We may forgive The Force Awakens now, enthusiastic about the movies being back, but in the future that film will be seen as an unnecessary retread of the same story.

You know the argument, but you know it because so many people have spotted it: The Force Awakens is A New Hope.

Okay, so no storytelling is new. It’s almost always variations on a theme. We can look to William Shakespeare to see the same patterns repeated on our TV screens, on the printed page, and in our movie theaters. The circle turns. But that’s boiling down plots to their core elements: the interesting bits are the embellishments on top. Star Wars‘s recent embellishments are disappointing at best.