I enjoyed this entry into the Star Wars universe more than the prequels

Rating: 8/10 (29 December 2015)

My review is pretty much going to be one of those that are going to be unhelpful for all, I'm afraid. I only write these things so that when I pass on from this mortal world, something of me will remain. With this film though, I did not utterly love it and give it a ten so those that did are going to hate my review while on the other hand I did like the film and did not give it a one, so those that hated it or really disliked it will hate my review. I literally read a review where a person gave this film a one, but there were things he enjoyed about the film. Um, if you give the film the lowest ranking that means there should not be anything in it you enjoyed. There are a whole lot of numbers between 1 and 10 to use! It matters not; the film was good to me as it was better than the prequels. Why? Well for one it had better humor. Another reason? It felt more real while the prequels I felt I was watching people in front of a green screen. I can keep going on, but yeah, this one is better than the prequels; however, that being said, it is not as good as any of the originals either. I was really enjoying the film up until the final act which felt kind of rushed. After a certain character takes a fall, the film just speeds along to its conclusion and I just felt more was needed.
The story is a bit of a retread of the first Star Wars film, but I was expecting it to be more so than it was. I felt it had enough new to offer to keep me entertained. Well, like in the first film, a droid is tasked with the final piece of the puzzle as Luke Skywalker has been missing and a new order has arisen to fill the void of the evil Galactic Empire left behind. A young girl and a storm trooper who has had enough will try to get the droid back to the resistance fighters lead by General Leia who is desperately trying to find Luke. They shall get help from Han Solo who has gone back to smuggling and Chewbacca ever loyal Wookie. The new order though has a new weapon that takes the power of the sun to cause devastation and a new evil has appeared in the form of Kylo Ren, a man who wishes to be better than Vadar!
It was cool seeing Harrison Ford as Han again and some of the old favorites. Han is about the only one from the original films to make more than basically a cameo appearance though. The new characters are pretty good as Fin the former storm trooper was a bit interesting as was Rey, a mysterious girl who seems to harbor some force powers of her own. My favorite new addition though was Poe as he was very enthusiastic and I am hoping he has a more extended role in the next film. I liked Kylo Ren at first, but he deteriorated kind of badly as the film went along and I am kind of hoping they introduce another Sith lord in the next film, because Ren just did not seem quite competent enough to poise much of a threat without some backup. As I said, the film felt a bit weak during its final act and this character was one of the reasons I felt it weak. As for the new Deathstar, I thought it looked cool and I loved it when that one commanding officer ordered it fired and it took out three planets, but at the same time, one would think they'd stop making them with such obvious weak points!
So overall, I thought it was a good film. I am not sure it really warrants all this undue hatred I have seen from various people, nor do I really seeing it being the most awesome film ever. It was a pretty good Star Wars film and to me it felt like a Star Wars film, had they put a bit more effort into the conclusion I would have probably given it a nine, but an eight to me is a good film. A lot of movies this year have gotten eights, as very few movies released lately have really pushed my buttons enough for a higher score with the exception of the latest Mad Max film which is my favorite film I saw in theaters in 2015. This one though capped the year off nicely as I did not see anything that I did not enjoy at the theater this year. If this film had disappointed me like the prequels this would have been the last Star Wars film I was going to see, but I will be seeing the next installment which would be the eighth. Still unsure if I want to watch the Rogue Squadron one.