After so many lessons throughout so many years, how could they do it wrong?

Rating: 4/10 (20 December 2015)

After watching TFA 3 times and letting it settle down (a bit) on me, I feel ready to share my opinion. I know there are hundreds (and soon thousands) of funny liners making jokes with the "force" here so I'll spare it and go straight to the point.
They missed a HUGE opportunity to make things right again after the prequels. By "they" I mean Disney, JJ, Lucas, even Kasdan, Williams, Ford - the entire Hollywood. I'll give it a 4 star because it bears the name Star Wars and has some (few) moments to it that mechanically and automatically trigger my infancy memories and feelings, and I'm a helpless fan ruined by the original trilogy myself.
How could they get it so wrong is my wonder. What is so hard to get about SW to make it so wrong after all??? There are so many holes that I could go on and on, many have nailed it here already quite good so I'll just say it to the records what really bothered me most in this "sequel":
To me, the way BB-8 ends up being in his position vs. the way C3PO and R2 end up in the hands of Luke is representative of the main difference between the two. It is a million times less elegant and clever, and this can be said of most other situations too. BB-8 is cute and likable, but R2 is cute, likable and has a personality of his own and doesn't act like a puppy or The Cat in Boots.
If they have gotten that one idea right maybe TFA could be slightly better. The original trilogy - ANH in particular, being the first episode - took its time to develop the situations and characters at the same time the action is developing, and everyone and everything was in the context, and we are taken by the hand to the journey as it unfolds. And that is the most important in any film. It's something very few flicks can pull right, an JJ failed here more than he did with Star Trek IMO. We're not taken to much in TFA, and I feel really really sad to say that.
The magic of the original trilogy is that it makes us feel part of the adventure. JJ treats us like spectators, and the scenes don't disappoint in that sense. He's a good scene maker. It's easy to "like" BB-8, or cheer for the rogue Stormtrooper, or pity for the Victoria's Secret model starving scavenger with fancy brit accent. But not in the deep ways we cheered for Luke, Han and Leia, and even the villains are dubious, shallow, vague because they have no real sense of purpose, no big aspirations. Even the horrible bad guys from the stupid prequel have more depth, and that is unfortunate to say. I'm really sad to say that but it's true, I wish it wasn't. The 80's won't come back, I know. But it was special.
Take Ren for instance: if Darth Vader himself turned "good" again, what in the galaxy could lead his grandson - being the son of major Resistance characters - to become a bad guy and believe he can "finish what he has started"? Vader hasn't started anything in the first place, or killing Luke is still the major objective of the villains after so many years??? Pathetic. And he's a wimp too, making him weak both with the Force and mentally and psychologically didn't add anything to the character, sorry. I won't even mention the master villain, what the hell was that???
Also, where did the first of Luke's lightsaber come from, if he lost it in a bottomless pit of Cloud City in Empire Strikes Back when Vader chopped his hand off (and he built himself a new one for RoJ)??? Or am I missing something here?? They had to put on a Grafflex one in there too didn't they, oh my...
As I said I could go on, there are way too many flaws. And no, Ford does't look like he's having fun. He's old and grumpy and tired and that's how he plays Solo. And Leia... Why would a Rebellion general use so much Botox and care about high heels??? She's a sad shadow of Leia of the past, both physically (that'd be OK time passes for us all) and mentally (that's not OK we get wiser and sager with time). She looks like she can't lead his grandson and some friends on a trip to Disneyland, much less a rebel army against anyone. She wasn't even able to educate her son for god-sakes. The "new old guys" almost ruined the "old old guys", that frightens me because we're about to get more of them in the next films and could potentially kill SW.
That brings me to Luke, I thought he was a wimp too by leaving it all but once again he saved the story: in those short 2 scenes he's in irradiates with charisma and shows he still has the force, even when we only see his mech hand on R2. That alone totally blows it, they should have gone that way that is so powerful, so powerful. He is the saving mystery of TFA to me. When I saw him at the end of the movie, I knew exactly why he got away from all that pathetic friends and stupid galaxy that Disney built around him. I'd do the same if I could run away from the overwhelming hype and oppressing marketing of Disney's Star Wars.
Maybe I'll take a DVD and TV set with my 3 copies of pre-editing trilogy to that island too. Hopes dies last so I'll wait for the next episodes on this. Fortunately no one can undo the original trilogy, it is what it is.