Star Wars: The Force Awakens, released on December 18, 2015, is sure to bring back memories for old fans and create memories new fans alike, with epic lightsaber duels and starship battles. The movie follows the story of two characters, Rey and Fin, unlikely friends who joined together to fight the First Order, the last remnants of the Empire from the original trilogy.

Rey, stranded on desert planet Jakku since birth, finds a droid with a map that will lead them to Luke Skywalker, who has been missing for many years.

Po is a storm trooper who becomes self-aware and renounces the way of the First Order. He helps Rey escape the First Order and  deliver the map to the Resistance fighters (against the First Order). They are joined by a jovial rotund droid.

Although many new lovable characters are introduced, old favorites come back for more. Harrison Ford returns as Han Solo, Mark Hamill returns (albeit for several minutes) as Luke Skywalker, and Carrie Fischer as Princess Leia. Even Peter Mayhew makes an uproar with his reappearance as Chewbacca.

However, this movie is plagued with many problems. Perhaps the issue of “overhype” caused too much enthusiasm for such a bland movie.

Firstly, there were several bits of dialogue that were not very well thought out nor did they feel well placed. For example, when a resistance fighter encounters the antagonist Kylo Ren, a very intense scene is created. They alleviated this through cringe-worthy conversation that can only give the viewer the impression that it was supposed to be funny.

Scenes like the one above detract from the general feel of the movie.

Secondly, it’s is extremely cliché. A group of resistance fighters attack a star-destroying laser (after the shield is taken down) that has one weak point that will explode the laser?

A scene on a desert planet where a poor scavenger finds a droid with important information for a resistance group that is against an Empirical force?

The list continues, but the message is quite clear: This movie is for people who want to relive the fourth, fifth, and sixth movies.

The only saving grace of this movie is JJ Abrams’ artistic vision.

The lightsaber fight scene on the ice planet is beautifully choreographed and brings a chilling sense of urgency. The general darkening of the film during editing enhances the sense of action and adventure.

The inside of the Star Destroyer, a reference to the original trilogy, gives a fantastic sense of impending danger.

The special effects, unlike in the first, second, and third movies, are not overdone, and JJ Abrams allegedly preferred using real-life situations to computer generated ones. This really shows in the beauty and realism of his settings.

Abrams, known for his other works such as Star Trek: Into Darkness, had a very valiant first try with the new Star Wars. But unfortunately, it was not enough.

Despite its flaws, Star Wars VII is still a very enjoyable movie. Critics enjoyed this movie, with an average of 81/100 on Metacritic. IMDB fans gave the film 8.5 stars out of 10 in favorability. Viewers will also enjoy the original action-packed Star Wars trilogy.

This movie will never be able to live up to the name and hype surrounding it. It will never make me feel the same excitement that I felt watching the amazing trailers. But it does try very hard.