The Force Awakens had good casting, good acting, great special effects, and was true to the spirit of the original trilogy. What it didn't have was anything really new.
Practically every major plot point was obviously derived from something from the original trilogy. Nothing was really new. We have a masked Dragon. We have a planet destroying superweapon that has to be killed by X-Wings targeting a specific weak point. We have a droid carrying secret files of galaxy-changing significance. We have a mentor of the heroes who gets murdered by the Dragon. We have a cantina scene. We have lightsaber duels. The only thing I saw that appeared to be truly original was Han Solo's method of getting to Starkiller Base - which was a blatant violation of hyperspace physics as explained in the EU novels.
Whether or not this will ultimately be remembered as the start of a new classic film trilogy or just a rewrite of Episode IV depends rests entirely on Episode VIII and whether or not it can add some original concepts to the mix instead of just repackaging the existing formula.
Well made, but not original
The Force Awakens had good casting, good acting, great special effects, and was true to the spirit of the original trilogy. What it didn't have was anything really new.
Practically every major plot point was obviously derived from something from the original trilogy. Nothing was really new. We have a masked Dragon. We have a planet destroying superweapon that has to be killed by X-Wings targeting a specific weak point. We have a droid carrying secret files of galaxy-changing significance. We have a mentor of the heroes who gets murdered by the Dragon. We have a cantina scene. We have lightsaber duels. The only thing I saw that appeared to be truly original was Han Solo's method of getting to Starkiller Base - which was a blatant violation of hyperspace physics as explained in the EU novels.
Whether or not this will ultimately be remembered as the start of a new classic film trilogy or just a rewrite of Episode IV depends rests entirely on Episode VIII and whether or not it can add some original concepts to the mix instead of just repackaging the existing formula.