Agree completely with this, the whole movie just seemed like it was banking hard on nostalgia like the new Jurassic Park movie did. And obviously it worked, but this movie went out of its way to prove "this new trilogy is more like the OT, and not like the PT" with all the similarities to ANH that it left the movie with absolutely no personality whatsoever IMO.
I can see why they used so many of the story beats similar to ANH, this movie like a reboot of sorts, but most it just fell flat to me, it feels like the movie was to afraid to do its thing so they relied on the concepts that made ANH such a phenomenon. And that's kind of disappointing.
Also I dislike JJ Abrams super fast pacing style of direction, it gives no breathing room. I hope episode 8 has more quiet and intimate moments, like the asteroid parts in ESB for instance.