1. ^^That's been the big knock on it so far -- it's by and large a rehash of ANH. I'm not sure if this was more the doing of Disney or Abrams. Say what you will about the execution of the prequels, at least Lucas didn't merely cannibalize his previous stories for them. And I still firmly believe a more experienced, disciplined (and less reluctant) writer and a more actor-friendly director would've made those movies a lot more palatable for many people (even though acting and dialogue have never been hallmarks of this series :P). But let's face it: times have finally caught up with Star Wars. Back in the day, they were light years ahead of everything else, now we get half a dozen movies like it every year. ???
2. I'm way more interested in Captain America: Civil War!
1. Not to ruin it for those who have yet to see it, but those comments about it being too much of a remake of A New Hope, totally spot-on. Actually, with the prequels, while not copying the stories of the original trilogy, Lucas did have a fair amount of visual callbacks and homages to the original movies. Even as I was watching Force Awakens, I agree with what mean by half a dozen movies did the same. It's like Star Wars may have started it all, but now it's just another face in the crowd, doing the same thing everyone else is. The franchise may have created the modern blockbuster, but the blockbuster has been better done and toned to perfection by other directors and movies. And speaking of directors, yeah, Abrams was not a good choice, which is why I'm glad someone like Rian Johnson, who actually has talent to bring to his craft, is doing the next movie.
2. Totally agree with you there.
