Opinions Will Vary, But This Was Entertaining Whether You Call Yourself a Star Wars Fan Or Not

Rating: 7/10 (27 February 2016)

First to get this out of the way - just like Episodes I, II, & III - if anyone was expecting this to match the original trilogy (IV, V, VI), then you're fooling yourself. Self professed Star Wars fans attacked the prequels (and some foolishly act like they don't exist) because they thought they were going to match the previous trilogy, when anyone with half a brain could tell they wouldn't no matter what Lucas did. While Episode I was the weakest with some questionable content, it was in no way "garbage" or "the worst movie ever" like some self righteous "fans" or movie goers complain about. If you're one of those people who say, "worst movie ever" in regards to Phantom Menace, my only advice would be to either stop watching movies for the headaches they give you or watch more than 10 movies in your lifetime before you make ridiculous statements. Episode II had some weakness and Episode III was good. The point is, that the newer trilogy would never match the magic of the original - no matter what Lucas did. Different time and anyone seeing all the altering he did to those with the numerous "special editions" (some cosmetic add-ons were decent, while others were absolutely terrible) could see how Episodes I, II, & III would be. All good, but certainly different. But this is not about Episodes I, II, & III - just mainly to make a point.
Anyway, Episode VII The Force Awakens as well was never going to match the original trilogy for similar reasons. It was after Episode VI and George Lucas was no longer involved - plus this is now a Disney property. You can never appease these self professed Star Wars "fans" or the ones who take movies too seriously that they give themselves nosebleeds. There are those who use similar arguments about I, II, & III that will say is the problem with VII - and those arguments are ridiculous. I'm a longtime Star Wars fan and can tell the difference. All those others will give this review a "not helpful" vote, but it's perfectly fine with me. I laugh at that and those people actually.
As far as the movie goes, it was about as expected with some weaknesses obviously. It was always apparent that once Disney took over and Lucas was totally out, there were going to be some changes, some new Disney-ish involvement, and different writing altogether. There was an adequate amount of action, decent enough story, and some of the newer characters are OK - some. Gone are those little Lucas moments that fans would be used to by now, but that's expected.
The most questionable for me besides some of the writing was some of the casting. I'll admit that I questioned several of the castings based off the trailer alone. Daisy Ridley as Rey was something that annoyed me from the trailers, but she was good as her character and looks like someone who belongs in the Star Wars universe. John Boyega as Finn was similar, but his character and the actor were fine. No disrespect to Oscar Issac, but both he and his character Poe Dameron (thanks for bringing your personal life to this movie JJ) were bland but tolerable. I'll pass final judgment for a sequel since his character wasn't in the movie as long as others - but from this movie, blandness all around. The biggest problem was Adam Driver as Kylo Ren. The Ren character itself was a bit strange - and not in a good way. Adam Driver was certainly miscast in this role. When Ren took the mask off, on both occasions I wished he just kept it on. What a complete disappointment with both character and actor. They missed the mark with Kylo Ren.
Assuming that certain things will be explained (some will - others you'll have to find them) in Episodes VIII & IX, there were some plot holes here and several things not explained. The basic storytelling was fine and the movie flowed somewhat decently. As far as a movie as a whole, it was entertaining. As far as a Star Wars movie, it was entertaining and one that would be on par with Episodes II & possibly III. I came in with realistic expectations and was not disappointed.
The one thing that people seemed mixed on was the Solo death. Besides Ford wanting this since Return of the Jedi, they needed to do something big in this movie. Solo was my favorite character in Star Wars and I had no issues with it. I thought the writing behind it was on the weak side and they didn't execute it in the best of ways. There's plenty they could have and should have probably done differently - but there's no sense in crying over spilt milk. What's done is done and they have at least 2 more chances to get things better. They left some mysteries for the next two movies and any good movie looking to make more will do that.
So opinions will vary. Some self proclaimed Star Wars "fans" or "experts" will say this is the 4th best movie of all the Star Wars movies or will claim it's on par with IV, V, & VI (lol) while not acknowledging I, II, & III or crapping unnecessarily on them. Some of those very same will just say The Force Awakens was garbage. I say don't listen to the "critics" - judge the movie for yourself. If you're someone who goes to the movies/watches movies to be entertained, then you won't be disappointed. This was entertaining - which is exactly what movies should be.
Star Wars is in new hands now and thus far, it's fine.