This is going to be a spoiler free review. Most people seem to want to go in clean and not even know the plot, which I think is the best way to view this. The ambiguity of who is who or what is part of the fun of the narrative.
JJ Abrams captures the original look and feel of the Star Wars universe. The prequels looked too clean and polished of a world while the original looked dirty, dusty, rusty, scratched, sandy, and used, all in a charming way and you get brought back into that world. Even the generic evil bad guys in the background feel like the ones from the 70's and 80's.
There's several callbacks to the "feel" of Episode 4, but the film still feels fresh. I think it's a lot to due with the new characters being very fun and likable. I thought they were the best parts of the film, including Oscar Isaacs is a lesser, but very memorable part. Fin and Ray are strong on their own. You do get Han, Chewie, and Lea in this as seen in the trailers, but they aren't a crutch for the new characters.
Harrison Ford does bring in a strong performance. He's not playing old man Harrison Ford, but actually brings back Han Solo as an older man.
It's an incredibly fun space movie, but I wouldn't call it great. It's very good, up there with the original trilogy and less with the last one. But I do have my problems and it's very minor.
The villains are weak and forgettable. And the ending isn't strong due to that IMO. The ending does leave me wanting to see the next one, but as a stand alone film, I needed a proper conclusion to finish strong.
That being said, if you need a good new Star Wars film, this is it. It's a natural successor to Return of The Jedi.
