Star Wars(y)

Rating: 7/10 (17 December 2015)

CGI and Special Effects aside, I thought the Force Awakens left something more to be desired. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't great. Satisfying, but a little disappointing as well.
It was fun to see new and old heroes fight alongside each another. The characters of Rey and Finn are as innocent and courageous in their fight against the First Order as Luke and Anakin once were in their fight against the Empire and Sith, respectively. The world of Jakku is just as beautiful as Tatooine, Han and Leia just as jaded as always, and the Millennium Falcon just as badass as we remember it.
But, there are quite a few knocks I have with this film. It definitely needed more creativity. The story needed another layer, a rational development for the goings on. It's not just that Kylo Ren was soft, he lacked the intensity, the passion, and the "force" that was Darth Vader. Of course no villain will ever match Vader, but you can't blame a kid for dreaming. Next, the whole "First Order". It's just a difficult pill to swallow, to believe that an entirely new de-facto empire was created right under the nose of the good guys. Should Leia and Han really be part of another Resistance? Lastly, the dialogue. I think the jokes were too much, the conversations weren't crisp, and the emotions were way too overplayed.
All in all, Abrams vision was present throughout the film, but it was overshadowed by George Lucas' creative absence. Finn, Rey, and Poe, not Kylo Ren, make it worth the watch. I give it a 7 out of 10 because I hoped Abrams had revived the pulse of the original trilogy. Wishful thinking, I guess.