Borrowing elements from a wide variety of sources and blending them to create something no one has seen before is very different from creating a near carbon copy of an earlier film in the very same franchise.
As far as my ratings go, I pretty much agree with ZkinandBonez. I really enjoy Star Wars, but even ESB is an 8 or 8.5 in a world full of amazing films. That’s why I give TFA a 5 or 6 tops.
MINOR SPOILER$ even though this is a no spoiler thread.
The Force Awakens is not a near carbon copy of Star Wars. [SPOILERS REMOVED] None of that matters because the stories and the way it’s done are so much more different. Star Wars is much more of a copy than The Force Awakens is. Akira Kurosawa’s Hidden Fortress, Flash Gordon, Hero of a Thousand Faces. It may sound bad, but ORIGINALITY DOES NOT MATTER AT ALL.
Please don’t post spoilers in this thread. - Jay