Just got back from my showing, and I really enjoyed this film. Been a pretty casual Star Wars fan for a long time, honestly got into the series more through games like Pod Racer and Kotor, than the movies themselves.
This movie was fun as hell. The only real complaints I have are that Finn was not force sensitive--lovely red herring lol--, and that there were several plot points like Han Solo's death that felt extremely predictable. Still, I really enjoyed these new characters. John Boyega as Finn was incredibly entertaining. Daisey Ridley was great. The new droid was cool. And Keylo Ren . . . I actually really like what was done with this guy. Keylo Ren up until he takes his face-mask off is an extremely intimidating character, who possesses an aura of menace and badassery. After that, it's hard to not look at Kylo Ren as something of a petulant child or bitch. But I actually like that this was a man who is actively resisting the light, resisting his true nature. And he's struggling hard. Keylo Ren becomes more vulnerable upon taking off the mask. More human and a lot less badass, but I found him far more compelling. I actually really want to see the progression of this character. After he completes his training, will be more like the juggernaut of the darkside he perceived Vader to be? Or is he just too inclined to the light? Very interested to see what happens going forward, movie really just felt like good setup.