Modern film-making combined with the magic of the originals

Rating: 10/10 (17 December 2015)

To put it bluntly, episode VII is everything I could've asked for and more.
Pros:
1. Excellent cast. Truly excellent. The mix of the old (Han, Leia, etc) and the new worked so well, they played off each other well and it didn't feel like 2 separate groups of actors/actresses it was a group of people working in harmony. I liked that Finn showed the hidden humanity of the new stormtroopers; they are not clones, they are people taken and conditioned into being the way they are. I liked Rey and especially how they gave her story so much potential in the future features. I could say so much more about the rest of the cast but my favourite aspect was how well Han & Chewbacca fit in so perfectly, at no point did the humour feel forced.
2. Aesthetically beautiful. The mix of CGI, which everyone agreed was overused in I-III, and practical effects worked so well. There are so many 'wow' moments throughout, from the snowy peaks of the Starkiller to the wrecked destroyer on the dunes of Jakku. Memorable scenes done so well. Even the smaller features of the set were done well, the new stormtroopers costumes were perfect, as was Kylo Ren's.
3. An interesting villain. So many villains nowadays are one-dimensional but luckily JJ did not fall into this trap; it was refreshing to see how Kylo progressed. Throughout you see his identity struggle whether it be him showing his emotion in anger fuelled outbursts, his sadistic torturing of his 'enemy' or his battle between his inner light and dark.
4. The wider picture. You can't take a film like this as a single entity, even if you did it would still be incredible but it set up the next films so well by doing a few things. Firstly it introduced new characters (Rey & Finn) and gave them a true motive for the next two episodes. Secondly, they didn't use Luke. Many fans wanted to see where Luke was, what he had been up to and what he was about to do but we didn't need that. All we needed was a taste to give us the appetite for the remaining two. We got our nostalgia with Han, Chewbacca & Leia, I'm glad they didn't play all of their cards at once.
There's so much more I could say about this film but I feel like you should watch it for yourself and enjoy it as much as I did. Ignore anyone who gives this film 1/10, there's not liking a film and then there's bitterness. 10/10 summed up the feeling I had before, during and after watching episode VII. Bring on episode VIII.