Fantastic movie, excellent on nearly all fronts.

Rating: 10/10 (21 December 2015)

Let's get one thing straight: the plot is derivative. There are tons of parallels to Star Wars: A New Hope, and pretty much the same events are going on.
But what I was most surprised about was that I didn't care. I've talked with friends who have also seen it, and our consensus was that that part was obvious, but that none of us care. The reason why is because it was so well executed, and the new stuff brought to the table was probably the best parts of the movie.
For starters, let's talk the new characters, because they're the main focus: they're fantastic. Rey was an awesome and inspiring lead. Finn was fearless if not naive and brought so much enthusiasm to the movie throughout. BB-8 was surprisingly absolutely adorable--to give any examples of his behavior would be to spoil some really charming moments. Poe was a pleasant surprise, because the trailers didn't show him off much but he was an absolute joy to watch. Captain Phasma is my only complaint--heavily underutilized in this movie.
The big standout for me, however, was Adam Driver as Kylo Ren. Let it be known: he is NOT Vader 2.0. He doesn't try to be Vader 2.0. To go any further would be to spoil the movie, but trust me, he's one of the most interesting characters to come out of Star Wars in a long time.
The old cast returns and is given amazing justice. This isn't them returning right back to their characters--this is them embodying their characters as they are decades later. Harrison Ford in particular was brilliant in his role and mannerisms.
Visual effects: Outstanding. For the most part, the movie uses practical effects, and it really shows, because the movie is super engaging throughout its duration. Try to compare some of these scenes to those in any in the Star Wars prequels, and you'll see what I mean. Once again, I can't spoil details. It's funny, because there are only a handful of creatures and moments that use CG effects, and those are the ones that end up sticking out.
Writing: Also super well done. A big flaw in the prequels is that everything got mired in unnecessary and redundant details. The most quoted lines from the prequels are most often the ones that are so stupid it's hard not to forget them (the sand monologue, for example). Meanwhile, everyone I've seen can't stop quoting random pieces of dialogue from the new movie that are so well done and so memorable. The dialogue is interesting, feels real, and leaves for some amazing one-liners--super reminiscent of the original trilogy in that way.
Story: As I mentioned, yes it's derivative, but that doesn't mean it's not done super well. Plus, the scenes that have no parallels to A New Hope are some of the best in the movie. Much of the final act, for example, is not easily paralleled, and I was kept on the edge of my seat pretty much the entire movie. People here seem to be criticizing the movie for it's "plot holes". Most of these aren't even plot holes though! They're so explicitly left as mysteries so they can be answered and expanded upon in the next movie! Which is what's making people super excited for the next movie already!
Also, my biggest complaint with J.J. Abrams' other works is how convoluted and roundabout they get. But Star Wars is meant to have much more straightforward stories (also something the prequels with the exception of ROTS were not good at). J.J. Abrams seems to have acknowledged this because this movie definitely feels like Star Wars in its far more straightforward approach. It feels much less confused and mired in details, and always seems to keep the main plot line going.
Music: It's John Williams. It's memorable. Especially after seeing the movie a second time. It feels like Star Wars, and it enhances every moment wonderfully.
Lightsabers: Okay, so without spoiling anything, I will say that the lightsaber fights in this movie will blow you away. They're big, dangerous, brutal, emotive, natural, and use the environments in super interesting ways. The fights in this movie are some of the best fights I've seen in the series history.
Conclusion: Like I said, the plot frame is the same as A New Hope's. In many respects, it is the same. But it feels different than ANH, and yet it still feels like Star Wars. And it is executed so well that it was hard to even care that it followed the same frame. And the best parts of the movie are the new parts. The movie is intended to return to the heart and soul that made Star Wars so great in the first place, and it succeeds at that with flying colors. Engaging dialogue, great one-liners, awesome action sequences, a great character-driven plot, and a general captivation by the galaxy far, far away.
Also, keep in mind, I made sure to write this review only after a few days of heavily considering all of the elements of this movie, and after seeing the movie a second time. My opinion hasn't changed. In fact, it got even better (originally I gave this movie a 9).
Note, however: Now that the series is re-grounded in excellency, it's up to Rian Johnson to create an Episode VIII that takes the series to completely new places with a brand new plot based on all the brand new things this movie has brought to the table. If it doesn't, then Episode VII will be remembered as the film that spawned a rehashed series. If it does, however, then Episode VII will be remembered as an excellently-executed reintroduction to the series that had been long lost in a "meh" prequel trilogy and some very questionable Expanded Universe decisions (with the exception of stories like Thrawn and Revan).