Originality/subversion alone doesn’t do anything. However, if we’re dealing with a good film that features competent writing, direction and acting, would you think its quality be hurt if you saw the villain wearing white robes and using a blue lightsaber?
Yes however little. It would be a unnecesarily misleading and confusing design choice. Why make the bad guy look so much like the good guys? It’s not even really that original and detracts from the story.
Exactly. In a word, it would be stupid.
Stupid is right. It’s just that SW had a certain aesthetic to it, and removing that aesthetic obscures the idea that your watching a sequel to SW. There were certain “rules” for lack of a better word. It was based upon several old ideas, from '30s-'40s sci-fi/fantasy serials, to Dune, to WWII films. Taking out the aesthetics of SW would make TFA even worse than it already is. Like I said, Darth had a red blade for a reason, and Obi-Wan had a blue blade for a reason. Same with the black vs. white outfits. It creates a distinguishable contrast of good and evil. The Empire and the Rebellion was black and white.