I didn't think much of it. I'm sorry. I'm aware that the critics and fan community seem to be in rapture, but I really didn't like it.
It was well written dialogue, well acted, excellent visuals, and ultimately dissapointing.
The biggest issue:
The plot was a mildly edited "A New Hope." I'm a fan, and I appreciate a little tribute here and there BUT COME ON. It felt old. Another MacGuffin-bearing droid wandering the desert, another orphan stumbling across it, another space bar with a bunch of aliens, another rag-tag rebel group, another infiltration to take down the big bad shields, and another death star. Really, another death star. At least Han seemed to be a little self-aware about it ("This one's bigger.") A planet sized weapon that can be destroyed by a 20-ship squadron of x-wings? AGAIN?! I officially can't take the First Order seriously, ever. It felt like a movie made by a bunch of fanboys. I thought I would like that, turns out I don't.
Alright, let's walk through the characters:
Let's see, we open with Poe Dameron inexplicably in a desert village. He gets captured, aided in an escape, and pulls off a chain of TIE fighter kills later worthy of a round of Call of Duty. Uncompelling character, no personality.
BB-8 gets a MacGuffin and sets off to wander the desert. He serves as a comic sidekick and plot device for the first half of the movie. BB-8's pretty cool.
We meet Rey scavenging from a crashed star destroyer. Interesting opening for the character, but she ultimately didn't really grab me as someone who I care about (of course Luke didn't either in the originals, and she's the EXACT SAME CHARACTER).
Finn feels bad about all the killing he's expected to do as a stormtrooper, and decides to break out, taking advantage of an opportunity. He was ultimately the high point of the movie, as he actually shows personality and character development. John Boyega should hold some staying power for the series.
Han Solo was there. He made some funny comments... Harrison Ford finally got his wish for the character.
Oh yeah Leia was there too. The cigarettes have not been kind to her voice. The romance felt forced.
Kylo Ren starts as a fairly compelling bad guy... Until he gets unmasked, exposed as an angsty teenager, and then nearly killed by the girl who's never held a lightsaber before when he reminds her that "The Force" is a thing (come on dude). He officially has ZERO street cred for the rest of the series.
The Resistance v. First Order conflict is just inexplicable. There's also a Republic out there, somewhere (whose major planets might have gotten blown up in the mystifying first use of the new death star). I really didn't get it. Are the First Order and the Republic fighting? Does the First Order control any planets at all? Why is the resistance hiding their base in First Order territory rather than raiding from Republic territory? Why does the First Order kind of feel like a ragtag band itself? How do a bunch of
Supreme leader Snoke is cool as a 50 foot tall puppetmaster, until you realize that he's just a hologram.
The technology is mildly updated from the original films. The good guys still fly X-wings, the bad guys still have TIE fighters, star destroyers, and a death star. I know that the US Air Force is still flying 50 year old bombers and 40 year old fighters, but surely a fantasy universe can do a little better.
The music was crap. No compelling John Williams Theme this time. That's a really big part of the experience, and the lack was definitely felt.
Ultimately, the numerous issues were distracting from the experience. The point of a Star Wars movie is to get immersed in a fantasy story, and it's just hard to get immersed when you're noticing all of the problems.
Low Points: Bad guys. Plot. The whole thing is a giant setup for Disney's next big media empire (get it, empire?).
High points: John Boyega plays an out-of-his-element turncoat stormtrooper to believable and often hilarious effect. BB-8 was pretty cool... That was about it.
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