It isn't a terrible film but it is a film of two halves.

Rating: 6/10 (22 December 2015)

I am a big fan of IMDb but I've never written a film review and it was after watching this film that I felt compelled to do so. Others have given much better objective and critical reviews than I have here.
The reason why I have given it a 6 is to give it a benefit of a doubt. So disregarding its similarities to "A New Hope", I think they have left it deliberately vague with a few loose ends.
The short version:
What I was really hoping for was a much better version of "The Phantom Menace".
The long version:
I love films like "Casablanca", "Rear Window", "Amadeus", "Lawrence of Arabia", "The Pianist" and "The Godfather" for a reason: they have strong character arcs, lots of tension and they tell a STORY!
What gave me hope for this film is that I found out Lawrence Kasdan is one of the writers, he who wrote the screenplays for Ep 5 and 6. So you can imagine I thought I was in for something special with TFA - Not a rehash of "A New Hope".
Though I liked some of the more subtle nods to the original trilogy I expected something much more original and different that would take the saga forward from where ROTJ left off.
I enjoyed the first half of the film from the opening credits to where we meet Han and Chewie. It got me excited enough to think we would be back to what a Star Wars film should REALLY be about - the nostalgia and the magic. In my opinion, this film doesn't quite have the same "je ne sais quoi" the originals had.
Unfortunately the plot started to unwind almost immediately...
The point at which the two groups of pirates meet with Han and Chewie on the ship and the fight with the squids didn't contribute to the plot in any way whatsoever and totally wasted screen and story time. In fact, that particular scene foretold what a farcical comedy/parody it was to become.
The story's premise as told in the intro is very weak. As one other reviewer points out, if Luke wanted to disappear why leave a map for him to be found? There are lots of other plot holes in the story as well inconsistencies with the OT (for example why does Kylo have a mask? Why did they make the decision for him to take it off?). Someone said that a film is as only as good as its villain and Kylo is a very weak villain.
The scenes appear to be cobbled together with a lack of any coherence. The story heavily depends on macguffins and numerous coincidences. The developing relationship between Rey and Finn also strains credulity.
Say no more...
Characters:
I personally think Daisy stole the film as Rey though I can't help think the strength of her performance was more to do with the huge weaknesses in the other characters rather than the strength of her own character.
Bringing back R2-D2 and C3-P0 was a mistake as was bringing back Chewie and Han. Harrison said he thought Han should have been killed off after Ep.5 so maybe he should have been killed off in the back story to TFA.
I thought Leia was practically unrecognisable as the strong leader we loved from "The Empire Strikes Back" (she is apparently now a General but doesn't act like one and she should have had a much more central role).
Overall, as much as I really wanted to like this film I was left disappointed that the second half didn't match the first.