I have seen The Force Awakens for the 18th time in a theater!
NB - the other 17 times were back in 1977. My memory ain't what it is use to be but some things seemed different this time.
The strengths of the film lie with the new characters and, thankfully, the much improved dialogue. Ford is excellent as Solo and looks like he is having a lot of fun. All the new actors are welcome additions and there is a good sense of humour running throughout the movie. Daisy Ridley is a real find! I had no issues with any of the effects, practical or CGI.
Given the franchise pressures this film was under, JJ delivers a solid corporation approved installment. He also cements his reputation as the reboot king but sadly continues to show he hasn't learned much from his previous efforts. What he does well, he continues to do so. Few can match his ability to deliver a - Spinal Taplike - film pace of 11 for long stretches at a time.
But the price is a surfeit of added emotional depth.
Cutting the monster/cantina sequences in half and using that time to have Han and Ben meet even briefly before the catwalk scene and their final moment together would have carried so much more dramatic heft. He could also avoided replicating the Chewie medal snub moment by using that reclaimed time to have a moment between Chewie and Leia at the end. I mean seriously, Chewie and Leia just waltz by each other with nary a shared moment of grief of any type? Finally, why not have Finn face off with Captain Phasma instead of Stormtrooper Nobody?
Responses by movie goers to the film replicating beats from the previous movies cover a wide spectrum on the yay and nay sides. For myself I was fine with most of it except for the Starkiller base. Even by the loose science of Star Wars this Death Star stretched credulity with echoes of JJ's Star Trek reboot's transwarp beaming nonsense.
Please Disney, after Rogue 1, please place a moratorium on any form of Death Star plot elements. 3 times is two times too many. It's high for some fleet on fleet engagements!
The Force Awakens is a good movie, and most importantly a fun time. It could have been so much better with just a few tweaks to beef up character moments.
I put it third behind Empire and a New Hope.