I see so much being made out of the fact that TFA takes so much of its story beats and imagery from the first Star Wars movie, but never really much discussion about the context in which it does so. TFA focuses on protagonists who are living in the shadow of larger than life figures.
Rey has a Rebel Pilot doll. Kylo Ren seeks to follow in Darth Vaders footsteps. All of them have missing parent figures. There’s that wonderful scene where Fin recognizes Han as a war hero, and Rey recognizes him as a smuggler. Heck, at one point in the movie there’s a shot that frames the deactivated R2-D2 as a rather imposing and statuesque figure over the smaller BB-8. All of this colors the new character’s decisions and attitudes in a way that isn’t seen in the original trilogy.
This is a lovely way of looking at it.