Forgive me If I am repeating anything anyone else has said, I have not read through this entire thread. Just want to give some of my thoughts.
I think the notion that TFA is a well acted, directed, designed, and composed film (on a technical level) can not be disputed. The film follows Campbell’s pattern of the hero’s journey almost religiously (much like the original Star Wars) and through this finds much success. That combined with truly solid directing and staging makes for a film that certainly kept me invested from beginning to end. The lazy staging of the prequels (walking and talking, sitting on a couch in shot reverse shot telling the plot rather than showing it) is done away with in TFA. There is always action and the characters are always doing rather than saying. The story and action keeps moving forward. This is what makes a movie a movie, rather than a play. This is something George did not understand when making the prequels while J.J. on the other hand knows how to turn a narrative into compelling cinema. On that front, The Force Awakens is overall a well-executed film. “Faster and more intense” was certainly taken to heart.
Having said that, the biggest issue I have with The Force Awakens is that it is too reliant on exhibitionism and audience interaction. It is content to rest on the laurels of the franchise and let the already iconic imagery do the work without offering anything new to the table. There are too many moments like when Han runs into the frame for the first time and stands there, waiting for the audience to finish cheering before saying his first line. It’s also off putting the way these moments were structured in that they were paced out in small doses as the film progressed. It’s like the filmmakers are going: Ok everybody it’s now time to clap for the falcon - 20 min later - Ok folks here comes Han, time for another applause - 20 more min - Now here’s Lei and C-3P0, more applause please. This 4th walled exhibitionism of OT imagery and characters distracts from the core narrative, which is something a film should never do. You enjoyed those moments in the theater but I can bet you’ll be cringing when you watch the BD by yourself or with just a small number of people. Now, of course OT imagery is necessary in this film as it is a continuation of the story. My issue is not with the imagery itself but they way it is presented, pausing for applause and then moving on. The more subtle things such as the red screen on the Falcon turret was something I appreciated a whole lot more because it adheres to established visual continuity (which makes you feel like we are right back where we left off) without being in your face about it, unlike a lot of other moments.
Where the prequels failed as compelling cinema, they succeeded in contributing to the lore. Despite their poor execution as films (really poor execution) they, at the very least, are wholly original in both background narrative and mise en scene (in other words, iconic imagery such as coruscant, battle droids, etc.) TFA fails on this account.
I know this has been said before and many will be quick to jump on me because of it, but the term ‘fan film’ really does come to mind when thinking about The Force Awakens (Much like J.J.'s Star Trek and Into Darkness). The Force Awakens is, at the end of the day, a caricature of the the original films without any of the substance. There was true mysticism, spirituality, and meaning behind the original three films. There is real wisdom to be drawn from Yoda’s teachings for example. There is no such substance in The Force Awakens. In being so overtly celebratory of the original trilogy with the wink winks and 4th walled references, TFA ironically fails to understand and capture the real reason we love Star Wars; that is the emotional connection to the characters. Rey has no time to realistically develop as a character because she is too busy saying stuff like “You’re Han Solo! You made the Kessel run in 12 parsecs”. It’s very difficult to get pulled into a story when the film tries so hard to pull you back out with lines like that.
Sorry for making this so long, It was not what I intended when I started typing. I can’t help but ramble sometimes. There’s more stuff I wanted to touch on (which I did not like) such as marvel humor, the poor score, and more. Perhaps another time. Thanks for reading.
TLDR: The Force Awakens is a great action film worth seeing (as if anyone hasn’t seen it ;D). It was meticulously designed to do nothing more than please the general audience and it succeeds in achieving that goal. However it is too bogged down by reliance on exhibitionism and audience interaction and as such loses the emotional connection to the audience.