Star Wars Episode VII : Return of A New Empire !

Rating: 4/10 (13 January 2016)

Let me start by saying that I never was a fan of Star Wars, be it the original trilogy or the prelogy. I always considered those films to be made for children (which is why selling the franchise rights to Disney made perfect sense to me), with campy dialogues, simplistic plots and ridiculous characters. Some of those errors were partially corrected in the prelogy (with the notable exception of Jar-Jar, and the horrible chemistry between Padme and Anakin), which is why I prefer the more recent episodes. Still, on the whole, the 6 episodes are quite mediocre films. To me, Lucas' real achievement has always been his ability to push the technical boundaries of film making and to create (and market) a whole universe from scratch. In short, he's a great visionary, but a poor director and writer.
So when episode VII was announced, I didn't expect much. Reviews were mostly positive, but then again, when it comes to franchises that have achieved cult status, objective criticism is very uncommon.
J.J. Abrams had the almost impossible task of delivering a movie that would satisfy hordes of devoted fans who probably know the Star Wars Universe better than their own family, while at the same time making something fresh and different. Well it seems he opted for the easy way out by making a movie that is essentially a mix of the first 3 episodes, nothing more, nothing less. There is absolutely nothing new about this film : some say homage, I say blatant remake (or reboot like they say in Hollywood now)! Right from the traditional opening crawl, it is clear that the plot is exactly the same as the original trilogy : they just changed the name of the villains, added a few new characters and that's all ! This is the definition of a lazy, self-important, money grabbing, fan-service movie.
How boring, predictable and uneventful this movie is ! The prelogy was flawed but at least we had impressive sets, amazing effects and great actions scenes to look at ! Although this movie is set in the future compared to the first 6 episodes, because they opted for this whole retro look, it seems their technology is less advanced than before, which makes absolutely no sense ! I could go on and on about the actors (Ford seems to be wondering what he's doing there !), childish humour, recycled plot and atrocious pacing but really, I couldn't be bothered.
In conclusion, if you want to see this "new" episode, just put that old DVD in your player and enjoy it in the comfort of your home for free ! 4/10.