Fun for the whole family

Rating: 8/10 (20 December 2015)

I understood what J.J. Abrams and company were trying to do. Move forward, but pay as much homage to the original trilogy as possible AND connect this last film to Return of the Jedi in a way that would make sense.
I don't know why the story was so cloak and dagger at times. It's not like we don't have a clue as to what is going to happen. Star Wars is one franchise that has always went in one direction. I think that might have been to the detriment of this film. There isn't supposed to be much in the way of a surprise and it seemed at time that this film wanted to have some sort of surprise climax through out the whole film.
I thought that the character of Finn was somewhat poorly written and that Fey was under developed but I get it. This was an attempt to be a politically correct as possible. A diverse cast, African American represented in a mostly White ensemble cast, and a strong female character as the actual lead.
So I get it. Pay respect to the original story-line, move forward with a continuation of the last film AND try to appease the masses with a politically correct film. The film unfortunately falls short of that "political correctness" with the character of Finn. In spite of that John Boyega does what he can with what little he has to work with and I applaud him for it. He is still very entertaining to watch. As always.
This is a great film for the whole family to see.