I don’t think the criticism went far enough. Instead of the lack of “sex” it should be that there was no heart in the proceedings.
I gotta disagree with this one. The Secrets of The Force Awakens Documentary showed how much the film makers cared about making a good movie. Now whether they actually did is up for debate but the thought behind it was pure.
But worst of all is the complete lack of backstory
There is backstory; it’s just not completely told yet.
combined with the fact that TFA really has no driving motivation for any character other than plot advancement. It becomes so darn hard to care. Even the worst of EU materials generally had this. Even the prequels did in spurts.
I disagree with this too
Rey: wants to get off Jakku and live with her family
Finn: wants to get away from the First Order and wants to get with Rey
Kylo Ren: wants to become fully immersed in the Dark Side
but when we compare it to SW here are the motivations for the main trio in that film:
Luke: wants to get off Tatooine and wants to join the rebellion
Han: wants to get rich
it is clear the characters in TFA had some type of motivations even if they were separate from getting the droid back to the Resistance Base. I left out Leia and Poe because they both don’t have aspirations beyond what the plot revolves around.