The Force Awakens played it safe.

Rating: 6/10 (8 January 2016)

Now we have to be honest, if you bought a franchise for 4 billion dollars: would you be bold and risk the longevity of the story for one good motion picture, or would you stick to what works and lay the foundation of an everlasting franchise?
This is what the movie feels like: predetermined, characters must live as they lay the foundation of episode VIII and IX. There can not be any profound story twists that make it harder for future sequels. Everything is also very familiar, revisiting old plot lines. New characters are likable, but they feel like watered down versions of the original characters with the same story arcs. With less screen time and character development.
There is also a strong presence of nostalgia, introducing the same artwork and design from the original trilogy. Also the introduction of SW veterans Luke, Leia and Han. Yet here their presence is poor and basically have no memorable scenes. I would go to the certain extent and say the screenwriters even took the liberty of being bold in such a bad manner with these characters. In many ways I feel they were just in it to secure the passing of the torch to the new generation.
I am from the generation that actually watched prequel trilogy before watching the original one and by any means is not a SW fan. I did not experience the same SW hysteria when original was made. But I see a great divide here on IMDb, most people either hate it or love it. I think it has a great production value and had it been any other stand-alone science fiction, I would have given it an 8. I have a principle of trying to not judge a film by comparing it to others but rather on the basis of its genre. The movie is actually great fun and a well-crafted adventure. But it is built on an existing legacy. Star Wars exist and I can not ignore the fact that a lot of this movie is a blue print on the original trilogy. Good storytellers say they have drawn inspiration from other movies and created something original (ex. The Dark Knight is modeled after Heat, weird huh?). This movie pretends to do so, although here in SW Universe there is a direct link between the movies.
Now, to my initial question: If I bought something for 4 billion dollars, heck I would not even dare touch it with a kilometer long stick. This is the mentality of this production and the current trajectory of mainstream movie-making. Hollywood rely on major franchises and peddle mostly on nostalgia, true originality is hard to come by these days. TFA is no exception.