Well-Done and beautiful in many ways

Rating: 9/10 (19 December 2015)

The hype for this movie was something I tried to consciously avoid. Going in, I knew only what the trailers had shown, as well as Kylo Ren's name. Aside from that, some cast details and nothing more. I'd like to take a moment to mention that this was not easy, as potential spoilers and "leaked details" flooded my news feed constantly over the last few months.
I saw this on Thursday evening with the premier crowd, so obviously I missed a few lines here and there because of the cheering. The great thing was hearing everyone's reactions as certain moments came up. The reveal of the Millennium Falcon was wonderful. Some playful banter about a "piece of junk" hearkened back to the original movie, then the shot panned to the ship. The entire audience transitioned flawlessly from laughter to applause. That was a beautiful moment in my opinion.
If I had to name my favorite scenes in the movie, they would be largely the silent ones. Rey's introduction, with no words and just a visual demonstration of her daily life, was a great extended scene.
Moving along, I suppose we now come to arguably my personal favorite moment: the bridge scene. This is my favorite because of how it was acted, lit, and portrayed. The reveal of Kylo Ren being Han Solo's son was interesting, if a bit rushed, earlier in the film. Seeing them interact was haunting. The pain in Kylo Ren, whose real name we learn is Ben Solo, was so well-done. His dialogue was painful to listen to...not because it was bad, but because of where it led: the death of Han Solo. I cannot describe how beautiful that scene was to me.
After that, there is a gorgeously-shot lightsaber battle in a snowy forest between Finn and Ren that eventually becomes Rey and Ren. Very well-done, and possibly the best saber fight I've seen in any movie. Obviously choreographed, but it felt more organic. Dirty, but you got the sense that it was the natural progression of how the characters would fight.
The ending scene with Rey finding Luke Skywalker is probably the best scene objectively. Not my personal favorite, but a very close second. Wonderfully done and completely devoid of dialogue, it sets the tone for the next installment.
Obviously there were problems (the CGI really stood out and wasn't the best), and I skipped quite a few details. However, I mentioned the parts of the movie that spoke to me the most. The acting was wonderful, especially from Daisy Ridley. The chemistry between characters was outstanding, and the humor kept the flow feeling enjoyable.
I'm not sure if this is better, in my opinion, than the original Star Wars. It is definitely better than the prequels and Return of the Jedi, but not quite as good as Empire Strikes Back.