Solid revival of an incredible franchise

Rating: 7/10 (14 December 2019)

Taking a step back and viewing The Force Awakens, the film isn't all that bad. Many things were left up for speculation for it to be solved in the next two films of the trilogy, which is expected considering how incredibly popular and beloved this franchise is. Thinking back to when it first came out, everyone loved it because they were excited for where it would be taken from there. And I think that's what makes this film passable. The feeling of revival to this franchise is exactly what it needed.
It's no wonder that the film is quite similar to A New Hope, Disney wanted to play it safe to please everyone. In my opinion, I think the two films are separate enough to justify The Force Awakens' existence. This film's job was to create these new characters, and establish the time setting in the universe. I believe it succeeded as the characters are well done, and the time period makes sense in the context of the rest of the franchise.
Obviously there needed to be cliffhangers and unanswered questions as this is the first film in the trilogy. By the end of the film, the remaining two films have the opportunity to go anywhere which is what kept people looking forward to episode 8. When you take the unfortunate existence of episode 8 out of context when watching the film, it can be enjoyable and will feel faithful to Star Wars. Let's just hope Rise of Skywalker is able to fix up the damage done by The Last Jedi.