Was very excited to see movie, but left very disappointed

Rating: 2/10 (31 December 2015)

Spoilers! I don't have to tell anyone how similar this movie was to A New Hope. At first I didn't mind the similarities one bit. I found them amusing and fun. BB-8 the new R2-D2, Rey with the obvious similarities to Luke Skywalker. When they reintroduced the old Millennium Falcon, I was very much into this movie. But the blatant and deliberate parallels never stop. Every other scene my reaction would be: This is just like... or she reminds me of... all movie long.
There are probably a lot of people who are just fine with the obvious parallels, these same people probably enjoyed the movie very much. Good for you, but I couldn't help but be disappointed. By the time they introduced the 3rd Death Star (yes I know they call it something else in the movie, but its essentially the same thing), the movie had completely lost my interest. Rey's character was about the only thing that felt "new" or interesting.
I do want to point out that the parallels aren't the only reason that I disliked the movie. I though the action was lacking. In modern movies with crazy special effects the plot often isn't given as much emphasis. This can be forgiven if the action is at least top notch. This movie didn't really deliver. I also though that Hans Solo's death was horribly lame. I didn't feel sad or emotionally impacted at all. Is it because I am stone cold at heart. No. I'm the guy who honestly started to tear up at the end of the LEGO movie! The finding Luke underlying plot never seemed all that interesting to me either, though depending on how that plot point develops in future movies I might change my mind. Even ignoring that fact that the movie was basically a retelling of A New Hope I'd say it was an average movie at best.
Whenever you go into a movie with high expectations, you often leave at least a little disappointed, but I never expected to be this totally and completely underwhelmed.