Mediocre at best, absurd at worst

Rating: 4/10 (3 April 2016)

Episode VII is a movie that was massively hyped up before release. As a result, it was extremely disappointing to many. I was skeptical but hopeful before watching this movie once I learned JJ Abrams and Disney would be taking the helm (Disney certainly has the funding and I thought Abrams did a decent job with the Star Trek movies). Sadly, I feel this movie really did fail to live up to its potential overall.
Here are some of the bright spots:
-The movie features a couple of the actors from the first trilogy, most notably, Harrison Ford! He plays a prominent role in the movie and does a pretty good job of reprising his role as Han Solo.
-The special effects are great!
Unfortunately, that's about it for the pros.
Here is the list of reasons this movie failed to impress me:
-The story isn't original or well-thought out at all. There will be numerous occasions where something will happen, but seemingly for no reason at all other than to conveniently advance the plot.
-As many people have pointed out, the plot borrows far too heavily from the story lines of the previous movies.
-JJ Abrams was extremely liberal with his interpretation of Jedi lore and use of the Force. This leads to some pretty absurd plot developments and scenes involving the lead characters demonstrating mind-boggling proficiency in using the Force/lightsaber. I mean, these scenes make no sense at all and there is NO attempt to explain or provide backstory as to how said lead characters developed their skills; it's like suddenly they become superheroes within a week, with no training whatsoever.
-The villains are largely forgettable. The main villain looks and acts like a wuss. He is not intimidating at all after his introductory scene. The other villains have barely any backstory or character development.
Overall this movie was a disappointment. I can only hope that the next director doesn't continue in Abram's footsteps, as Episode VII was nothing more than a hollow shell of a Star Wars movie to me.