7 Things 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' Gets Just Right, and 7 Things It Gets Wrong (Spoilers!)

Warning: Major spoilers below!

Star Wars: The Force Awakens delivers the goods, there’s no doubt about that. It’s a smart, powerful, ridiculously fun and surprisingly funny crowdpleaser, and it’s faithful to the original trilogy in tone, style, and story — almost to a fault. It also helps erase that bad taste that’s lingered in our mouths since the disappointing second trilogy in which, as one writer aptly put it, George Lucas tried “to force the Force.”

But as fans we’ve also got to get a little nitpicky and recognize The Force Awakens’s shortcomings in new hopes that maybe, just maybe, the powers that be will take our gripes into account for Episode VIII. Here’s a breakdown of what J.J. Abrams and company nailed (and even improved upon from the first saga), and what they misfired on.

What The Force Awakens Gets Just Right

1. Its overall fidelity to the originals.

Unlike the digitally polished, wooden-dialogued Phantom Menace and its two sequels, The Force Awakens just feels like an original Star Wars movie. From its familiar plot beats (loner on desert planet designated as The One while bad guys attempt to crush the resistance) to Abrams’s impressive use of costumed creatures and practical effects to the emotional presence of returning veterans like Han Solo, Chewbacca, and Leia, the director delivered a love letter to fans and created a plausible extension of Episodes IV-VI. And it’s a great shot, kid.

2. Tons of neat nods to the originals, plus slick reveals.

Abrams drops in artifacts from older Star Wars installments in inspired fashion. There’s Rey (Daisy Ridley) making her home in an abandoned AT-AT and fancying a vintage Rebel fighter helmet. Fans snicker when Finn discovers (and casual tosses aside) Luke’s Jedi remote training ball on the Millennium Falcon. And speaking of Han Solo’s classic ride, the vessel is introduced offscreen as “garbage” before it becomes Finn (John Boyega) and Rey’s default means of escape from Jakku. Other great Easter eggs include the ‘80s-era navigation and targeting grids on the various ships, a new cantina scene stocked with all sorts of weirdos, a sly reference to Leia’s detention cell on the Death Star (hers was numbered 2187, the same as Finn’s Stormtrooper designation), the callback to the blue Bantha milk (i.e., Rey’s insta-breakfast), a climactic catwalk scene reminiscent of Empire Strikes Back, and, of course, that Dejarik board.

Related: Breaking Down ‘The Force Awakens’ Biggest Bombshells

3. It refreshes Star Wars for the 21st century.

Abrams and Lucasfilm head Kathleen Kennedy have been outspoken about their desire to make the new Star Wars universe as inclusive as possible, which is reflected in the diversity of their Force Awakens casting. And seeing the cast in action proves the filmmakers chose wisely. Ridley is a revelation as the ass-kicking scavenger Rey; no moment better captures the film’s commitment to her as the new face of the franchise as one early sequence in which Finn spots Rey in distress, begins to move in to “save” her, and stops dead in his tracks when he realizes she can fight her way out of it just fine, thank you. Our new lead trio also includes black and Latino actors — and while Boyega is perfectly daft and the underused Oscar Isaac (more on that later) adds a jolt of energy — it’s Ridley who makes the biggest impression. She has the makings of the female superhero we’ve been waiting for.

4. Kylo Ren is the perfect Vader-esque villain.

One area where Abrams and his co-writers, Lawrence Kasdan and Michael Arndt, boldly deviated from the Star Wars formula is in the crafting of a more vulnerable villain. The Force Awakens may take place a long time ago, but Ren is so 2015.

As played by Girls hipster Adam Driver, he’s emotionally troubled, not entirely confident of his diabolicalness, and even a little emo. It makes him feel like a more real and more fleshed-out character, and in turn ultimately more threatening. Some people have complained that Driver doesn’t look anything like his onscreen parents, Ford and Fisher. Well, Mark Hamill doesn’t look all that much like Fisher, either, nor does this guy.

5. Maz Kanata is awesome.

One of the great unknowns heading into Episode VII was Lupita Nyong'o’s mo-cap character Maz Kanata, and which side of The Force she fell on. Maz is a goggle-wearing, sprightly little ET barkeep who somehow came into the possession of Anakin and Luke’s blue lightsaber, and she’s a total scene-stealer. She’s got wisdom, jokes, and evidently, a thing for Chewbacca (side note: between her comical “where’s my boyfriend” inquiry to Chewie’s whereabouts and his subsequent flirtation with Dr. Kalonia, it’s nice to see the Wookiee sex appeal finally amped up). According to her backstory, she’s also really old, which is one of many similarities she shares with one of our all-time favorite Star Wars characters. So yes, please let her be the new Yoda. Our only quibble: She disappeared far too abruptly after the attack on her castle without us knowing her fate.

