Objectively the best movie in the franchise

Rating: Null/10 (19 December 2015)

I was 11 when Star Wars came out in 1977, and I fell in love with that movie. To me, it was one of the most entertaining pieces of movie making ever made, and it still is. But this was better. Hard to admit, but this really was better. Why? It's hard to write a truly complete review without spoilers, but there are none below. Here are the reasons this is a truly great movie.
1) It tells a story on its own. Whether or not you ever saw or ever will see any of the first 6 movies, this movie can stand on its own. Lawrence Kasdan (Return of the Jedi), J.J. Abrams, Michael Arndt, (and George Lucas received a writing credit too although I believe just for the creation of the characters) did a masterful job of packaging a story of good vs. evil that anyone can relate to. This is evidenced by the ratings on IMDb which are pretty steady across age groups and male/female split. This movie actually does a little better with the under 18 crowd vs. people like me who were around for the first, and that surprised me. So kudos for an arguably great story.
2) It ties back to the prior movies. The plot lines which tie back to the prior stories tie back well. They are feasible, but not overdone. As a viewer who has seen all of the movies, you understand how the universe moved on from Episode VI to where it stands in Episode VII and you can believe it wholeheartedly. As a person who has never seen Star Wars, you would get enough back story to understand the state of the universe in this movie. It gives you enough character history that you understand where the old characters came from, why they think like they do, and how they influence the new characters. Again, though, it's not overdone. I think Abrams hit it just right. For new viewers, its probably enough to make them want to find out where the old characters came from, but it's not required to understand this movie. I see movie download demand for past Star Wars movies spiking a lot after people watch this. (This section of the review would be much more clear and succinct if I could just use a few spoilers!)
3) The score. John Williams nails it. Enough said.
4) Writing. The lines and dialog in this movie are sharper than in past movies. I've never been a huge fan of campy dialog in my movies, particularly when characters lives are in danger. I didn't notice any awkward, campy lines in this movie. With that said, the old characters retain their personalities from the past and the new ones create their own. Lastly, the writing was age appropriate to the characters. You didn't see older Leia, Han, or Luke in hand to hand 1:1 combat holding their own against a 25 year old new character. How they got things done was appropriate to their age. Just excellent writing.
5) Acting. If I "see" the actor instead of the character, then I know the acting was bad. That never happened with this movie. About 5 minutes in, the actors were the characters. I never caught myself wondering about what John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, or Adam Driver had done in the past because I wasn't seeing them. I was only seeing Finn, Rey, and Kylo Ren. The older characters brought back their same personalities from the past, but aged appropriately, so they did a great job too.
6) Special Effects. Newer technology obviously works in the movie's favor. Industrial Light and Magic is again the special effects team as it has been for all the movies, and their magic is evident in many places. However, I think the real credit goes to Abrams' vision. Take the dogfight scenes as an example. They are shot and shown from many points of view and are frantic in nature. Just like they would be in real life. The bad guys don't stop shooting just so a character can get in a one liner. Where Abrams had to use special effects to build a scene, he did so well and in some ways, like the acting, the effects just disappeared so you were in the scene, not marveling at the effects. It also seems like he made a lot less use of CGI in places where it wasn't needed. If you go back to Episode 5, there's a scene of Anakin riding the back of an animal in a field with Padme. The CGI of the animal and his ride are almost painful to watch. There's a scene in this movie early on with a character riding an animal. My guess is that it's real, but if it's CGI, it melts away beautifully and you never see it.
Going back to the premise of the summary line, objectively it's the best movie in the franchise. It stands alone as a great story, yet it contains enough connection back to the prior stories to satisfy those who have seen them. Great writing and effects. Very good acting.