Tough call

Rating: 9/10 (24 December 2015)

There are a few ways to look at this new addition to the STAR WARS Universe, the seventh in the series, and this time in the proper sequence.
First of all, it's the value of the story itself.
One of the basic mistakes of story telling is related to us by Chaucer in early literature. The miller tells a tale, which good or bad, is what it is, and is well received, and brings spirits up.
Then the reeve is enraged, and tells a tale of spite, doing nothing more than sabotaging the first story.
That's what the "prequels" came across as. As reeve's tales.
Fortunately, we get no "reeve's tale" here. This is a story on its own merits.
However, most will observe the obvious, that there is a repeating of History to some effect.
And that's part of the story, and part of what "troubles" at least one of the original characters.
It isn't a complete repeat of History, but it is enough so that a chief character is so depressed that he hides away, and this seventh story is a quest to find him, along with some side stories.
Another important thing to remember about this seventh adventure in this Universe is that while I review it, in the last days of 2015 A.D., it is perceived as being a copy of an earlier film, which is understandable.
However, in 2065 A.D., and in 2115 A.D., it will be judged on its own merits, which is what makes this a "tough call".
For those living now, we aren't so impressed with the dialog, and that's not a knock on the dialog. It's certainly better than most movie dialog. Unfortunately, the first Star Wars spawned "iconic" lines and situations, and today, there are just so many control freaks who think they are the ones to decide the new iconic lines, that everyone else is just shouted down.
Watching the film, it was apparent to me that there was no intention of "iconic" lines, or of the "hard hitting" lines. Instead, it looked like more of an attempt to fit into the natural order of this Universe, and then let what may happen just simply happen.
And that's a good call. There are simply going to be "haters" at this stage.
In thinking over the past decades of how I would write the story, I must say I'm very impressed. It is almost exactly the way I would write it, the way it needed to be written.
More cannot be said on that without a spoiler, other than to expound on a few characters.
First, a tragic character who buys the farm. It was well done, not only being dramatic and theatrical, but also being natural in the order of events. It pretty much needed to go this way. It was a fatality that we felt, and that was good, because a death should affect us.
Second, the villain. The new Darth Vader was exceptional. Abrams and team gave us a modern Bogie. Bogart was the champion of the portrayal of the "villain with insecurities", and that's what we get here. The most believable and three dimensional villain of the Star Wars Universe to date.
In this new villain, we see hints of Bogie villains from THE CAINE MUTINY, TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE, PETRIFIED FOREST, DEAD END, even BLACK LEGION. (PETRIFIED FOREST, Bogie is not so much insecure as in a corner, and we get that here).
I don't know if Abrams did this intentionally, but I think someone on the team did.
Third, the heroine is exceptional and perfectly done. She has an "inconspicuous beauty", one we saw in the golden age of films. A natural beauty without a lot of adornments or make up. Being "conspicuous" is dangerous in battles, cause it makes you a likelier target, which is why action heroines and heroes of the golden age tended to be "inconspicuous". Also, the heroine has great fire and motivation, plus what looks to be heart.
Fourth, Finn is exceptional. A great fugitive storm trooper who doesn't want to be part of this "Universe", which makes him much like Luke. One can see this playing out much like the similar characters of SEVEN SAMURAI (Rikiki and Toshiro Mifune's anonymous character), with an understanding of each other, yet a contempt. Great screen writing here.
Another point is the relationships. They're well done, and the quick latching onto relationships is okay, because people here are in distress. The old romance between the aging hero and heroine of the first trilogy is great to see, too, as we get a lot of interesting relationships here, which makes this movie much better, technically, than any of the previous ones.
The scenery is also very majestic, and not overdone. An "A" for that.
Time will tell if the rating will go up or down, but I'm speaking about real time, not the mere 20 or 30 years that some of the uneducated believe. I mean 100 years or so. For now, it works quite well. I expect this to be well received.
Except by the "reeve" types.