Just saw the movie, wanted to come to the most concentrated zone of SW fans I could think of to say what I think. This will likely be incoherent babbling.
First of all, the casting was atrocious for Finn and Kylo. And the First Order ginger general. Finn gave off this constant I'm a little boy in a Star Wars movie! vibe and Kylo was some deformed emo who looked so boyish and unscary that I had to hold back laughter when he first removed his mask. That said, his acting was top notch but that face is just not Sithly at all. And I doubt it could ever be, his ears are far too big, his teeth are stereotypically english and his jaw is skewed. Han and Leia would make a much more handsome son. Lastly, the First Order general, how is someone so young and, again, boyish, general of the First Order? Also, his acting was rather bland. My girlfriend and I reckon he'd be perfect in a role suited to informing Kylo of bad news and subsequently being destroyed in a fit of sithly rage.
Secondly, forced humour, forced humour everywhere. Too many jokes or awkward moments packed too closely together. Don't get me wrong, some moments made me chuckle but most of it made me cringe slightly. And I hate BB-8 with a passion, never liked the thing ever since I saw it in the trailers. It's far too childlike, which begs the question; "why would a seasoned veteran pilot program his companion to behave that way?"
Thirdly, the story was basically a progressive 'A New Hope'. Strong female lead who don't need no man? Check. Black comic relief lead? Check. All villains white dudes? Check. New Hope plotline? Check. And don't get me started on how characters who've known each other for half a day form bonds as strong as you'd expect from friends since birth. What the hell was up with Finn and Poe running to each other and hugging it out like a soppy romantic reunion after the Resistance saves the day? A knowing nod, a smile and a handshake/pat on the back would've sufficed. Yes, Finn thought the dude had died, but jesus, they literally knew each other for ten minutes before the crashlanding. Just all felt very forced.
Speaking of forced, Rey being able to use the force so proficiently out of nowhere pissed me off. I'll let the mind trick go, but wrestling the lightsaber away from Kylo Ren, a guy trained since birth, who was both closer to the lightsaber and trying to pull it first, was ridiculous.
Lastly, why on earth is the Resistance's 'fleet' literally a couple handfuls of X-Wings? The rebels in the original trilogy had a proper fleet. It should have been the new Republic and the First Order duking it out, not some ragtag group of X Wing pilots.
I'd give the film a 6/10, held up mostly by stunning visuals and Luke's cameo. Still better than Phantom Menace, probably as good as Clone Wars.
