between episode 6 and this, a missed chance for a good prologue scene.