A New Hope steeped in political correctness

Rating: 6/10 (14 September 2017)

As a fan of the original trilogy, I was looking forward to this new Star Wars mooted as a nod to the original trilogy. George Lucas arguably lost his way with the prequels, and perhaps J.J. Abrams could find it again?
But what we're served is really a rehash of New Hope steeped in the political correctness that is so prevalent in today's society. On a positive note, Abrams doesn't do a bad job of recreating the "used universe" that made Star Wars such a classic. CGI cartoon-like nonsense does make the odd appearance, but it's not overpowering. The look of the movie is excellent. It's the narrative that leaves a sour taste in your mouth.
The liberal agenda weakened this film is several ways. Firstly, Abrams felt it necessary to portray the prime bad guy, Kylo Ren well played by Adam Driver, as an inadequate figure of fun. He is unmasked in this first instalment of the new trilogy, removing all mystery and menace from the character, and comes across as an insecure teenage bully boy trying too hard to appear evil.
Secondly, the female star of the film of course had to be a superhuman fighter and dominant. Daisy Ridley does good work here as Rey with the material she was given. But the agenda is strong in Abrams, and Disney. If young girls view Rey as a role model, they might get a rude awakening when they try to beat up three men with a stick. The lack of realism here again damages the storyline.
In another scene, Rey is "empowered" when asking Finn (another male figure of fun John Boyega) for the correct sealing tape. It's hammered home she has the technical and mechanical knowledge, not the male. It is possible to write a strong female character without straying too far from real world gender differences (I know, I know, we're all the same now).
Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia was a very strong female lead, but she never lost her femininity. An interesting side note is all merchandise showing Leia in her slave outfit is now blacklisted by Disney, as if it gave the message that was her true role in life. I don't believe that's a message most normal people got. Quite the opposite. But this is the narrative Disney lives and breathes now. Woman strong & technical, man weak & comical.
Rey's toughness is hammered home so hard in fact, that it becomes quickly tedious. "I can handle myself" she says to Han Solo, after recently outsmarting him by fixing the Millennium Falcon when he couldn't. We get the message Disney. Yawn.
And thirdly, black stormtrooper John Boyega has a crisis of conscience and decides to escape the Empire. As with the "tormented teen" Kylo Ren, this only damages the Empire's menace and thus makes the movie unstable. Seeing a stormtrooper worry about firing his gun does nothing to strengthen the franchise. Maybe we'll see a stormtrooper petting a puppy in future instalments?
In conclusion? We may remember New Hope as a child's movie, with a fairy tale Princess and cliché evil overlord. But it was surprisingly adult friendly. Originally Han Solo did indeed shoot Greedo first, not in self defense as in later altered PC versions. And Darth Vader wasn't a spotty teenager to be laughed at. Princess Leia was tough as hell, but in a believable and feminine way. In contrast Force Awakens is strictly a young child's movie, ticking all the politically correct boxes in a righteous Disney mission to empower women and prove that men are incompetent.
Maybe the prequels weren't so bad after all?