Old meets the new in 'The Force Awakens' - entertaining, predictable, nostalgic

Rating: 6/10 (28 December 2015)

Star Wars is a science-fiction opus which is enjoyed, and loved by people of varying generations. To continue this magnum opus in all its glory and to further the inter-galactic extravaganza is a tough task, so obviously 'The Force Awakens' is not without flaws but it is surprisingly quite entertaining.
A lot has changed while a lot hasn't, but J.J Abrams has made a good attempt to revisit the decades old classic with a touch of contemporary taste thrown in for the latest generation of kids and teenagers. Even though striking the delicate balance of pleasing fans of the old trilogy while appealing to those oblivious to its existence is an insurmountable task, the makers of "The Force Awakens" have paid a good tribute to the old gold while bringing the Star Wars saga to a new juncture with a possible beginning of the next epic chapter in galaxy history.
A few highlights:
1. The movie is neither a nostalgia driven cliché pain fest of amateur film-making nor a cheap attempt to swindle fans with recycled plot points as many people seem to claim.
2. It is a sequel to be honest – complete with new characters and new story-line
3. The good: special effects, action sequences and background score.
4. The could-be-better: acting & character development
PLOT: The plot is based on Rey - a scavenger on planet Jakku - on a mission to return a BB-8 droid to the Resistance which contains a map to Luke Skywalker who went AWOL a few decades ago. Nothing too new, but it is just the first chapter and so it focuses more on setting the background, introducing the characters and sketching a premise for the story.
CHARACTERS: Finn is a great comic relief in the first half, BB-8 is the new R2-D2 with a bit of Wall-E thrown in and Rey is basically a female Anakin Skywalker from the prequels. The character of Kylo Ren is very promising with many opportunities to explore in future development but with a little too much angst in this one.
Han Solo's entry in the movie helps the plot pick up the pace which is very slow and borderline dull in the first half. General Leia has a small cameo too but to be honest, there isn't much she or Han Solo have to do in this movie except get everyone nostalgic. But since Kylo Ren happens to be their son gone mad (bad), General Leia may become an important character in the sequel(s).
Snoke – the Supreme Leader (the new Emperor) – is the main villain maybe? Not much introduction as a character except that he's a really large King Xerxes sitting on a holographic throne giving random orders.
ACTING: Harrison Ford (Han Solo) and Carrie Fisher, (Leia) even with their limited screen time, are good. John Boyega (Finn) – is discount Chris Tucker – classic comic relief character when the story gets too tense; but since when do Storm Troopers have a sense of humor?
Daisy Ridley – Rey – is satisfactory as the protagonist but not so strong when having to carry the movie alone (the first 15 minutes). Most of her introductory scenes show Rey as a human Wall E – complete with the abandoned ship home, monotonous daily labor and loneliness.
Adam Driver tried to do justice with whatever psychotic Sith/Vader kind of role he had, but with the limited screen time, Kylo Ren ends up looking like a bratty child with anger issues rather than anything else.
Broadly speaking, the acting is good – not great, but not terrible either.
ACTION AND SPECIAL EFFECTS: As far as the action goes, it is all reserved for the last 20 minutes. The light saber duel - which we honestly go to watch - is scarce but welcome.
The entire destruction of the mega Death Star in the end is very unimaginative since the "weapon" as they call it is not unheard of from the last movie(s) (we've seen a Death Star already) and the entire destruction of a big ship by a couple of small ships sequence is more like the last 15 minutes of 'Independence Day'. (If you have seen that movie). The background score is one of the major plus points in the movie along with the special effects.
CONCLUSION: With a more optimistic look at it, J.J Abrams has big shoes to fill and with The Force Awakens (TFA), he has taken the first step to innovate an age-old classic sci-fi saga.
This 'step' may be dull and dragged (at many places, too kid- friendly even) but TFA has a satisfactory plot and good light saber action (no matter how small) we have all grown to love and look forward to in every Star Wars movie.
There are a lot of plot holes and unexplained things happening like non-Jedis using light sabers which was made to look impossible by the original trilogy, a non-Jedi defeating an apparently trained bad guy at the use of the "force" by just thinking really hard, etc.
But if you keep an open mind and try to really enjoy it, then it's that much of a bad movie really. It's not reeking of ground-breaking awesomeness but it is still a pretty good watch.
Final Words:
If you're up for something new with a little bit of old, then watch the movie. You'll love it!
But if your expectations and nostalgia are stringent and a tad obsessive, maybe it would be safer if you skip this one!