I thought it was fantastic. It did have a lot of homages to the original but in a good way, while still retaining it's own feel. And it really felt like a Star Wars movie.

Kylo Ren was done really well; I think he was designed the way Anakin should have been. There was lots of symbolism between the good/bad sides of him (like the blue/red lighting on his face before killing Han), and his extertior/interior: he wants to show himself as a harsh, determined, and fearless leader (as he is when masked) but really underneath (unmasked) he's shown as unsure of himself and his beliefs, and full of fear of not living up to Vader. Tons of character development in this first movie alone; I really look forward to where they take him. Killing Han could mean he's fully in the dark side now but Leia is still alive so who knows.

Rey was great. She was written kinda "too" perfect but they pulled it off well and I thought she was really likeable. I do think she's Luke's daughter. Maybe she was part of the jedi training before Ren destroyed it, and Luke placed her far from danger on Jakku while making her forget; perhaps that's why she could catch on to the Force so fast? Finn was good too, lots of needed comic relief and he's shown as really brave and loyal. Star Wars pulled off some great marketing because I really thought it was Finn that would be the new Force-user thanks to the trailers/posters but it was Rey all along! Also I was skeptical about them trying to push BB-8 as the new R2-D2, but he turned out really loveable.

It was really sad to see Han go but I understand why they did it. A small part of me was thinking/hoping his son wouldn't kill him but that would have kinda ruined the movie I think. I was disappointed that Leia and Chewie didn't have a moment at the end of the film but ahh well.

So yeah overall I really loved it and am definitely going to see it again in theaters soon.