Fanservice brought to you by J.J. Abrams

Rating: 6/10 (4 December 2017)

So when Disney bought Lucasfilms and announced a new trilogy of Star Wars films, I was initially skeptical. We had just gotten over the disappointment that were the prequels and it seemed like the originals were going to be tarnished.
However, as time went on, the trailers came out and they seemed fairly promising. They announced the new cast and of course there was backlash from bigots over John Boyega's ethnicity. Any excuse for keyboard warriors to kick up a fuss.
Then the actual film came out. At the time, I really enjoyed it, but as time passed, I came to accept that for the most part, it's more or less a complete 'copy and paste' of Episode IV.
The First Order, under the command of Kylo Ren is desperate to retrieve secret plans hidden inside an astro droid discovered by a young Force-sensitive girl who teams up with a rag-tag team of heroes, determined to return the plans to the Resistance, to fight against a planet-destroying superweapon and track down the location of a wise self-exiled mentor. Hmmm, I wonder if that sounds familiar? OK, apart from the fact that this is a complete retelling of the original story, it has its charm. The new cast are a fine addition to the roster of characters. Daisy Ridley as Rey is compelling, and I'm probably biased because I have a massive celebrity crush on her (pretty sure I'm not the only one) but that's besides the point. John Boyega is an enjoyable character as Finn, whose comradery with Oscar Isaac's Poe is fun to watch. Old favourites, Han Solo, Chewbacca, Leia, C-3PO and R2-D2 return, handing over the baton to the newcomers.
Kylo Ren, played by Adam Driver is the new "Dark Lord", heavily conflicted in his position on the dark side, inspired by his late grandfather Darth Vader. A former disciple of Luke Skywalker, he became seduced by the dark side by Palpatine 2.0, oh sorry, I mean Snoke, and is more unhinged than previous Sith Lords.
As a movie, it's produced very well and is an enjoyable popcorn flick, putting aside the fact that it's mainly just on repeat for the entirety. Many people laid into the character of Rey, calling her a 'Mary-Sue', calling her too overpowered and simply labelled this film as feminist propaganda. Once again, keyboard warriors with nothing better to do.
It's enjoyable for the most part, and is merely a love letter to the original series. I will say that I'm worried now that Abrams is directing Episode IX, just because it's just gonna be another 'copy and paste'.
Another thing I'm worried about is, as I said earlier, tarnishing the original story, with Disney having plans to release multiple Star Wars films for the next 5-10 years at least. The oversaturation is going to ruin the series in my opinion, but let's just see what happens in the meantime.