A (near) perfect synthesis of old and new. This FEELS like Star Wars!

Rating: 5/10 (15 December 2015)

This movie hits every conceivable emotion, but above all, it's fun. Nowadays, we have so much dark gritty stuff which is great and deep, but it gets tiring. And, things that try to be fun come off as overly silly and dumbed down. The Force Awakens does something not many films have done successfully in a while; combine the two seamlessly into one balanced package. The prequels tried to do this, and it blew up in Lucas' face. The reason it works in this movie is that all the humour and drama comes naturally from the characters. Yes, the plot and beats are VERY similar to A New Hope, but that was a great movie. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Besides, that's exactly what's been missing from movies lately. So don't listen to all these negative reviewers saying "it's a remake", or a "rip-off". Towards the end, it goes completely its own way becoming more like The Empire Strikes Back.
Let's start with the characters. It's great to see the old characters back in action. The Han and Leia scenes could have easily felt like they were just in there for nostalgia factor, but they feel natural and factor into the plot. Given the vast number of characters, it's amazing how very few of them feel shoe-horned in. There are three that I can think of who did, but all three of them are confirmed to be in the next one, so I'll get my fix then. However, the real standouts are the new characters. Adam Driver brings unexpected depth to Kylo Ren. Oscar Isaac is intensely likable as Poe Dameron. John Boyega is great as Finn. But the best is Daisy Ridley as Rey. She is going to be in so much more stuff, I guarantee. The chemistry between her and Finn was one of my favourite parts of the movie.
The cinematography is incredible. The camera never moved around in the originals. Here, it follows around the action, capturing the feeling of playing with toys as a kid more perfectly than any movie before. It also just feels so much like Star Wars. Every sound and image is familiar. The movie has a real presence; the practical effects make it feel real. John Williams' new score is great, of course. He does a great job integrating the old with the new. In fact, that would be my summary of the movie. It pays enough homage to the original while setting up an exciting new story. I like how not everything is revealed by the end of this film. The final shot perfectly sums up all the questions we are left with and foreshadows what to come. It may be one of my favourite final shots of a movie ever.
In conclusion, some people are going to hate on it for being too much like the originals, others are going to complain that it's not enough like them. Some will say too many questions were answered, others will say that not enough were. In the end, there are so many expectations riding on this film that it will never live up to everyone's hype. It's a minor miracle what JJ did. He had to bring in all of the old, set up a sprawling galaxy of new, establish what's been going on for 30 years between films, add humour, add drama, and somehow make it cohesive and fun. If you go in with the understanding that this is a movie, not the second coming, you will leave immensely satisfied.