It's not THAT bad

Rating: 6/10 (23 December 2017)

Con: nothing new
Pro: nothing new
Seriously, this might be the main problem for many viewers - Disney re-tells the very same story from the first (ok, "the only") trilogy. It's a well working formulae, it was great before and why change it? But it's also a problem for fans and "old viewers", because they saw it already and re-telling is never as good as original in eyes of those who remember.
As someone who knows next to nothing about Expanded Universe and does not have any religious attitude towards original trilogy (thought sees it as "the only" true one as well for "re-telling is never good" reason), I would say the plot is no worse than it was before. Jar Jar Binks remains the main horror of all sequels-prequels-spin-offs for me, new trilogy is not there yet horror-wise.
I could forgive Luke's self-flagellation, Leia's survival in the open space, Rey's superpowers developed without a hint of training, not-executed Po (personally responsible for loss of half of the fleet, mutiny and death of many last survivals) and many other craziness and inconsistencies of the story. Though, execution could be better - jokes do sound as if they are there only for the sake of joking, plot devises could be a bit less obvious, side-plot resolutions more meaningful, time/resources management could be less absurd, and so on. All forgiven. This is not what made me give the not bad and entertaining movie only "6".
My personal biggest gripe with new trilogy (or whatever number we expect now) is the cast and - as a result - acting. Rey, Finn, Po, Kylo - as un-charismatic as human-being can be. Mind you - I am talking about charisma, not prettiness. They are all frozen, emotionally bland and do not spark a hint of sympathy in me. Their weakness as actors is especially shows itself when they share the scene with true actors - like in a scene where Leia and Rey talk about Luke's death. You can see Leia's sadness on her face, but without text you would never guess what Rey is feeling - she barely blinks. Kylo is convincing as hysterical teenager with a big chip on his shoulder and, so to speak, nuclear bomb at his disposal (a disgusting Main Antagonist, rather than interesting, if you ask me, not to mention he _looks_ more like a "thinker" not a "bully" he plays), but even a side character Rose was still more lively than he and all of the main characters combined. And Del Toro? As downplayed as his character was (really, they did all they could to not allow him steal the movie), he still beats every single new character just by appearing on the screen.
Unfortunately, cast is something that can not be changed. Unless next trilogy develops from Rogue One, or switches to those kids from the stables (grown up and played by someone who can act) it will remain "an old story about boring nobodies". Something I am not looking forward to.