History YMMV / TheForceAwakens

* FanartAtFirstSight: When the movie was coming up and the new characters were previewed, there was much fanart for Kylo, Rey, and Captain Phasma just based on looks alone.

* AssPull: See the [[AssPull/StarWars franchise page]].

* MisaimedMarketing: Kylo Ren. A {{deconstruction}} of previous ''Star Wars'' villains and their popularity, and deliberately written to be an [[HateSink uncharismatic]] PsychopathicManchild, he was aggressively marketed to all ages in the exact same way as his predecessors. In fact, Disney thought that he would be the big breakout star of the movie before his subversive nature was revealed and Rey proved to be far more likable.

* ContestedSequel: It's ''Star Wars'', what did you expect? Like the rest of the Sequel Trilogy, this movie has proven to be extremely controversial. Some see it as a major improvement over the prequels, or the best installment after the original trilogy or even ''The Empire Strikes Back''. Meanwhile, some see it as [[ItsTheSameNowItSucks an uninspired rehash of]] ''[[ItsTheSameNowItSucks A New Hope]]'' and point out that the prequels at least did something different, or even straight up think the prequels were better. Even amongst those who feel ''TFA'' is superior to the prequels, the fanbase is more divided as to how it stacks up compared to the [[FirstInstallmentWins original trilogy]]; some people consider the originals to be [[SeinfeldIsUnfunny dated]] and appreciate that ''TFA'' gives a more modernized take on ''Star Wars'' without having as many pitfalls as the prequels, while others attest that the original trilogy [[ToughActToFollow is too legendary and genre-defining to be topped]], often bringing up that ''TFA'' had to rehash a lot of elements from ''A New Hope'' to please the crowd.

* HoYay: Finn and Poe ''instantly'' develop a tight rapport and work amazingly well together despite neither of them ever being in a TIE fighter before, with Poe even giving Finn a name that he promptly adopts as his own. Later in the movie they reunite [[MeadowRun running across a landing zone]] into a huge mutual [[TheGlomp glomp]] and Poe telling Finn to keep [[HerBoyfriendsJacket his jacket because it looks good on him]]. [[http://www.bleedingcool.com/2015/12/23/tales-from-the-four-color-closet-by-the-force-let-poe-dameron-be-gay/ Even Oscar Isaacs seemed to hint at it during an interview with Ellen.]]

* HeartwarmingInHindsight: Leia's final scene in the film, triumphant after the Resistance's victory over the First Order, and her encouraging "May The Force be with you" to Rey is particularly comforting in the wake of Creator/CarrieFisher's death. The Oscars used it in the In Memoriam montage following her passing.

** Both [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6D5IZtDCS5c General Hux]] and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AoErx-fGiPw Kylo Ren]] have endorsed Burberry.

* AuthorsSavingThrow: See the franchise [[AuthorsSavingThrow/StarWars page]].

* HilariousInHindsight: Finn's initially false claims that he's a "big deal" in the Resistance, due to not wanting anyone to know he's an ex-stormtrooper. In ''Film/TheRiseOfSkywalker'', he gets promoted to the rank of general and co-leads the Resistance with Poe.

** Sidon Ithano, aka [[TheRedBaron The Crimson Corsair]], the space pirate in red armor whose crew Finn briefly considers joining, mostly because of his cool voice and ''awesome'' costume design.

* BrokenBase: Rey managing to defeat Kylo Ren. A lot of fans believe Rey's victory over Kylo is justified on account of the injuries he sustained from Chewbacca and Finn along with the emotional turmoil from killing his father and that Rey has experience with melee weapons thanks to her time on Jakku. Detractors however believe Rey's victory to be an AssPull that reeks of PlotArmor. This camp cites that the Dark Side feeds on anger and pain along with Kylo having years of experience with lightsabers while believing that staves are not interchangeable with a lightsaber. There's also some who believe that regardless of how plausible Rey's victory is, having Kylo Ren lose his first fight against Rey makes it [[NeverLiveItDown impossible to take him as a credible threat in later films.]]

** Young Rey is played by Creator/CaileyFleming, a few years before her role as Judith Grimes in ''Series/TheWalkingDead''.

* AlternativeJokeInterpretation: The gag of Finn shooting BB-8 a thankful thumbs-up followed by BB-8 flicking out a tiny blowtorch arm is supposed to be a simple, cute show of friendship, but considering the context -- Finn just strong-armed BB-8 to play along with his lie to Rey that he's part of the Resistance in order to escape to their base -- some viewers interpreted BB-8's gesture as not a playful show of "Don't worry, I got your back!", but instead as him FlippingTheBird. Funnily enough, while it was confirmed to be a sincere thumbs-up, this confusion inspired a gag in ''ComicBook/StarWarsPoeDameron'' where BB-8 does the same gesture, only the context makes it clear ''he really is'' giving the middle finger.

* WinBackTheCrowd: At the end of its opening weekend it was sitting at a 95% critical rating and a 92% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and [[http://money.cnn.com/2015/12/20/media/star-wars-the-force-awakens-opening-weekend-box-office/ had the best opening week in cinema history for its time]] (It would be beaten later by two [[Film/AvengersInfinityWar Avengers]] [[Film/AvengersEndgame movies]] and ''[[Film/SpidermanNoWayHome Spider-Man: No Way Home]]'').

* WinBackTheCrowd: At the end of its opening weekend it was sitting at a 95% critical rating and a 92% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and [[http://money.cnn.com/2015/12/20/media/star-wars-the-force-awakens-opening-weekend-box-office/ had the best opening week in cinema history for it's time]] (It would be beaten later by two Avengers movies and Spiderman: No Way Home).