(I liked TFA way better than the PT but sadly it’s a movie I barely have nothing to say about: it’s just a ride with no depth).
I believe TFA will be given more depth as a result of what happens in the rest of the Sequel Trilogy. Because really, A New Hope, by itself without the rest of the OT, is similarly only marginally deep at best.
I don’t agree at all, but moreover, if we put depth aside, ANH is more fun and creative than TFA (and by a long range). I nevertheless agree that EpVII will probably be stronger as the first chapter of the entire Sequel trilogy than it could be on its own (the first 30 minutes are quite good in fact, the rest is just rehash).
As far as creativity is concerned, Star Wars was supposedly a clumping together and rehash of already established ideas from various shows and movies George grew up with. It’s fun, yes, but creative only in the sense that a new universe was created and populated with interesting characters and a particularly cool weapon. The fact that Episode VII is a follow up story in an established, and previously floundering franchise (given that, without OT.com, we’d be stuck with a crap PT and badly re-edited OT), it limits the level of creativity which one is allowed to use in telling a story and still call it both good on its own and a good addition to the series.
I’m a big Star Trek fan. I know all about how fans are nigh impossible to please when it comes to new franchise content. “Oh, but the JJ-verse sucks!” they say. To which I could reply with “Look, you hated DS9 because it was too much like Babylon 5 and not enough like TNG. Then you hated VOY because it was too much like TNG and not enough its own self. Then you hated ENT because it had too much fan service. Now you hate the reboots because they’re too much like Star Wars.” Give me a break.
In sum, it is my opinion that with VII they’re damned if they do and they’re damned if they don’t. It would never live up to the nostalgia people have for the OUT.