A good movie, but still not quite as good as the originals

Rating: 7/10 (18 December 2015)

This movie was good. It avoided a lot of the problems of the prequels. The script was good, story was good, acting and directing was mostly good (more on that to come) and it was intense. It's gripping film that gets back to the adventure type feel of the originals.
That said, there were some problems. 1. The nostalgia element is overdone. After about 15 minutes of general exposition it moves kinda slowly and they make a ton of references to the originals. I would have rather seen less of the homage and get more into this story. 2. The cast is too big. There's too many characters in this movie and so many of them don't get enough screen time. Captain Phasma was almost unnecessary in this one. She has like five lines and is in about three scenes. If you'd taken her out the story would be basically the same. I also thought Poe was underused. Seemed like a great character. 3. None of the villains were that intimidating. Kylo Ren was obviously very strong with the force but he acts like a child most of the film, and fails at everything he does. Phasma just gave orders, did nothing to show that she was an elite soldier, which she was being billed as. Hux was best villain in this one. 4. Rey calls the Falcon "garbage" but it's almost indestructible. Also Rey is so strong with the force without any training that she can reverse the mind probe on Kylo and beat him in a duel. Kylo was shown stopping lasers in midair and freezing people. 5. Rey's vision in the middle of the film after she touched the lightsaber was a really important point that was not well explained. Maybe we'll hear more about it in ep8.
Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac and Domhall Gleeson were great. Adam Driver left something to be desired for me.
If you're looking for a Star Wars film with good action, witty jokes and a good story, this will do it. It's not perfect and may not be quite on par with the originals but it's certainly a step up from the prequels.