J.J. brought a balanced, not forced, return to the Star Wars saga

Rating: 10/10 (16 December 2015)

I will try to keep this as spoiler free as possible, but if you still haven't seen it: stop reading about it, and go see it.
In The Force Awakens, as with other reboots and sequels of old franchises, it's a challenge to balance the old with the new. The two previous trilogies were both of their time, and different in many ways. This new one will also need to be of its time, and different from the other ones. Story wise, it's obviously more connected to the original trilogy. In addition to this, the structure of the movie itself is very much based on the older trilogy. Much of the movie acts like a parallel to episode IV, while at the same time feeling different enough to not be considered a remake or rehash of the same ideas.
As in other sequels, the original cast - now old and weary - is back in this one. Without going into spoilers, I will say that they all did a superb job acting wise, and I liked the way their stories has progressed. What's more interesting, though, is that is the new characters you end up feeling most excited about. It's great to see the old cast, and they are very much involved in the plot, with important parts in regards to action and plot. But still, it's the new characters you come out of the cinema thinking about, and look forward to seeing again. Especially Kylo Ren was interesting. I like how they portrayed the conflict between the light and dark side of the force, it's much more believable than it feels in the other movies (especailly the prequel trilogy).
The movie is much more busy than the previous films. I think that's natural in today's cinema environment, and that it works well. Watching it, the story just kept on giving, and there was great, fantastic scenes throughout. I wasn't bored for a second. I can see this disappointing some fans - but as mentioned before, I think that Star Wars movies should be of their time. The special effects were fantastic as well. The practical effects, like costumes and so, worked brilliantly in conjunction with the newer stuff. The few CGI/Mo-cap-characters that had big roles were maybe the weakest point SFX-wise, but they were by no means eyesores.
The movie ends in a way that to me was satisfying. It's obviously the first part of a longer story, and there's many more questions to be answered. Some less significant questions I assume will not be answered in the big movies, but rather TV-shows or other media. The big questions will obviously come back in the later movies. Especially regarding the back story of certain new characters, and the whole situation in the galaxy. (On that note: I liked the opening crawl. Informative and to the point. Neiter the crawl nor the rest of the movie is too heavily focused on "what happened in-between" VI and VII.) A last note: I've seen people complain (and worry) about too much fan service. As a fan, I am mostly very happy with the choices they made.
Take this review with a pinch of salt. I was very much a part of the hype leading up to this movie, and I might have other thoughts after a re-watch or two.