Beware.. spoilers ahead, you have been warned.
In summary it was a good popcorn movie, but a perfect movie or even a great movie it was not. To put it up to the torch and see the tiny holes that wind escapes through ask yourself but one question, "Does the movie hold up without the originals". And the answer is what the hell is going on, this is a story that didn't need to be told in fact the story was already told. Star Wars Force Awakens, was just a recreation of A New Hope, smart yes but not for the reasons you're thinking(maybe you are thinking those reasons, I'm not a mind reader), he played an orchestra on your nostalgia strings and I'm surprised they still exist after the back alley beating George Lucas, put them through.
Star Wars
The Hope Awakens The Force
To break down this film we have to compare it to previous films namely the first in the original series A New Hope, how appropriate. Now the first scene is comparable it is of an overpowering force bearing down on an unprepared under dog, it shows our villains are evil and our heroes as good, it sets the tone the mood the characters, and for both films that is true but doesn't mean they're copies or 'homages'. Well lets dig a little deeper, we than cut to a youth wandering a desert planet dissatisfied with his/her current situation, they yearn for something more. And they find or buy a droid that launches them into the action, meanwhile with the 'new and improved' empire we see them torturing our pilot, we have them eventually breaking away introducing our Antagonist Fin, fully into the story..
Thy find the droid and the youth attached, they squabble as so common in spunky comedic relationships, the empire attacks forcing her away from her desert planet home, she may never return or be in danger giving the motivation she needs to adventure out into space, meeting Han Solo[!]Crowd screams and claps like seals[!], bringing us three fold with the mentor and farther figure, and this is even more true when he obi wan kenobi himself, and what's with everyone falling into holes. There was Luke, Sidious, Darth Maul, you'd think they'd cover them up by now.
To cut a long spoiler short it feels like a check lists, do we have a super weapons, check, do we have an evil space stationy thing, spunky last stand, do we have a sacrifice, check, and did we fit that romance in somewhere. It seems more fan service than movie, not that's bad everyone loves a bit of meat they can latch on like the cavemen we are.
The Villains
Is he gonna cry?
The Villains what's a story without the villains, well this movie really. They set up Darth Snow bastard son of Han, quite well they have him intimidating powerful and in a shiny mask Vadar, would call a bit much. But as the movie goes on or any other scene he's in he looks like he's about to cry, the goal or the hope was to make him more 'relatable'? to show off that inner struggle between the dark and light, well it was done poorly he basically said it as he was about to give himself a hand shandy over Vadars ewoked helmet, don't tell ME show ME. We're watching a movie not having pre-school moral classes. And how did he get that?
My point is with this struggle we don't see him as an antagonist, we see him as someone who throws fits, not a villain but an angst y teen. And even if he changes in the next movie we'll still have that memory fresh in our mind, and who was Darth Abraham Lincoln, who is he and what's his goal and where did Sidious keep this wrinkly ball sack. It feels like another check list, do we have masked villain who questions his motives, check. Do we have old dude on chair who is so badass we don't even need to show it. The villains fall short.
Conclusion
What was the point of the previous films than, it was to stop a tyrannical empire and bring peace to the galaxy, and install a new government of equality, well we see how long democracy lasted, insert political cartoon here. It may not have been needed, but it was good, it was enjoyable and they're starving kids in Africa who don't have a Star Wars, so enjoy it.
Jelly?
