Good film, better than the prequels, but not iconic enough

Rating: 8/10 (20 December 2015)

I like the first trilogy more than the second one (prequels), and given the quality of the prequels, I even thought that they were unnecessary. At least the last film of the prequels (Revenge of the Sith) is decent enough, but it rather looked like an animated film. Among the Star Wars films, I like Empire Strikes Back the most, and I though that it was an amazing feat given the technology at that time (of course, A New Hope was a monumental film and a historic one).
Now, we have another film, The Force Awakens. The battle was between the Resistance and the First Order. Although, the film is entitled "The Force Awakens", we don't really see much of the process on how the Dark Side has risen again. In fact, it was already powerful enough to destroy the Republic. So much has happened already, and we were introduced to Darth Vader's successor, Kylo Ren, and to another Death Star. The First Order was already looking for Luke Skywalker (who has subjected himself into an exile) in order to prevent the rise of the Jedis, and hence there was this race to capture a droid, BB-8, which happens to contain valuable information about Luke's whereabouts. Personally, I would like to see how the Dark Side crept through the galaxy to reach and transform Kylo Ren (although we have hints of that in the movie's climax) and all the related stuff given the title. In that aspect, something about The Force itself, I think the film fell short to deliver.
Although something is missing, the film delivered a rather solid storyline with some engaging action scenes and excellent visual effects (one of the year's best or perhaps it is the year's front-runner). It doesn't look like an animated film, and it looks more like A New Hope or Empire Strikes Back, albeit obviously far more superior in the technicals. The story also reminded me of the first two films of the first trilogy, with striking similarities that will make you feel that it was some sort of a remake, but a really good one. We were actually introduced to new characters; the one that stood out among the rest was the gifted Rey, an orphaned woman from the desert planet Jakku. She happens to be sensitive with The Force, but I don't think her character in relation to The Force was developed well. We were also re-introduced to some of the iconic characters of the original trilogy: Hans Solo, Princess (General) Leia, Chewbacca, C-3PO, R2-D2, and of course Luke Skywalker. It was great to see them again, and I think overall it was a good Star Wars film and a good start for a new series of Star Wars films.
However, one question lingers in my mind, is there something novel and monumental about the film with respect to the previous Star Wars films? I'm beginning to think that there's none. Even the film music was not fresh enough; no iconic themes were introduced, and it seems that John Williams just recycled the music from Empire Strikes Back and Revenge of the Sith (although I think the music was used well). Setting these things side, I have to admit that I have enjoyed the film, but just my two cents, it could have been a great Star Wars film if the director J.J. Abrams introduced something truly original.