Old School Popcorn Fun

Rating: 8/10 (18 December 2015)

This is indeed the best Star Wars movie since 1983. Given the low quality of the prequels, that's not saying a whole lot. Still, the old school Star Wars flavor is here as is the popcorn fun.
Maybe sentiment is carrying this rating but how many franchises have earned that right? Overall, I was disappointed with the shallowness of everything on display and the lack of story itself. You expect some cheese with this franchise and that was fine. What I didn't like was the predictability. There is nothing most smart movie goers can't see coming a mile away. That truly lessens the emotional impact certain scenes should have delivered. I know they had a lot of ground to cover given the 30 year gap in story but they sacrificed quite a bit in terms of development and depth. I was also disappointed that certain original characters never got to appear on screen together. I did really like the new characters of Finn and Rey. Relationships felt forced and instant but that particular contrivance is easily overlooked... some other plot contrivances, not so much.
Despite being mostly shallow, they did enough right introducing the two new leads and capitalizing on the original trilogy that I very much care about what comes next. That alone means this is a successful reboot to a worthwhile franchise.