Remarkably generic...

Rating: 6/10 (17 December 2015)

...And it was everything that I expected. It was a Star Wars film that fit almost to well into the mold of the original film: now called A New Hope,
1. Droid containing sensitive information hides from an evil force on a desert planet, which coincidently has a force sensitive youth vital to the plot nearby. 2. The bad guys search for the droid leads to the formation of ragtag team escaping the planet in the Millennium Falcon; all the while evil forces are using their new super weapon to destroy planets aligned with their enemies. 3. The girl is then captured and taken aboard said super weapon where the good guys stage a daring partially unplanned rescue of her which results in the ultimately pointless heroic death of a geriatric. 4. The good guys then all fly towards Starkiller Station (Death Star III) to destroy it in a mission involving flying through a trench with one good pilot essentially doing everything while a team on the ground disables the shields. 5. The good guys win. Everybody hugs.
If anything I think the movie is formulaic on purpose. I think this film is an attempt to not upset the hardcore fans whilst bringing in the new fans with bright lights and pretty laser fights. This is a good thing; Star Wars needed a reset after such a long hiatus, and in recycling old set pieces and plot lines from the original films it makes it incredibly difficult for old fans to complain, because in effect this is what we asked for. Nothing better illustrated this than the opening shot of a silhouetted Star Destroyer flying overhead. These slight alterations to a tried-and-true formula were sporadic and well received by everyone I've spoken to. Of course there were what I would call inconsistencies and "cons" within the film: The Millennium Falcon seems to have turned into a bumper car, Stormtroopers still can't hit anything and Carrie Fishers performance within the film can only be described as awkward. But all in all, the movie was fun and has the potential to act as a fantastic foundation for future projects.
This film was made to reintroduce the Star Wars universe, to introduce new characters and to sell toys. It is my hope that the next film is where the creative people that be branch out and tell a new story, something compelling and original that in hindsight makes this film a clever reset for the next generation of Star Wars fans rather than a generic rehash as it currently stands.