A good weekend movie... but for a Star Wars movie? Err....

Rating: 7/10 (11 April 2016)

Spoilers ahead.
Taking down a powerful battle station through the oscillator? A youth whose potential with The Force runs strong? A masked villain wanting to take down the Resistance and change the ways of the galaxy? A dealer who Han Solo conveniently runs into in some strange looking pub? Why, that sounds exactly like what we saw and loved in the original trilogy.
Only, this movie fails miserably in trying to bring forth to a new generation what was once, and still is, a classic series that should be enjoyed by all.
I am very very late in joining the Star Wars wagon. It undeniably sparked my interest when The Force Awakens was about to come out and around that time, a fanart of one of my favorite characters in a certain fandom was drawn as a Jedi/lightsaber wielder. Downloading the Big Three (the original trilogy), I was charmed and hooked by this huge space opera with memorable characters. It is 2016, and I decide to try Episode VII: The Force Awakens, planning to watch The Phantom Menace and co., in a short while.
We meet Rey, a scavenger in the desert planet of Jakku waiting for her family who'd left her all those years ago. She has an encounter with Finn, a stormtrooper who wishes to turn away from The First Order and dons the identity of a person from the Resistance (which still includes the characters we all loved from the original trilogy, General Leia Organa, C3PO, even R2-D2...) and comes upon a BB-8 droid model carrying information to the whereabouts of Luke Skywalker, the last Jedi knight from the era of the Empire. Only, the droid is sought out by Kylo Ren, a masked man who has his own ideals and is lured into the dark side of the force by Supreme Leader Snoke, a bald white organism that may just be human but will stop at nothing to get his way by obliterating the last of the Jedi... the fate of the galaxy rests on Rey's hands, as, the force is strong within her.
Now, the bad part.
It doesn't seem so bad, until you realize... it's been done before. Where the previous cast of characters from the original trilogy stand out and can stand up on their own and will be remembered for years to come is where the new cast of characters fail to shine through.
One would argue that The Force Awakens should not be compared to the original trilogy. Thing is, it tries so hard to be what the original trilogy used to be that... it pulls itself down.
Finn has faced trauma from all the blood shed throughout the galaxy under the influence of the First Order. Kylo Ren is shadowed by his past... and he wishes to continue what his grandfather, Darth Vader, started. Thing is, almost none of this is explored.
We know that Kylo Ren is lured into the dark side of the force. But he is simply not an interesting, compelling character and we as viewers get close to no insight on his inner conflict. He slashes his light saber around and abuses his Jedi power - but that does not make him come off the least bit threatening. He just comes off very confused (which is, probably the film's intention and sort of backfires because we do not sympathize with him as much either. We're not meant to, but it's a possibility.)
Rey is a shadow of Luke. She's adept at the force, she has a strong will, and she is a superb pilot. What bothered me the most about her was her duel with Kylo Ren at the end. The Force is meant to defend; never to attack. She is determined to defeat Kylo Ren. She did not undergo the rigorous training Luke did in The Empire Strikes Back. There is no one to train her in TFA, but she WILL be trained in Episode VIII! Is this saying she was lucky with disarming Kylo Ren? She's that good? It... just sounds a bit unlikely, don't you think? The power of determination and conviction does not always work out; and while it might in other movies, certainly not in Star Wars. Not when it's delivered this carelessly with the original trilogy backing up its current fame.
What perhaps saves this movie and brings it down at the same time is the fact that it IS a Star Wars movie: Leia and Han, Chewbacca, R2- D2, C3PO, and a certain character's cameo at the end - there are parts that will surely warm your heart and make you think back to Star Wars' glory days.
That being said, the graphics are very well done (it is Disney, after all). If you're new to the Star Wars franchise and are in need of a decent enough weekend movie (albeit forgettable), by all means, do try this. But do know that Star Wars is meant to be so much more than that, and nothing will ever replace the original trilogy.