Not as bad as Lucas would have done it

Rating: 2/10 (31 December 2015)

It's no secret that most of Lucas's Star Wars films stank. It's easy to criticize so I'll reveal what I think made "A New Hope", "The Empire Strikes Back" and "Phantom Menace" so great: Great characters and stories were allowed to be themselves. There wasn't a big concern with forcing a story to "fit" into a fan universe. It's fiction. It doesn't have to make perfect sense.
And much of the above logic takes place with Abram's interpretation as well except he had a directive to cast a diverse film. In theory, it could have worked. Look at how Lando's character in The Empire Strikes Back was so good. But again, shoehorning in doesn't work and making a female "grrl power" lead in Ren was boring. Of course she's good at everything she does. She's a girl, right? The Luke Skywalker character started out in the first film as a farmboy who never saw combat. He didn't even throw a punch in the film. Like with Clone Wars, the new cast are largely "red shirts" we care little about as viewers.
Abram's ripped off most of the first film (A New Hope) from the sets to various elements of the plot lines. It's hard to tell if this is a ripoff, a homage, or a coincidence. In some ways, it's rather fun. I counted at least 20 similarities between New Hope and Awakens. What Lucas did better with Phantom Menace was to start out the series somewhat fresh which worked because the story to New Hope he'd have to reconcile with was 15 years off in fictional time. He could be free to let the show "breath". This film can end the series in an unpredictable manner. It's got its own "future". _ALL_ of the characters could die and the "universe" would go on. There's hope (pardon the pun) that the two remaining films can take the plot in a new and creative direction without stealing from the old films or having to reconcile plot holes (and there are a LOT in this one.)
All that said, the special effects and action (which is a huge component to the Star Wars franchise) was pretty good. They were enjoyable and didn't overCGI the viewer. The music and cinematography also was high class. After the novelty of these special effects wore off, it became a challenge to make the audience feel involved in the action and that's largely not a problem with this film. Disney clearly spent a lot of money and spent it well.