I'm seeing it tonight.
I'm a bit cautious, as I strongly disliked Abram's previous two movies (Super 8 and Star Trek Into Darkness), and am worried that TFA will be chock-full of the things that plagued them (messy and uneven plotting, nonsensical plot twists, thoroughly unearned dramatic moments, over-reliance on nostalgia and recycling/calling back to moments from much better films and distracting/annoying levels of fan-service). I'm also very aware that yes, it's getting rave reviews, but I think it would have in any case as people are willing to overlook any number of flaws so long as its not as bad as the prequels.
Literally
everything we've seen so far from this one is just something lifted from the originals, and I was very dismayed to learn that the plot apparently revolves around yet another
- Spoiler: show
- Death Star
. Say what you want about the prequels (and I honestly think they're terrible films overall), but at least they had their own aesthetic that was pleasingly distinct from the originals (despite everything being rendered in such a sterile, greenscreen way, I actually think there's a lot of wonderful design work in those movies, especially things like the gorgeously retro yellow and chrome starships, and Darth Maul).
On the plus side, the cast of this thing is flat-out amazing. John Boyega, Domhnall Gleeson, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac... it's like they assembled a cast based on my personal favourite actors from my favourite films and TV shows of the last five years, so at least that bodes well. And, being generous, from the trailers it does very much looks like they've recaptured something of the tactile charm and excitement of the originals. It looks
fun, which a Star Wars film should.