Derivative, but thankfully it derives from an enjoyable Star Wars film.

Rating: 8/10 (19 December 2019)

If you've watched the original Star Wars, you know the plot to The Force Awakens- a droid containing vital information to the Rebellion is placed under the care of a lone person on a desert planet who is then tasked with the safe delivery of the droid to the Rebellion without any unnecessary entanglements with the evil Empire, who pursue the same droid and its custodians. There is even a planet-destroying battle station at the end for the Rebels to destroy. Just replace the faction names with Resistance and First Order, replace the droid's name with BB-8 instead of R2-D2, and replace the character's names and the names of the planets and battle-stations they are on, and boom, you've got The Force Awakens.
It's almost a formula at this point- and it's one that this movie sticks to, so obediently that it is almost laughable. That is not to say that this isn't an enjoyable film- if your Star Wars film is inspired by the Star Wars film that literally gave birth to more Star Wars films- it's going to be fun as hell. And this film is, even though it doesn't have nearly as much impact as the 1977 original, which is close to impossible to achieve in today's day and age.
It's obvious what the writers set out to achieve for this film. They knew of the backlash that the prequel trilogy faced for being so different from the original films, so they wanted to craft a film for a new generation that emulated what they felt when they watched the original Star Wars- which is understandable considering the amount of death threats and irrationality that had a clear presence in the Star Wars fanbase after the prequel trilogy came out.
The Force Awakens manages to deliver on some key things that make Star Wars fun- the film is nicely paced, the new characters are interesting, and it acts as a good stepping-off point for these new characters to go in directions that the original trilogy characters might not have in the subsequent films. After ten years of no Star Wars, listening to John Williams' iconic fanfare is a rousing experience, although that leads me to one of the film's faults- which definitely extends to the entire trilogy. The Force Awakens is too dependent on nostalgia for a lot of the moments that just 'click'. They're good moments, but honestly, I expected this pattern to end after this film and The Last Jedi, but after coming out of The Rise of Skywalker, that definitely isn't the case.
Yes, there are scenes like the one on the bridge of Starkiller Base between Ben Solo and his father that really stand out in terms of originality, but there is not a lot else in the movie that truly brims with imagination. Starkiller Base essentially being a system-destroying, just plain bigger Death Star, definitely doesn't help.
This film does work- at least on its own. It may not be original but at least it isn't boring- not something I thought I would be proud to say before the prequel trilogy came out, but now I guess I am.