A great movie for the whole family!

Rating: 9/10 (24 December 2015)

I read a lot of reviews here and now I've seen this movie, too. I wonder what people, who complain about this movie, did expect. Spielberg's Empire of the Sun? Schindler's List?
The Force Awakens (TFA) is a fairy tale, a science fiction comic, so, things in this universe work a little bit different than on earth. I suggest, if you don't like movies in popcorn style then simply don't watch them and watch serious movies instead.
I think I have to correct some things a lot of people complained about. So, lean back and enjoy
*** THE SPOILERS THAT ARE ABOUT TO COME NOW! ******
1. Rey. People complain about her flying the Falcon in a such experienced way. That's because she is extremely skilled and gifted. That is the story TFA tells us. And yes, that is not Günter Grass style. People complain, that she is almost beating Keylo in the lightsaber duel. Well, I must have seen a different fight, because what I saw was Rey barely able to defense herself. But Keylo is a lame duck and the longer this fight lasts the weaker he gets. He has absolutely no self-confidence and is scary and Rey has to fight for her life. I think the result is realistic in the Star Wars universe.
2. Keylo. As already mentioned Ben Solo is a goofy Darth Vader wannabe and as a result he wears this senseless mask. That is the very story. He wants to be like Vader so bad that he decided to wear this mask because Vader has worn a mask too. That's all. Nothing to complain about. And his tantrums a similar to the ones Vader had in Episode 4-6. Remember all the poor guys he killed after getting bad news or when things didn't go as he expected. Adam Driver did a really good work here!
3. Han Solo. Dying in this way is not a disgrace. He loved his son and wanted to save him. Han Solo is that kind of guy who thinks he succeeds when he really wants it. He believed he could save his son and was sacrificed for that. Sad, but I buy it. I would have preferred more movies with Han Solo but if Harrison Ford doesn't want to play Solo any more we have to deal with it, I think.
4. Luke. We only see him in the last 30 seconds of the movie and that isn't a bad idea because TFA is the first movie in a trilogy, so Luke will be more apparent in the next movies. After all the Resistance succeeded because they destroyed the Starkiller and found Luke. Happy ending for now. More to come. The scene with Luke just looks epic, BTW.
5. Protagonists are so young. As already mentioned this is a movie also for children and teenagers. And in order to give them the chance to identify with the heroes, the hero-protagonists shouldn't be 55 years old but in their twenties. Rey, Finn and Keylo are symbols for the children and teenagers who are watching this movie. Leia, Han Solo and Maz Kanata are like parents or grandparents. This is the way family-movies work, I think.
After all, there are two things that I didn't like when watching:
1. Why is R2D2 sleeping and with no reason suddenly awaking? That makes no sense even in the Star Wars universe. What about getting the second map but it's encrypted? R2D2 has to decrypt it and for my sake this could last years. But a hibernating R2D2 is senseless in my opinion.
2. In the snow Rey wears the same thin clothes she has already worn on the hot desert planet. This is a big mistake. Even Chewbacca was freezing. How could this mistake happen?
3. The Goebbels-like speech was embarrassing. And then all the soldiers raised their hands. OMG!
Summary: TFA is a great movie for the whole family. The visuals are perfect, there is no battle-overload and the protagonists have enough depth for this kind of story. The acting is appropriate. John Williams' score is a little bit flavorless but it's Williams. :-)
If you like Gohstbusters, Finding Nemo and other stuff like that you will enjoy TFA. And please don't compare it with Episode 4-6, because you were a child/teenager when you watched this. The magic is gone, you won't experience it again in this way.