I have avoided this thread for weeks, but now that most of the people that would make me mad have already seen the film, I went to see it today.

Way back in 1977, Star Wars was the first movie I every went to see, so I've been waiting for this movie to for most of my life. I though it was done very well. Much better then the prequel series (I treat those like the Godfather III and refuse to watch them), but it did have some problems.

Like others on here I agree, the story-line was too similar to the original film. I also think they left too many loose ends. They should have explained how Luke's lightsaber ended up in that dive. They should have explained why they didn't force R2-D2 to power-on after he went into hibernation mode. They should have come up with a better concept then just building another Death Star type weapon. The overall plot and story-line could and should have been more original.

There were many things that I did like. I like the concept of pitting Ren (Vader's grandchild through Leia) and Rey (Vader's grandchild through Skywalker) against each other in a battle of the light and dark side of the force. Though I wish Solo wouldn't have died, it certainly elevated everyone's dislike of Ren. If they try to bring Han back and say he didn't die, I think it will really diminish the story. I enjoyed the references to the first film, like Chewy getting excited when his old game board turned on. Also, they could have got a better actor to play Ren. Someone in the vein of the the Kurgan from the original Highlander movie, a dude with a slit throat and a gravelly voice. Also, Ren was crazy. Why couldn't he have had delusional conversations with Darth Vader? Plus, I'm not a big fan of Finn's character. Too whinny and too weak. Poe could have escaped the First Order without his help, and Rey could have taken the Millennium Falcon without him. If you cut him out of the film, there would be more interaction between the main characters. Chewbacca should have had more screen time.

It gives me great pride to know Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew) lives in Texas.