"I will finish what you started..."

Rating: 9/10 (29 December 2015)

...that might just have been what Abrams could have said to George Lucas, because man, Abrams did do a lot of things right, and compared to Lucas' prequels, this movie is SO much better. I listened to a pod cast where the host said "This was So good, now I can finally just FORGET those dang prequels, as this movie makes up for how bad they were".
Before I write anything else: I am sure some people will dismiss my rating as being influenced/tarnished by nostalgia, as a lot of people seem to think whenever someone gives this a high rating. However, I do think a 1/10 rating is JUST as tarnished, as I don't think a movie like that deserves such an abysmally bad rating, and it might be based on way too high expectations.
Abrams himself said that nothing could fulfill the hype/expectations that were built up prior to the release. To me, it came close, and here is why:

This movie has flaws, but at least, it has a HEART. Which is what the prequels were really missing. They felt cold, heartless, way too polished. This doesn't. Instead of a CGI-insanity with everything generated with a computer, they went and tried to make a lot of things look like they did in the first movies. And I think that certain look is something that people loved and still love about the originals.

Yes, the plot is VERY similar to Ep. 4. MAybe too similar. However, maybe that will help people to get into the new generation of cast members/characters. There are a LOT of plot-parts and scenes that mirror Ep. 4 and 5, with a young cast member/new character taking the role of an original member. It IS a new generation, and the old heroes mingle with the new characters.

Yes, there is a LOT of coincidence about how people meet. I wonder how those that complain about that would have explained all those characters meeting in some other universe? How could they have possibly crossed paths? Also... have any of the people actually SEEN the original SW-movies? They complain about coincidences in TFA, when the droids in ANH crash land on the very planet Luke is on, whose uncle happens to buy them from desert traders? Which starts the whole story that leads to Luke meeting and saving Leia and fighting Vader? All that was OK, but the coincidences here are not?
Yes, the movie requires a LOT ofsuspension of disbelief. Not only because it's a sci-fi movie with noises in space and light-sabers, but because it's basically a fairytale/space opera. I think if you try to just go with the story, you might just enjoy it, and now that they copied a lot of the Ep-4-plot, it's their turn - the characters are mostly in place, so let's see what they do with the story.
I was amazed... the battles looked great. I was worried it'd be the modern Bay-style... endless, unrelenting, way too long battles in which you couldn't even follow who was who. Not here. The fights and battles had just the right length. The saber-fights were less of the heartless, overly exaggerated and synchronized ballet-stuff we saw in the prequels... it was more like what you saw with Ben vs. Vader or Luke Vs. Vader, with a lot of enraged hacking and slashing, exhaustion, missed strikes. Which felt more in place.
The movie leaves us with a lot of questions which need to be answered in the next movies. However, don't dismiss things when there MIGHT be an explanation. The reason why Rey was able to hold her own against Kylo... I have a theory why that was, and why he was worried that she might "get stronger and stronger" within just a few hours, why he flipped out the second he figured out it was her helping BB8 escape and the dream-sequence she goes through seems to hint at just that theory.
We will see. All I know is: Compared to the prequels, where I was aghast and disappointed even when first watching them at the theater (no nostalgia there, believe me), I was stunned by many of the scenes. By the look of things. Even the humor. The 3d, IMO, wasn't necessary, because the movie did look great by itself.
Yes, I have been a fan of the movies since the age of 5, but none of the prequels had a similar effect... this movie had much more heart and a look that was similar to the originals. I loved it, even with the script flaws. Could anything have made everyone happy, could any movie have fulfilled the expectations? I doubt it, but this one, for me, did, ad that's all I care about...I had such a wonderful time at the theater, and I look forward to the next episodes. Now everything is in place, the characters are in, so let's watch what happens next....