When the theme song and intro credits started rolling I was torn between fear and a sudden realization of how this franchise like no other can get to me in ways no other consumer product can.  Throughout the movie I found myself uncontrollably smiling for long periods of time. J.J Abrams has taken extreme care in preserving the heart and soul of the original trilogy while providing new evolutions to the world that takes place many years after the last ones. It also has some sinister moments that will leave a lump in your throat. The characters and look of the movie is where the movie really shines. The world feels as alive as the originals but with a more gritty underlayer.  It is definitely more violent than the other movies. The reprising  characters still maintain their charisma and everything else we love about them,  but since time has passed their relationships with each other have evolved.  New characters are as nuanced as the old and especially rey, fin and kyle ren made an impression on me.  Fin is struggling with the situation and moral choices he finds himself in and is the comedic relief,  but in a good way that feels natural. He changes perfectly between seriousness and unintentionally funny.  Rey is the pure hearted one who wants adventure but is bound by family ties. She has seen nothing but her home planet.  She gives a very strong performance and is propably my favourite addition overall because all her actions and decisions Is handled in such a believable way. Kyle ren is propably the most fascinating new addition.  A sith which shows far more complexity in his personality than any other sith and a character that continues to grow in ways other siths haven't in any star wars yet.

The imagery is a mix between cgi and practical effects.  The world feels alive once again and still manages to look absolutely stunning. Battle scenes are intense and the camera movements increases that intensity. The only problem here is that  some characters and objects that Do use cgi feel out of place,  but only in a few instances. 

I almost had to curse J.J for pulling at my heart strings so many times during the movie..  The man knows  what we want and boy has it rekindled my love for this amazing universe..  I can safely say I am at ease with Mickey owning this franchise now. Funny thing is that this movie pays more respect to star wars than lucas has done in the last 10 years combined. Also.  BB8 is freaking cute in the right way. Just as good as R2...

Be aware though that you will not see everything in this movie. Think of this as the first part of the trilogy before going in. 

So yeah there you have it.  Hope it was vague enough for you.  I myself am going again tomorrow to see it and I recommend you all to do the same.  Can't speak for the 3d effect though as I went the 2d route.  Cheers

I too am spoiler proof:

Though I won't exactly get to see it till Jan anyway due to the cinema having seats booked for weeks.

Just spoil it! What happened to Luke???

J.J Abrams has taken extreme care in preserving the heart and soul of the original trilogy

Well that's a new twist. Can it be true. I guess star wars was always more about action than star trek, so it is closer to his style. Sounds better than the upcoming star trek movie.

He's producer, but not director of the film. The director is Justin Lin, also know as the Fast and Furious director. And well, the trailer just released and it's awful imo. It looks like, yeah, Fast and Furious but it doesn't quite blend well with Star Trek at all. 

Thanks for posting this... what a relief! I'm very happy to hear that the new characters have depth and are varied. I'm even happier about Kylo Ren developing more as a character than previous sith (always felt it was a missed opportunity).

Skipped all of the posts in this thread. I just want to say that a gif of a booty being smacked may have spoiled the movie for me. Beware of booties with words written on them!

No clue why he switched to Star Wars, yet maybe he can do better there :) Sorry, I don't like his revisioning of Star Trek, even though the movies are still entertaining. He should have used new characters instead of his vision of Spock and Kirk.

Anyway just saw a commercial for The hateful eight on tv. Much more excited to see that! It being shot in 70mm helps too, plus Tarantino still believes in real life action, can't wait.

It was good not great in my eyes but I was with a friend who is a huge star wars fan. So every time he See's something nostalgic I have to make sure he can breath.

I think I'll read that tomorrow night after I've watched the movie.