Disney Cash Grab That Offers Very Little To The Star Wars Saga

Rating: 5/10 (4 January 2016)

I went in watching The Force Awakens with extremely high hopes. For one I loved all 6 previous Star Wars movies and this film had all the ingredients for another good one. Kasdan writing the script, the John Williams score, a 200 million dollar budget back by Disney with the latest special effects, and the original cast we all love. My main 12 points of dislike for this movie are:
1. Han Solo's death was predictable and although I had no problem with him dying it was very anti climatic. It was a terrible way for one of the most beloved characters to go out. He didn't die heroically he just simply walked out into the catwalk and died almost as a suicide. At least Harrison finally got his wish.
2. The planets and settings in this movie felt too earth like and boring compared to the prequels and original trilogy. There wasn't anything new we haven't seen before. This also goes for the spacecrafts and the aliens
3. Added no new ideas about the Star Wars universe, the force, or any back story despite taken place 30 years after ROTJ.
4. A very average musical score by John Williams. Maybe one of the bigger surprises of this movie
5. Way too fast pacing. I love non stop action as much as the next guy but it seemed like there was no time to let anything sink in because there was an action scene every 5 minutes with virtually no set up or context.
6. Total lack of respect for the concept behind the force and Jedi training. In movies like Phantom Menace and Empire Strikes Back we see the great importance of the training in the art but now a scavenger with the force learned Jedi tricks on the fly in a matter of a few minutes.
7. Rehashed script from the original trilogy with poor dialogue and pathetic attempts at humor. Not only was there no memorable lines in this film the 3rd Death Star is simply a insult at this point.
8. Weak villains. Kylo Ren was simply a Vader wannabe with a childish temper. Captain Phasma is a shiny female chrome storm trooper that does absolutely nothing in this movie accept tell Finn to put his helmet back on and deactivate a shield without putting up any sort of a fight.
9. Uninteresting CGI characters. Maz, Snoke, and the junk yard dealer. For a film that was empathizing practical effects we get a few CGI characters that don't look any better or worse than the CGI Lucas used over 15 years ago. In fact I found the CGI characters in the prequels far more interesting and better designed.
10. Rey as a super woman Mary Sue. Having a hero that can do anything and who is just as strong or stronger than the main antagonist is just poor writing.
11. Weak light saber battles. The light saber fight in the forest might of looked cool from a cinematic perspective but it was bland and almost hard to take seriously since it was a trained sith fighting a 90 lbs scavenger who was never in a battle before.
12. Too many plot holes, unanswered questions and lack of character motivations. I'm sure we will get a little more explanation in the next movies but it would be nice to know at the beginning why Kylo turned on his parents to try to continue the legacy of his grandfather who he never met. Didn't Han or Lea tell their son that Vader became good again in the end anyways? Or also why Finn suddenly had a change of heart after growing up a brainwashed stormtrooper?