I set my expectations very low going into the movie. As a result I was positively suprised and could enjoy it a lot and it is one of my favourite movies in recent times. I do have to say, though, that the movie fails to keep up the excellent level of the first few scenes on Jakku. Reys introduction is definitly a part of my list of notable moments in Star Wars.

I think they tread too lightly so as not to step on Fan's toes (like some of the recoil from the Prequels). That being said, the movies all follow the standard Hero's Journey. My issue the TFA is that they literally just took exact scenes and tweaked them slightly. I felt like JJ and his cinema buddies were hanging out in the basement just laughing about how little they were doing (beside playing the effects sandbox) and how much money they were going to make.

1. THE ORDINARY WORLD. The hero, uneasy, uncomfortable or unaware, is introduced sympathetically so the audience can identify with the situation or dilemma. The hero is shown against a background of environment, heredity, and personal history. Some kind of polarity in the hero’s life is pulling in different directions and causing stress.

2. THE CALL TO ADVENTURE. Something shakes up the situation, either from external pressures or from something rising up from deep within, so the hero must face the beginnings of change.

3. REFUSAL OF THE CALL. The hero feels the fear of the unknown and tries to turn away from the adventure, however briefly. Alternately, another character may express the uncertainty and danger ahead.

4. MEETING WITH THE MENTOR. The hero comes across a seasoned traveler of the worlds who gives him or her training, equipment, or advice that will help on the journey. Or the hero reaches within to a source of courage and wisdom.

5. CROSSING THE THRESHOLD. At the end of Act One, the hero commits to leaving the Ordinary World and entering a new region or condition with unfamiliar rules and values.

6. TESTS, ALLIES AND ENEMIES. The hero is tested and sorts out allegiances in the Special World.

7. APPROACH. The hero and newfound allies prepare for the major challenge in the Special world.

8. THE ORDEAL. Near the middle of the story, the hero enters a central space in the Special World and confronts death or faces his or her greatest fear. Out of the moment of death comes a new life.

9. THE REWARD. The hero takes possession of the treasure won by facing death. There may be celebration, but there is also danger of losing the treasure again.

10. THE ROAD BACK. About three-fourths of the way through the story, the hero is driven to complete the adventure, leaving the Special World to be sure the treasure is brought home. Often a chase scene signals the urgency and danger of the mission.

11. THE RESURRECTION. At the climax, the hero is severely tested once more on the threshold of home. He or she is purified by a last sacrifice, another moment of death and rebirth, but on a higher and more complete level. By the hero’s action, the polarities that were in conflict at the beginning are finally resolved.

12. RETURN WITH THE ELIXIR. The hero returns home or continues the journey, bearing some element of the treasure that has the power to transform the world as the hero has been transformed.

I consider myself an OT and EU Legends fan. I enjoyed the prequels for what it was at the time but they ultimately did not click with me as well as the originals did. I think the portrayal of Anakin and George's lack of skill as a script writer was a major detriment to my enjoyment of those films. The other factor is their look and design, which although good, I didn't find as enthralling as the OT.

That being said I'm with the OP with regards to my opinion of TFA. I'm also with pretty much everyone who agrees it is essentially Star Wars OT Greatest Hits put into one film but I'm not ashamed to say that I really enjoy it even after watching more than 5 times now. I do agree though that it needed better exposition and maybe making a 3rd Death Star wasn't the best idea. It is still also not as terrible as some fans make it out to be but yeah they should've at least gone with another type of superweapon. Alot of story details related to TFA can be found in novels and other canon material which can be a good or bad thing depending on your perspective. Understandably some people prefer to judge the film on its own merits but as a fan who loves the lore aspect of SW it's hard not see this film in context with the larger canon universe. A few inconsistent story points, convenient plot devices and a severely underused character are some of my gripes but it otherwise succeeds in the areas that matters the most; characters, drama, comedy and of course action. I was emotionally invested and he ending scene with Luke still gives me the chills every time I watch it.

