Wasted Opportunity

Rating: 4/10 (24 December 2015)

I watched the original trilogy on digitally remastered DVD's in preparation for seeing this film. I still have great memories of the original that I saw in the cinema back in 1977 as an 11 year old.
I agree with the recent poor reviews so rather than simply regurgitate their points I'll try and add my own perspective on why this film is so poor in simple terms:- Repetition of story from previous films, fragmented, poor casting, politically correct casting of unbelievable characters, poor acting with the exception of Harrison Ford and John Boyega. Carrie Fischer was dreadful, too many drugs and face lifts have rendered her acting skills to a level not worthy of filming.
On the plus side the special effects were very good and led to a gritty realism when a Tie Fighter flew past for example.
The fundamental flaw to this film is that they did not invest in the effort to generate a believable follow-on story. They wimped out and took the cheap option of no doubt Marketing led focus groups telling them what they enjoyed previously and then just rehashed those elements. When will Hollywood learn that it is the credibility of a story and audience empathy with the characters that make films popular and successful, its not rocket science.
I will not be paying to watch the next film in the cinema.