Spoilers obviously.
Overall, it was a great movie.
Comparing it to the other films:
5 > 4 > 7 > 6 >> 3 > 2 > 1
I was most excited to see a brand new story in the familiar Star Wars universe. The prequels suffered a very common prequel failing (among many others): if the prequel is meant to explain events occurring in the original work, then we necessarily know how it ends. Every big revelation always takes us to a familiar event in a different movie. Everything is contextualized against what we know happens in the original trilogy. It's difficult to maintain engagement when the tension changes from "what happens?" to "how does it happen?" There are plenty of successful prequel franchises, but the Star Wars prequels are not one of them. With the new series, the story can reach new heights by directing our attention forwards instead of backwards.
With that said, I was disappointed that the old characters had such an active role in The Force Awakens. Han Solo in particular commanded every scene he was present in. I love Han Solo, but his presence stifled the growth of the new leads. A lot of the film felt bound to the original trilogy: the main quest involved finding Luke Skywalker with a map held by BB-8 and R2-D2. Leia and Han are Kylo Ren's parents. Kylo Ren reveres Darth Vader and wants to finish his will. Of course, this kind of anchoring is unavoidable to some degree, but in general I want to be looking forward, not be constantly referring to resolved conflicts in previous movies.
For the new trilogy to really take off, we need strong lead characters. Rey and Finn had a good amount of characterization in this movie, but they did not get as much attention as they should have (for protagonists). I think more care was spent with the fanservice instead of proper narrative focus for certain scenes. At certain parts, instead of beholding a Star Wars reunion, I feel like I witnessed a struggle for attention between veteran and new actors.
With Han Solo dying, I'm hoping that Rey takes more of the spotlight in the next film.
Anyway, that's my only real complaint. I have high hopes for the following movies. I'm excited to see Luke take on a Ben Kenobi role!
