Dragged in the dirt

Rating: 5/10 (18 January 2016)

After waiting numerous years and having to put up with the dreadful prequels of Episodes I-III, we were finally treated with a new installment of the Star Wars Saga. We were told it was going to be gritty and back to the roots. We were told the old cast was coming back. We were going to see Han, Chewie, Leia, and Luke again. We were anticipating.
And boy the movie was gritty indeed. Visually so nice it almost had me catch my breath at times. But for some reason the entire experience left me feeling empty, like a big deflated balloon. And the question nagging my mind afterward was, was that all? Never before have I seen a movie with so many spaceships being dragged in the dirt (litteraly!). That got old pretty quickly. As will this entire movie be. While the original trilogy will continue to linger in the history of cinema for decades yet to come, this new installment will struggle to survive even 2016. Where did it go wrong? How could this be? A few explanations come to mind. First of all the script was terribly weak. So weak it was virtually a carbon copy of A New Hope. With all that has been written and elaborated on in the Star Wars Universe, they chose to recycle entire plot elements from Ep. IV even down to detail. Sad.
Second, the new cast was very forgettable. The old one was still epic though. And third but not least the soundtrack and score was, well, bland. The Imperial March is epically eternal and powerful. The Force theme. Main theme. I could go on forever. But in this movie? Nothing. Just a sorry excuse for background noise they call "soundtrack".
But I have to admit, the parts I enjoyed I truly did enjoy. When the rebels fly in to attack they do it Gangnam Style (nearly dragging dirt, again). And when the stormtroopers attack they do it like only they can, in white shiny armor and without being able to hit anything of importance.
In the end I feel cheated. It feels like more and more modern big budget movies all goes down the same rabbit hole. All the money are spent on effects, and whatever leftover pennies and dimes are used to pay someone to come up with a thin plot to wrap the effects around.
OK, I was entertained. But not satisfied.