10 out of 10 my ***!!!

Rating: 5/10 (29 December 2015)

Whoah!!! Where to begin? Well I am not a fanboy crazy of the Star Wars universe but I was 9 years old in 1977 and saw the first (Episode IV) movie in a 70s fleapit cinema in the north of England and loved it, bought the excellent Marvel comic adaptation comics, bought the action figures and toys (Boy! were they a rip off) etc.... Didn't hate the prequels but was appropriately unimpressed with them. And now at the end of 2015 I get to watch "the movie highlight of the year", "the film fans have been waiting for", "the resurrection of the Star Wars legacy" and well..... 1: The Story. It's basically a remake of Episode IV. A droid has important data to help the rebel's cause and is discovered by a young romantic protagonist in a back end of nowhere part of the universe. The empire has a planet weapon of mass destruction and wants the data. and... if you've seen the first movie you'll know how the rest pans out. 2: The Acting: Harrison Ford may sadly be too old for this kind of role and he had a nasty accident during the filming and this I conclude is the reason for what can be euphemistically called a lacklustre effort by him in the role that gave him his career. John Boyega is way out of his depth in a role that requires him to show a guilt ridden stormtrooper who moves towards the lighter side of the force (To UK readers who are Ah emm of a certain age) he reminded me of a talented young actor plucked from the set of Grange Hill and dumped on the set of Hollywood's biggest movie in production and told to do your best unfortunately it isn't good enough. Daisy Ridley was fine and was for me one of the few highlights in this movie, she shows range, enthusiasm and brings a likability to her character Ren. I actually wish Oscar Isaac wasn't in this movie as he is one of the half a dozen or so actors in the last few years who are really worth keeping your eye on (checkout "A Most Violent Year") and I spent most of time when he wasn't on screen (which is a chunk of this film) waiting for him to show up. Adam Driver plays Kylo Ren (the new Darth Vader) and I'm sorry folks but it does not look good when even a trainee Lord of the Dark Side shows a bad case of Beverly Hills teenage angst. Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher are only in this movie for seconds (literally in Mark's case). 3: Direction and Story: Weak and derivative on both accounts especially the story which is IMHO the most egregious offence inflicted on Star Wars fans in this movie. I bet Kasdan is laughing his *** off all the way to the bank. To sum up: It's the equivalent of The Artic Monkeys rerecording The Who's Quadrophenia with Pete Townshend brought in to supply a few vocals and guitar licks and the rest is just respectful if plodding cover versions and 21st century digital remastering. A very weak 5 out of 10.