Missing Some Emotional Beats

Rating: 5/10 (18 December 2015)

I'm really conflicted about this movie. There are some really nice parts of this movie from the cinematography to a few of the action scenes. However, I have to say that overall, I was really disappointed. I think the film hit a double when it could have hit a home run.
The emotional beats are really what is lacking in the movie. And that's because we are missing some character development with many of the main characters. I expected so much more with Kasdan doing some of the writing on this. But where is the mystery, the magic, and the depth of Empire Strikes Back? TFA doesn't quite reach the level of the original trilogy.
Granted, the expectations for this film were sky high. But they should be. There are numerous great storytellers out there in the film business these days. I mean, I've seen better episodes in the Game of Thrones series. TFA missed out on continuing the saga by having a weak story with thinly developed characters. (Poe Dameron and Finn really would've worked better as one character, by the way. Not two.)
Another frustrating point to make is the lack of consistency with regards to the 'rules' of our world. For heaven's sake, the female lead goes from being a naive newcomer to a Jedi master in a matter of 30 minutes!! I think that's what ticked me off so much about this film. I thought the Force was difficult to master. That one needed to really practice and experience years and years of training to even grasp the basics. Nope. Not in this film. If your character suddenly needs to know the Force to serve the plot, so be it. Ugh.
There wasn't enough conflict between the good guys either. In the original trilogy, even the main characters have fights and disagreements from time to time. Think Obi Wan and Han. Luke and Han. C-3PO and R2- D2. Chewbacca and Lando. This kind of conflict helps to develop them as real people rather than cardboard characters. But in TFA, everyone just seems to get along so honky dory except for the bad guys and all.
Oh, and when Han Solo dies, there's no feeling going on. Chewbaca, who is Han's life- long bodyguard rarely gets a moment of screen time to mourn his friend! Instead, he walks out of the Falcon right by Princess Leia and I'm scratching my head wondering why Chewbacca isn't just utterly destroyed by his friend dying.
Final note: the Maz Kanata character really was a useless character. So, she was the oracle that's supposed to give the hero the magical weapon as they start their journey. That's fine and all, but there's nothing really special about her other than she's played by an Academy Award winning actress. She doesn't really DO anything interesting other than talk. And she has the light saber how?
There are a few positives like the fight scene between Rey and Kylo. No more aging Sith Lords doing double front-flips off a balcony. Thank God. Also, the Falcon flying near the surface of the planet Jakku in an epic dogfight. The great set pieces. The humor and warmth of BB- 8.
Overall though, really kind of disappointed in this movie. The potential was there to be great. But it's really the 4th best film of the series - a notch between ROTJ and ROTS.
Update: After taking a few days to really digest this movie, I've come to the sad conclusion that was was a money play by Disney. Because Disney has such a HUGE investment in this franchise, the directive must've been to make a movie that was safe. The producers realized that the risks were too high too allow for Abrams and Kasdan to go in a fresh, new direction. That has to be the only answer on why this movie was such a letdown.