Also the design aspect of TFA just works for me. I know a lot of them are just a reworks of classic designs but I'd take the T-70 over the ARC-170 any day and yes, even the shoe box style Rebel Transport. I will say though that Rogue One looks to be even better with completely new AND cool looking ships and vehicles.

Like some one said JJ is a consistently average director(I'd consider him above average to good) and that makes him a good, safe choice to 'reboot' this franchise. It may not have turned out to be the film some of us want but it is the film we deserved. Hopefully some of us will eventually see TFA in a better light depending on how the rest of the sequel trilogy pans out. All eyes are on Rian now.

There is one criticism I'd like to address though. I still see some complaining that Kylo Ren shouldn't have lost the duel to Rey. Watch the film again because the reasons are clear why he lost that fight. Aside from grappling with the aftermath of his traumatic decision to murder Han Solo he was also SHOT....in the GUT....by a freakin BOWCASTER. A weapon, which, at multiple times in the movie, is shown to just destroy regular stormtroopers. If it wasn't for the force he'd probably have passed out even before the fight began.

It's the Force. Never question it. Being shot in the gut or not. Being trained in Jedi stuff or not. The Force decided that Rey would defeat Kylo Ren. The Force is predestination at its finest.

It may have well been predestined by the Force but the practical reasons are there too.

Some well crafted answers here. Good analysis of the director and what actually worked in Lucas' favor. I even like the Gene Roddenberry bits.

For me, I didn't go into the theatre expecting a great movie when The Force Awakens came out. I stayed away from spoilers and commentary and reviews.

The first viewing left me in a middle of the road response. I didn't love it. I didn't hate it.

When I watched it the second time in the theatre, I realized that I was enjoying the movie more than I had the first time. I'm also inclined to be sympathetic toward a tough call on producing and directing this film. It couldn't fail. For the projected movies to come, it had to reach as many people as possible and get them to spend money to come and see it. It is a movie with a past. Before people ever saw the first trailer they had an opinion about The Force Awakens. It had a lot of nostalgia across generations to work through. It couldn't fail. So they played it safe. I respect that. As a Star Wars fan, I would have even encouraged that. Make it so the masses will see it and you can go into the places in Star Wars lore that I want to cover in future movies. Don't tell all of the story... leave questions. Please, don't make another deathstar !

If they made this movie to please me, there probably wouldn't be a reason to actually film Rogue One. The audience would probably be too small. It would be too sci-fi... and the special effects budget would probably be outrageous. As an X-Wing player, I definitely wanted more ships... and was actually distracted in the movie looking for more ships for X-Wing... and really saddened that they didn't introduce anything I was looking forward to (because who really wants a troop loader or a freighter tube?)! As a fan of the RPGs, there is so much available material that I would have used. I probably would have gone off the rails in trying to do too much. I wouldn't have heeded the pattern of George Lucas that kept world building to three per movie. I would have answered questions the common person would never have asked. I would have failed the movie.

In the end, I think they made some good choices about it. They didn't let it fail. They kept it in check from people like me. They left some mystery (though more would be better). They paved the way for more movies. In the end, keeping the eye on the prize of more movies, I like where this one went. I expect a lot more from the next installment where I expect Luke to provide answers and go through as much growth as we expect Rey to. It also has a lot to live up to with the power that Empire brought to the screen and the hearts of the fans. I think we will see more depth as we go. I certainly hope so, but maybe we'll be joined by millions of other people that didn't really know much about Star Wars and want to learn more.

Right, the Force is practical when it needs to be. That's my point. It's a movie script. If Rey dies because she "should" then it's over. So, the Force says, "Hey let's get Kylo Ren shot with a bow caster! That'll even the odds". The story continues (and even gets more interesting because here we are talking about it).

