9) The Humor
If there was one thing the prequels could have used more of, it was a sense of humor. The original trilogy had it in spades, yet for some reason – between Return of the Jedi in 1983 and The Phantom Menace in 1999 – George Lucas apparently lost his. Thankfully, The Force Awakens happily restores it back to the franchise, to the extent that Episode VII is probably the most comedic Star Wars movie yet.
You have slapstick moments, like Finn sharing a watering hole with a giant Jakku creature, or a pair of stormtroopers casually changing direction when they stumble across a raging Kylo Ren. You also have Poe taking the irreverent Han Solo role, asking the fearsome Kylo “So who talks next?” after he’s captured and lectured by the First Order villain.
Episode VII is full of little moments that lighten the whole affair, with not a single gag failing to land.