It will make billions! Not much more.

Rating: 6/10 (6 January 2016)

Initially I wasn't going to write a review of Episode VII, but I've just seen a Duracell ad featuring light sabres and it was too much.
The Force Awakens is not a bad movie, but it's a pandering to nostalgia, without any courage to explore new ground, motives or motifs. In the attempt to not alienate fans or heaven forbid hurt sales of toys or tie-in products, JJ Abrams rehashed all the key points from the original trilogy. If it were not for BB-8 or Kylo Ren's light sword and the hilt, it would have been devoid of anything original.
From the production and directing point of view, there's nothing to reproach to this movie. It's easy to watch, not boring or annoying, but it's utterly unoriginal and a major disappointment in this area. The new characters are bland except maybe for Daisy Ridley's. Adam Driver is completely unconvincing as the villain, John Boyega's Finn could be deleted from the movie without anyone noticing, and as for Han Solo, Harrison Ford delivers, the only bright point in the movie.
That's about it. Fans will like it or love it, people new to SW (I know those do exist) can pick up without needing to know the previous films, and it will generate billions in worldwide sales. Mission accomplished. Hopefully JJ will not repeat his inexcusable demolition of the Star Trek franchise. Then again, Star Trek is intelligent and thus can be dumbed down. Star Wars, not so much.