Predictable Reboot

Rating: 6/10 (7 January 2016)

Talk all the crap you want about the prequels but I actually liked them. Were they perfect? By no means. They had their issues but so did Return of the Jedi. The franchise as a whole started going downhill when Gary Kurtz was fired after Empire. Lucas chose adorable Ewoks as opposed to Wookies as the inhabitants of Endor. With that being said, regardless, it's his franchise and his rules I suppose. The prequels were his story whether you like it or not and what you got was a decent story that was overshadowed by overdone CGI and bad acting on the part of Hayden Christensen. Even with the prequels' problems they told a story of Palpatine's rise to power and Anakin Skywalker's journey to the dark side and transformation into Darth Vader. Could have it used tighter editing? Absolutely. Could they done without Jar Jar Binks? Certainly. Did it tell a decent story? I know it's my opinion but yes, I believe they did.
As for The Force Awakens, you get a predictable reboot that feels like a consolidated version of the original three movies. Death Star, check. Scary looking villain in mask, check. End lightsaber battle, check. All the elements of a classic Star Wars movie without the depth or character development of any of the previous films. All it really succeeds in doing is reintroducing the story for those that hadn't seen any Star Wars movies before. What's sad is that none of George Lucas' ideas were even used considering it's his creation to begin with. He sounds like a jerk but to completely go over his head is asinine.
Not only that but the lead female, Rey, somehow knows how to be a Jedi without any kind of training. Finn, who has training as a stormtropper, seems to be the useless token black guy in the movie. I'm all for strong female leads, Aliens is probably the best example but there was character development there. Sigourney Weaver's Ripley is awesome. With Rey, there is no development or depth. She is just given these powers and Finn is just her dumb sidekick along for the ride. Throw is a stupid villain that looks like JP from Grandma's Boy (who has a helmet fetish apparently) and it just adds to the stupidity.
I really had a lot of hope for this movie and I'm hoping that maybe this was just meant as an introduction for new fans. But somehow I think I will be disappointed. Disney has their hands in Star Wars and Marvel now. With DC trying to compete with the Batman vs. Superman movies et al, looks like there will be no original movies to see in the near future. Want to see a great movie? Check out a little movie called Ex Machina. Probably one of the best films I've seen in years. And it's original. What a thought!