My understanding is Lucas did not sell merch rights, but I haven't confirmed that.

I was dissapointed. But my 8y old liked it... I guess that's a success for merchandising then !

Spoiler:
I thought the old guard "phoned it in", H. Ford especially looked like he was collecting a paycheck, or maybe just too damn old to work as "han solo" anymore... Light on plot (same as episode IV), light on character development (bam, Finn changes sides just like that), the new Vader as a "tantrum throwing pimply teen" did not do it for me at all - I was thinking spaceballs, not lord of the sith... But Hey, no Jar jar, no Ewoks (they are all died, did you hear?) so it was not terrible... At the end of the day, it lacked a sense of majesty and WOW factor. The way it was filmed looked almost low budget to me... Felt like it was all shot in a Portland Forest or something. Did not hate it, but I'd say C+/B-.
Takes all kinds....

^^^^^^^^^

Right on the money! I'd give it a B though, mostly due to excessive hype. The new generation of SW geeks will love it and that was the goal, IMO.

I believe he did.

At minimum The Mouse would have rights on IP moving forward leaving Lucas the legacy stuff.

Reports are Hasbro alone have already paid Disney around $300 M.

13 yo son saw it today. He said the movie was horrible and didn't Understand why it wasn't universally panned.

Then he told me why. Jesse, what a mess. Guess ill wait to find it on closeout at a pawn shop.

Saw it tonight.
I thought it was quite good and enjoyed my trip to the theater.
There were some weak points but it was entertaining.
Might see it again before the end of the year.

Somehow they managed to get in Lord Voldemort, Snape, the girl from The Hunger Games, a bit of Guardians of the Galaxy, and a dash of a lot of other movies, and yet it is 100% Star Wars.

There was a moment where most of the people in the audience let out a little gasp when they actually felt the force flow through them. ;) In reality, these were always kids movies with a little something extra that was fun and inspiring.

This one is as good as any. Better, if you consider how hard it is to reheat a souffle. Taken with a grain of salt, they are palatable. The new characters are clearly youthful, and easy for a very young person to identify with. Kids need to feel like they have power over their environment, and that they are connected to the Universe.

Good stuff. You know, for Kids... :)

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We finally saw it last night. The theater was about half full.

As a movie I would give it maybe a B. As a Star Wars movie I would give it a D-. My 13 year old daughter didn't like it very well either. She said she would rather see the originals in the theater.

The whole thing was Star Trek again without the lens flares. Lots of running and CGI and even though there was a story there it was poorly executed. The acting was better than the prequels. The 5 year old in an adult body for the bad guy didn't fit his lineage.

Maybe they can get Joss Whedon to do the next one.

Wasn't sure how I felt about it until I read this. I think you've hit it perfectly.

My 11yo said 'dad it wasn't as good as I thought it would be'

I expected more depth and wow from Abrams.

I will say the first scene was total goodness. Had the old vibe.

Funny, I didn't expect a lot since it was Abrams. He does OK at creating chaos on screen when he needs to but that's about it. Then again Person of Interest is one of his I enjoy.

It had good scenes but there was more potential to the story than how it came out. It was almost generic in execution. It hit all the check boxes but seems that is all they were to me.

It was better than ID4 and the prequels for reference.

Pretty much sums it up. It was better than I expected but my expectations weren't very high.

As far as story lines being used over... This has been discussed in other threads - it seems so rare when a completely original story makes it to the big screen. Watching the trailers for the upcoming films before 'Star Wars' began, every single one was either a sequel or remake. It's becoming routine.

Saw it this evening with my wife and son. For a Star Wars film it was excellent, tragic heroes, dastardly protagonists, the basic makeup of a great story.

Then there was John Boyega, this guy has a huge career ahead of him.

Saw it tonite. Parts were ok. Some scenes were gorgeous. Acting was ok. Story premise was fine. Script--not great. If one is not a die-hard Star Wars fan, prepare for disappointment.

enjoyed it. moves so fast that i dind't think about the plot holes and goofy coincidences util the next day.

I liked how Kylo Ren @#$'d stuff up with his lightsaber as he had tantrums.
Reminded me (of me) when I'm working on my car!

Reminded me a LOT of Adolph Hitler.

Rather than commenting on the money and merchandise tie ins that are blanketing us from every avenue, join the group: buy Disney stock!

Many years ago when both my kids were young, we had the Little Mermaid, Lion King, etc. I was buying all the Disney crap. I decided rather than be a consumer, I would be an owner. I bought 200 shares of Disney. Never regretted it.

BTW, I liked the movie. It is 1977 all over again. The original is better but I will see this one again. I am told there are 2 more is the works.