Right, the Force is practical when it needs to be. That's my point. It's a movie script. If Rey dies because she "should" then it's over. So, the Force says, "Hey let's get Kylo Ren shot with a bow caster! That'll even the odds". The story continues (and even gets more interesting because here we are talking about it).

So what's the fuss? He was shot by an understandably enraged wookiee. That's a perfectly reasonable plot armour device. Same goes for Artoo getting shot by Vader instead of Luke during the trench run.

Unfortunately, even as a primarily OT/EU fan, I do not enjoy the regurgitated nostalgia pumped out as a safety blanket. JJ Abrams sounds like he did a fantastic job, with a bad script. Wonderful acting, people, and enough effects to capture new people who probably would vote for Trump or Bernie. The new backstory feels like a amateur wrote it, compared to what Zahn wrote for Thrawn or Avelone did for Kotor 2. Which is odd, because they basically storyboarded ANH and bumped it twenty years.

I am overly critical and negative, but I despise fanservice and rehashing watered down content more than anyone. Thankfully Lucas didn't write the script, but it's something I wouldn't watch unless somebody lent me a copy or it happened to be on HBO at the time.

Some well crafted answers here. Good analysis of the director and what actually worked in Lucas' favor. I even like the Gene Roddenberry bits.

For me, I didn't go into the theatre expecting a great movie when The Force Awakens came out. I stayed away from spoilers and commentary and reviews.

The first viewing left me in a middle of the road response. I didn't love it. I didn't hate it.

When I watched it the second time in the theatre, I realized that I was enjoying the movie more than I had the first time. I'm also inclined to be sympathetic toward a tough call on producing and directing this film. It couldn't fail. For the projected movies to come, it had to reach as many people as possible and get them to spend money to come and see it. It is a movie with a past. Before people ever saw the first trailer they had an opinion about The Force Awakens. It had a lot of nostalgia across generations to work through. It couldn't fail. So they played it safe. I respect that. As a Star Wars fan, I would have even encouraged that. Make it so the masses will see it and you can go into the places in Star Wars lore that I want to cover in future movies. Don't tell all of the story... leave questions. Please, don't make another deathstar !

If they made this movie to please me, there probably wouldn't be a reason to actually film Rogue One. The audience would probably be too small. It would be too sci-fi... and the special effects budget would probably be outrageous. As an X-Wing player, I definitely wanted more ships... and was actually distracted in the movie looking for more ships for X-Wing... and really saddened that they didn't introduce anything I was looking forward to (because who really wants a troop loader or a freighter tube?)! As a fan of the RPGs, there is so much available material that I would have used. I probably would have gone off the rails in trying to do too much. I wouldn't have heeded the pattern of George Lucas that kept world building to three per movie. I would have answered questions the common person would never have asked. I would have failed the movie.

In the end, I think they made some good choices about it. They didn't let it fail. They kept it in check from people like me. They left some mystery (though more would be better). They paved the way for more movies. In the end, keeping the eye on the prize of more movies, I like where this one went. I expect a lot more from the next installment where I expect Luke to provide answers and go through as much growth as we expect Rey to. It also has a lot to live up to with the power that Empire brought to the screen and the hearts of the fans. I think we will see more depth as we go. I certainly hope so, but maybe we'll be joined by millions of other people that didn't really know much about Star Wars and want to learn more.

I definitely would agree with all this.

I guess when I went to FA the first time, I was ready for full immersion and geared for suspension of disbelief. I got both during my 2 hours in the dark, and have managed it the 4 times I have rewatched it since. Over a beverage after the movie, I have many "really?" nit-picks, too, but the movie still holds up for me as a solid addition to the SW pantheon.

Sometimes I wonder if we forget just how corny the OT is: Han and Leia's lame "romance," Ewoks, the "death" of Boba Fett (just as throw-away as Darth Maul), and the ability of special forces Imperial troops to shoot ANYTHING but Jawas.

When I was leaving the movie theater I felt like I seen the movie before 'A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away ...." very unfulfilling.