The worthy legatee of a legendary franchise

Rating: 9/10 (23 December 2015)

This movie is a gift to the younger generation, who gets to relive in a revitalized way the first Star Wars movies. Most of the harsh critics of this movie blame it for its great similarities to the original Star Wars, calling it either a remake or a ripoff; but rest assured that these similarities are exactly what makes this movie incredible, and that the movie doesn't feel like an usurper, but rather like the worthy legatee of the first Star Wars movies.
I really can't blame J.J. Abrams and his team to go in that direction; I feel like this is exactly what needed to be done after the prequels, which sadly failed in their attempt to live up to Star Wars' reputation. I said it is a gift to the new generation since this allows them to experience in a modern way what was experienced by millions almost 40 years ago. That being said, I do hope that they go in audacious directions in the next episodes so that it feels like a righteous new sequel on its own.
In brief, the older Star Wars fans will be reminded the greatness of the original trilogy (with much more than cameos) as well as appreciate what 21st century's cinematography can bring to it, and the rest will certainly be exhilarated by exciting characters, a great universe and that magic that comes with lightsabers, space battles, deadly evil forces and a quest of epic proportions. The only thing that I could blame this movie for is the plot handling in some cases, where some events were a bit too fortuitous or not explained deeply enough, which disturbed in a really slight way the experience for me.
Overall, a well deserved 8,5/10.