A vast improvement to the Star Wars Lore, but still flawed.

Rating: 8/10 (16 December 2015)

I'll keep this as spoiler free as I can, but I am still excited.
The film opens to a pilot looking for a map so that the Resistance may locate Luke Skywalker, but the bad guys want it and they want it bad. They wipe out a village in one of the better shoot outs I've seen on screen.
But then I started to realize that this is just A New Hope with new characters. Very similar storyline, but I wasn't too bothered by it.
The first half of the film is action packed, visually beautiful and full of witty dialogue between the characters, especially Finn who probably had the best moments in the entire film.
Finn is definitely a Storm Trooper, but not an enlisted or a clone. More like a kidnapped and indoctrinated soldier who eventually realizes that his surroundings don't suit his particular thoughts. He is a very quick thinking character and very interesting. Not the best fighter in the team, but one who learns very quickly.
Rey is another very interesting and easily relate able character. She's struggling to make ends meet every day working for an under cutting boss who will do anything to make himself feel better. Rey is a very strong character, very smart, and almost Tomb Raider like. But that's also a negative view. It didn't feel natural for her to suddenly be such an expert in how to handle herself. Such as escaping Kylo Rens forces so easily. The story pacing didn't match up very well regarding her.
Both these characters start out ignorant of the STar WArs Universe somewhat, and that works well for new viewers of this lore.
It wasn't until half way into the film that things start to go too quickly and Kylo Ren goes from the intimidating boss character, to the whiny side mission boss. He was too whiny to me and he didn't instill the same power and fear over his forces as other antagonist could do. He had no real power and was not very intimidating. However, his story is by far the most intriguing. His personal strife made him less of an antagonist and more like an anti-villain.
The ending felt rushed but it was visually appealing to me.
The First Order really came out as a major threat to the Galaxy with their new weapons and honestly, much tougher soldiers.
The reintroduction of the original cast was not as half-baked as they were in episodes 1, 2, and 3. They played major roles in the film and really contributed to the story.
I enjoyed it but I was starting to get bored just about 30 minutes before the end. The final battle between the heroes and the villains left a sour taste in my mouth and could have been done better.
There are still some questions left unanswered, but I expect those to be answered in the next film.