Fantastic start, Disappointing end

Rating: 10/10 (16 December 2015)

The start had me shocked, and hooked. I knew instantly this was a different breed of the Star Wars franchise. Yet the further I got through the film, the more it seemed like a simple clone of the originals. Throwback, upon throwback, reference after reference. At first I loved it, but then it seemed it was the premise of the movie. Don't get me wrong, the acting was amazing, the visuals were fantastic, and I loved all the new characters. But it really lacked that Star Wars feel, despite it being basically the same plot as episode IV.
Rey and Finn had fantastic chemistry, I found myself laughing out loud several times at their dialogue. The new droid was an amazing addition, and I loved where the story was going from the start. But as the film progressed past the hour mark, and after being introduced to the Falcon, and Han and Chewbacca, I felt that the plot went downhill. The story was going down an original path, something that we hadn't seen before, until we went back to Hoth, and reenacted the exact Death Star scene from episode IV. Why? why not do something new?
It was a major surprise to find out the identity of Kylo Ren, but as soon as the mask was removed, all the fear was gone, he seemed weak and fragile. Han's death, although heartbreaking, was far too predictable. I still prefer Darth Maul to Kylo, despite Kylo having far more screen time and dialogue. Despite this, I found the film to be exciting, and hilarious in parts, and the casting was perfect, just lacking of the original storytelling of the original. Seeing all the old characters was great, but in conclusion, the film just seemed to rely too much on what had already been told.