Just so everyone knows, this post will have a ton of spoilers... So if you haven't seen the movie, I highly recommend that you stop reading now. If you just want my general thoughts: I really enjoyed it. It wasn't perfect by any means, but I think it did a good job of laying the foundation for future movies.
Ok, now for spoiler-y talk...
Like I said, overall I really enjoyed it. The new good guys are likable and complex. I think Rey and Finn are fantastic. I enjoyed how their characters were written and the acting was superb. I have to say, though, I didn't really care for Poe. I'm not exactly sure why... I don't think it was Oscar Issac's portrayal, but something was just off about the character. I think I just find his character to be too bland. The standard "I'm a great pilot!" guy. "Yeehaw! Shoot all of the TIEs!" It could also have to do with the lack of backstory. With Rey and Finn, we get a deep look at where they come from. Rey was essentially abandoned by her family, so now she scavenges for scrap metal to pay for food. She stays on a horrible planet with little to offer simply because she is certain her family will return. Finn is a converted stormtrooper, which is fascinating. He struggles within himself between either being a hero or just saving his own skin and getting as far away from The First Order as possible. Poe is... Some guy... Who is really good at flying and shooting things. I'm sure the next movie will develop his character more... Or at least I hope that happens.
On the opposite side of things is Kylo Ren, formally Ben Solo. A great performance from Adam Driver, by the way. And what a character they have created. He's reckless and unstable. He struggles with his love for his father and his obsession with Vader. Kylo Ren is ridiculously obsessed with Vader. It's obvious that he only wears a mask because Vader did. He doesn't even need it, but he desperately wants to be as powerful or more powerful than Vader. It's so bad that he vastly overestimates his power. Yes, he is powerful... But it's uncontrolled, which is his huge weakness. I'm curious to see how his character progresses as Snoke completes his training.
So what about Leia, Luke, and Han? Let's start with Leia. I'm hearing other people say she is a boring character in The Force Awakens, but I think those people are missing the point. It seems to me that Leia is tired and overwhemed. She's a general, but she's tired of fighting. It's something she has to do, but you can tell she can't wait until the fighting is over. As she mentions, after splitting from Han due to their son going to the dark side, she just went back to what she does best. It seems to me that she is barely holding on at this point. I have to admit, I'm a bit surprised that she apparently never tried to develop her Jedi powers. She is just as capable of controlling the Force as Luke, but she still seems to only use it to sense death and danger. For someone who has never shied away from a fight, you'd think she'd want to develop her powers. Maybe that will be explored in a future movie, but it seems unlikely.
As for Han? What a performance from Harrison Ford! I think he nailed what a 60-70 year old Han would be like at this point. He owned every scene he was in. I loved it. Of course, I hated to see him die. I knew it was coming... I knew it had to happen... But part of me was hoping it wouldn't. Even after it happened, I was thinking "well, maybe he's not really dead." Then the planet imploded... And Leia could obviously feel that he was gone. So sad.
And poor Chewie, I'm a bit torn on how a feel about him in this movie. I certainly enjoyed him. The subtle jabs he takes at Han are certainly within his character. But I don't know. I felt like something was off about him. He wasn't quite the same Chewie. Still a great character, but he just seemed a little off from the Chewie of the original trilogy. I loved the look he gave Rey before they took off to find Luke, though. They did a great job of using body language and looks to convey a message. Between Chewie and BB-8, that was well done through-out the movie. No words that we can understand... But messages were still clear. They were only explained in English when absolutely necessary.
And finally we get to Luke... I was a bit disappointed how little he was in the movie... But that's really because I'm just upset that I have to wait 2 years to see him in the next movie. There is so much I want to know. Only small details are given on why he went into seclusion. It seems like he deliberately activated R2-D2... So for some reason he has decided he wants to be found. But why now? I just want to know everything... Unfortunately, not only do I have to wait 2 years, but they probably won't explain every little detail.
Lastly, I want to talk about the similarities between The Force Awakens and A New Hope. One of the major criticisms I am seeing is that The Force Awakens is just a remake of A New Hope with some new characters. Yes, I can certainly see why someone might think that. After all, there are tons of similarities. A droid carrying important information. The Jedi being in seclusion. The Death Star planet that his blown up by a trench run after the shields are brought down. The list goes on... But I honestly think people are missing the point. The point is that everything is so similar... Yet so different, We've seen all of these themes before, to the point where the plot line is incredibly similar to what we have already seen... But the subtleties make all the difference. We get to see something we are familiar with, but it seems very obvious that the next 2 movies are going to slowly diverge from the original trilogy. I truly think this is one of those movies that people will look back on after the trilogy has been completely released and they'll like it more than they do now. The people who are complaining now aren't looking at the big picture, the trilogy. They are focused on The Force Awakens as a stand-alone movie. That's fair at this point, since that's all we have to go on... But let's not jump to conclusions. This is the start of not only a trilogy, but a series of Star Wars movies unrelated to this story line. The Force Awakens is a solid movie that stands to become a great foundation for a quickly expanding franchise.
