More Like the Force Is Derailed

Rating: 2/10 (10 April 2016)

There may be spoilers in this write up.
I originally gave this movie a rating of "5", based solely on it's very good 3-D effects. After thinking about it though, I realized I was being way too generous considering that once the 3-D version runs are through at the movie houses, we'll only be left with standard viewing versions. In light of that, I knocked my rating back to a "2".
You can read a lot of the other low rated reviews to find many of the issues I have with the poor casting, the director's vision(?), and the sad acting, so I won't bother going there. What REALLY bugs me about this movie is that it does not continue the Star Wars saga. In 1977 we were introduced to this wonderful, new universe. At sometime we were promised a 9 movie collection, with 3 films focused on the now, 3 more delving into the past, and a final 3 taking us to the future.
The present went off without a hitch. The past was finally shown to us after an awful 16 year delay. When those 3 films ended in 2005, who would have thought it would be another 11 years before we got a glimpse into the future. Finally, that time has arrived, only to find there seemingly is no future since this movie only represents a retelling of the 1977 original dressed up in modern technology and a sad mix of new and old characters.
What should have been over and done with in 20 years has now taken 39, with 2 movies still to go. What's worse, is that now I have no idea when the next installment comes out if it will actually be a continuation of the saga, or just a sad remake of "Return of the Jedi".
They seriously need to fire the director, hire some real writers, and get this story back on track.