Better than the critics give it credit for

Rating: 7/10 (11 June 2016)

I was really excited about this movie, but then I let early critical reviews poison my outlook. I ended up going, but with decidedly more trepidation than I needed to have. The movie was perfectly good. I think it might have been a little better when you understand the lore, but even to the uninitiated, if you pay attention, I still think it introduces its characters well.
While some of the action was so, for lack of a better word, epic in scale, it suffered, sometimes, looking cartoon-y, but those moments are short lived. And the good stuff more than makes up for the bad. All in all it is well worth the time to watch.
Another criticism was the acting. To that I say nay. The acting is just fine. I think these newcomers do a good job. There was once a time when Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, and Carrie Fisher where unknown newcomers and today they are household names. I don't want to digress to much, but save for Oscar Isaac, the cast here are betters actors than the cast of The Force Awakens.