Typical bland joyride - no depth

Rating: 6/10 (19 December 2015)

I found myself really trying to like this movie...it was hard. Was it all bad? No, of course not. Most any bad movie has its virtues.
I don't even know if I'd call it bad, just...not good. *spoilers* Both of the new main characters basically had no past worth mentioning. Finn had the upbringing of an automaton, and Rey was stuck on a desert planet to scavenge by herself, with apparently no friends. Finn wants to leave. Rey doesn't. That's honest to God the only difference between the two characters as far as actual character is concerned - level of courage - which gets switched around as the movie progresses, making the two completely interchangeable.
Reactions to events in the movie are dry and unfeeling. *HUGE SPOILER* Let's not lose sight of the gravity of what the first order did in this movie. They are most likely authorities on the strength of their enemies. And according to them - They JUST BLEW UP THE REPUBLIC. THE CORE OF THE REPUBLIC, PROBABLY CORUSCANT ITSELF!!!
Take the population of Alderaan and multiply it by at least 50 for that planet alone!!! And there were at least 5 planets destroyed!
Was anyone affected? Did anyone react, beyond "They've just wiped out a whole solar system!" Almost saying "That bratty kid, look what he just did to those planets!" Hello!!! We're talking PROBABLY 50 TRILLION PEOPLE.
You know how in Abrams's Star Trek, Vulcan gets destroyed, and the whole rest of the movie has the pain of Spock and the goal of justice for the Vulcans as the driving force of the movie? Right?
You know how force sensitives could sense Alderaan's destruction?
There was NOTHING.
There are multiple other examples - these are just the big criticisms that underlay the fatal flaws of this movie as I see them. The characters are bland, the relationships don't feel real, and nobody cared about what they were doing. I couldn't feel anything in this movie. I wanted to like it, badly. I wanted Star Wars to be given new life, but I left this one numbed by the gaping vacuum I had just experienced.
JJ. You can do better than this, don't be afraid of the new franchise. Don't be afraid to take risks, to crate a new equal chapter of this cultural icon. Don't hesitate to make us feel something, for fear of tampering with what we've all hailed as theatrical perfection.
Your other movies prove you've done this same formula, and far better than this. What happened???