Film

We went to see Star Wars: The Force Awakens, an action-packed tale of a desert orphan who meets a droid on a quest to help a group of freedom fighters destroy a weapon that can blow up planets.
Paddy: If this basic plot summary sounds remarkable for its lack of imagination, you’re not the only one who feels that way. The movie looks and feels like the original trilogy, but throughout, I found myself mentally editing the script, and re-imagining its scenes. Not a good sign.
Michael: This felt like a movie where about 1/1000th of the makers’ time and energy was budgeted for writing, and all other effort went into production. It’s more akin to watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade than a work of narrative fiction.