A Fair Review: Tired of Hearing Idiots Say it's a "Bad Movie"

Rating: 6/10 (28 May 2016)

Let me break it down for you really simple with a pros and cons list:
Star War: The Force Awakens
Pros: - Simple, clear plot that makes sense. - Fun space adventures not clouded by politics or trade disputes - Likable new characters that talk and behave like real people - Returning characters fit into the movie and actually do things that matter to the plot - Villain has interesting background and is conflicted = more relatable - Great acting by all of the cast members (espe. Harrison Ford, Daisy Ridley, and John Boyega) - Good writing and dialogue - Exciting action scenes - Great special effects (including practical effects) - Great cinematography - Excellent sound design and audio mix - John Williams score that feels like Star Wars music - Character-based humor (not fart jokes or stepping in poo) - Shifts in tone feel natural between darker scenes and humor scenes - Lightsaber fight feels organic and gritty rather than choreographed - An ending that leaves enough conflicts resolved more more questions and problems left to be answered that makes the audience (potentially) hungry for more
Cons: - Overuse of plot devices recycled from past installments (particularly "A New Hope") - Heavy use of fan service and callbacks. Fun at first, but start to fell a little redundant - Villain is demonstrated as being very powerful, but feels underpowered in final battle - Main protagonist is not quite as interesting as the things that are happening to/around her - One over-hyped villain has next to nothing to do in the film - Ending battle lifted straight out of "A New Hope" - Starkiller Base = Death Star III - Some practical effects do not blend so well with CGI - A few returning characters do feel like they are doing the same thing they were over 30 years ago. Movie attempts to explain why this is, but still feels a bit out of place.
Conclusion:
Judging it as a standalone movie - The Force Awakens is solid, well made, and fun! A good movie without a doubt, based on it's own merits.
Judging it as a Star Wars movie - The Force Awakens feels like it never needed to exist, and feels like Disney's answer to try and recapture the audiences discouraged by the Lucas-directed Prequels. It feels like they played it safe in this movie with the plot devices and callbacks, but still managed to get the right talent to make the movie the right way and avoid any issues with acting, writing, directing, or production. There was passion in the making of this from the creative people behind it and it shows, but it isn't quite creative enough to be praised as a breakthrough for the franchise. Still, it shows the first chapter of a story that has lots of potential for new things to come, and I'm happy it exists!
Finally, anyone giving this a one-star rating clearly has no sense when it comes to film criticism and is letting personal bias about the Star Wars franchise affect how they judge a single movie. I advise you do not take their reviews seriously since their reviews are most likely un-objective and are driven by knee-jerk reactions to say it's as bad as it gets. Seriously, you can not like this film, but one freaking star? Come on guys! Really?