Terrible Start

Rating: 5/10 (26 December 2015)

While Star wars has always has its fair share of coincidences/conveniences, this movie uses them at every turning point, completely ruining immersion as far as coherent story telling is concerned, some that stand out to me are: why is the starkiller base unguarded to such an extent that 3 people, without the use of any force powers can get in, why are there less than a dozen Stormtroopers around when literally 5 minutes earlier they had been ordered to scour the base for Ray, why did Finn happen to land within walking distance of Ray on the planet, why was Poe nowhere in sight when his jacket was close to the ship and Finn had landed so close to it(did he land there, and not bother to look for Finn?), how did Han Solo happen to be in the same system, and why did it so happen that the mercenaries showed up RIGHT on time so that Solo would be forced to leave with the protagonists? How did it happen that Ray can pilot, when that is uncorrelated with any of her scavenging activities? Why did the earth split exactly between Ray and Kylo, just on time to save Kylo? Why did R2 wake up just as they got blew up the new deathstar? Why was Luke's Lightsaber conveniently in some random cantina with a character we have never seen before? While the old star wars also shares some these, notice that the outcome of the scene doesn't change drastically in the old SW, while on this one the story depends on it.
Regardless of how terrible the development of the plot is, Star wars has always been about the characters, unfortunately it is equally lacking in this domain.
Ray is unfortunately too overpowered, she is a great mechanic, she is skilled with a lightsaber/rod, she is an amazing pilot, she speaks many languages and she can use the force better than Kylo Ren within 20 minutes of learning what it is. She is able to use jedi mind trick when she has no idea the force can even do that. Ray is superhuman, in fact it's so ridiculous that it's impossible to relate to her. The movie's only hint at her goals/aspirations is to wait for her family on the starting planet, and after insisting that she must go back she changes her mind after one line of dialogue by Solo and never mentions it again. I can't help but feel that this character is corrupted by feminism, they refuse to let a woman be even slightly dominated by an other character in this movie.
The second most disappointing character is Kylo Ren. The initial setup scene for the character is great, and actually already differentiates him from Darth Vader. Most notably when he is being shot at he doesn't make the slow powerful movement you would expect from Vader but does an agile turnaround that freezes the lazer in midair, this agility is already quite a contrast with Vader and shows a sort of impatience and vigor that is unique to this character. He has a domineering presence that is of a different form than Vader. Later scenes showcase this impatience and lack of control through his temper tantrums and conversations with his master, which are all quite interesting. So it was DEEPLY disappointing when all the initial setup was replaced with a reduction of the villain to a whiny goofy kid who has daddy issues and can barely defeat a dude with no Force powers and no lightsaber experience (he only does so after getting hit), not to mention actually getting defeated by Ray. Taking the mask off should only have happened once in the whole film, probably his encounter with Solo, instead most of his footage ends up being maskless, which reduces the character's presence.
It is utterly ridiculous that the villain is setup as the underdog, he is beaten by somebody with no training, and he never even tries to use the force on Ray. Yes he was injured but it is shown earlier than Ray is a quick runner, probably due to her lifestyle, and yet Kylo Ren is able to get to the Millennium Falcon quicker than she is, this would imply his wound is not that inhibiting and there is no reason why it should inhibit his force powers. Kylo Ren is such an underdog that it almost seems meant for us to root for him, the only way this setup makes sense is that that Ray will turn evil and Kylo will turn to the light side and defeat her(highly unlikely), this seems the only way to make this setup make sense, either that or have Ray get killed in the next movie and Finn (an actual underdog) avenging her in the third.
Quick words on some other characters: Finn at the outset seems like a fun character. It's unclear why Finn decides to escape with a girl he just met before he learns she can pilot but perhaps, having just escaped the horror of the first order he gets attached the first person he finds. But then in the next scene he decides he wants to leave her, coincidentally, the empire strikes just as be is about to leave and he ends up changing his mind, because he happens to see her get carried by Kylo Ren, which is also highly convenient. Probably the least developed character is Poe but he is also the character with the most organic exposition, he quickly establishes himself as a young Solo, and his escape interaction with Finn is probably the best dialogue in the whole movie, which isn't actually saying that much. BB8 is a fun character, though what made R2 work was his interactions with somebody who speaks English.
This is one of those movies Star Wars fans have to see but for everybody else, don't watch it.