A re-release of the Phantom Menace would have been better.

Rating: 1/10 (22 December 2015)

I went to the theater expecting to be let down, but it was still worse than I expected. If this was just a standalone movie the plot, character development and action would all be considered pretty weak. But this was supposed to be a Star Wars movie.
The characters are weak, we are given no insight whatsoever about the galactic politics that are at play, the light-saber fights are few and far between, and manage to be both underwhelming and completely unbelievable. The worst part, however, was that J.J. Abrams decided it was a good idea to simply recycle the Expanded Universe and just make a movie of the poorly conceived plots found there, rather than making something original.
The only redeeming part of the movie were some really excellent and enjoyable visuals, especially on the spacecraft. Still, when a New Order general ordered that "all squadrons" be dispatched and not even a dozen TIE fighters lift into the air... you can feel disappointed.
If you really don't know or care that much about Star Wars you will probably enjoy this movie. Anyone who really likes Star Wars and cares about it will simply be less disappointed watching the prequels.