"Through the Force, things you will see. Other places. The futurethe past. Old friends long gone." – Yoda

Rating: 5/10 (26 December 2015)

I went into the theater expecting (judging from the hype and reviews) an exciting new chapter in the Star Wars saga. And in the early going it delivers. The visuals are fantastic and it has the feel of a Star Wars epic. The new characters are interesting and mostly well played. The camera particularly loves Daisy Ridley (in the role of Rey), and for good reason as she seems quite capable. I suspect we will be seeing much more of her. The action is fast paced and the film never bores. It does however begin to drift to the dark side.
The action begins to feel more like a series of vignettes than an actual cohesive narrative. And while we are reunited with familiar characters they are never brought into the story in a coherent way. Their inclusion feels forced in a way that leaves important moments in the film falling flat. Any tension or suspense in the film is effectively neutered by being unforgivably predictable. In the end it felt, not like a new story, but rather an old one cleverly marketed to a new generation.
I left the theater feeling like a jedi torn between the light and dark side. I gave it a 5. There's enough there to like but I feel it falls well short of the hype.