6. BB-8 lives up to the hype.

BB-8 became an instant sensation when the first teaser for Force Awakens hit over a year ago, and he definitely delivers in the movie. He’s cute and flashy and likable and all that (though like his predecessor R2-D2, we still can’t understand what the hell he’s saying), but the fact that he’s a motored-up droid built for speed just makes more logical sense, too. In the original trilogy, you always wondered if Skywalker got annoyed by his slow-poke droids, Threepio and Artoo.

For all the running and escaping Rey and Finn have to do, it helps that their robotic sidekick can actually keep up, and his zippiness makes for some great shots, too. Star Trek vet/Star Wars agitator William Shatner predicted BB would be “the worst Star Wars character ever.” You were dead wrong, Mr. Shatner.

Related: A Field Guide to ‘The Force Awakens’

7. The stormtroopers can actually aim!

It’s been one of the longest running jokes in Star Wars history: the Imperial stormtroopers have terrible, terrible aim, which regularly allowed Luke, Leia, Han and others to escape their barrages of blaster fire. Abrams, however, wastes no time in establishing the First Order’s masked soldiers as lethal killing machines, as they arrive in Jakku in the film’s opening sequence and immediately begin mowing down villagers. It’s shocking at first, as is another a new touch: Stormtrooper blood, a cleverly executed, visceral visual that allows us to follow FN-2187’s defection and eventual rebranding as Finn.

What The Force Awakens Gets Wrong

1. It’s all a little TOO familiar.

I know, I know, it’s a case of cake-and-eat-it-too to say the movie’s resemblance to The Original Three is both a benefit and a detriment, but hear me out. While Abrams nails the tone and production qualities, the film’s story often feels like it’s merely been cobbled together with best-of moments from Episodes IV-VI. It isn’t just key elements like the fact that Rey has virtually the same origin as Luke Skywalker or that the First Order is building yet another Death Star (only this time calling it Starkiller), it’s the minor plot points, too: Like the fact that once again a droid (this time BB-8 instead of R2-D2) is in possession of the secret intel the baddies are chasing after and that the rebel forces (er, resistance forces) again hatch a plot to disable the security shield around the Death Star Starkiller. There’s a fine line between tribute and recycling. Of course this all fits into the famous Hollywood adage, “Give me the same, only different.” Most fans probably won’t mind, and that’s fine.

2. Snoke.

As portrayed by Ian McDiarmid in Empire and Jedi, the hooded, saggy-eyed Palpatine was an absolutely terrifying presence, the stuff of nightmare fuel, especially for kids coming of age with the original trilogy. His equivalent in The Force Awakens, master to the Vader-wannabe Kylo Ren, is a CGI character (played by mo-cap specialist Andy Serkis) named Supreme Leader Snoke who — despite Abrams’s noble efforts elsewhere to create all those practical aliens — looks like a castaway from Lord of the Rings. Snoke just isn’t scary. Of course, he’s only presented in holographic form and we know next to little about him (is he really that big? Is he only 3-feet tall?) so he could prove more intimidating in “the flesh” the next time around. Speaking of disappointing effects, the voracious, tentacled Rathtars captured by Han Solo are the kind of generic-looking monsters that could have come from any sci-fi movie and don’t work for us.

3. Poe and Phasma were both frustatingly underutilized.

The Force Awakens features a large ensemble and it would be unreasonable to think every one of its key characters would get ample screen time, but Poe Dameron and Captain Phasma (Gwendoline Christie) were two of the most highly anticipated characters entering the movie, and both left us wanting more. It seemed like Poe was primed to be the new cocky Han Solo type (and it still could be), but after establishing an early rapport with Finn, goes missing for the entire second act of the movie, and returns anticlimactically. (His whole escape from Jakku felt ill-conceived and not well explained.) Phasma, initially presented as a ruthless enforcer does her own disappearing act, and isn’t nearly as intimidating when she resurfaces toward the end, is easily subdued by Han, Finn, and Chewie, and shuts off the shields without much of a fight.

4. Han and Leia’s reunion didn’t feel quite right.

The two of them hugging, first seen in the trailer, still gives us chills (especially considering Han’s fate), but their scene together felt rushed and murky. Given that their marriage was destroyed by a kid who went to the Dark Side, you’d imagine their reunion would be emotionally fraught; instead it’s downright chummy, presumably because Abrams wanted to provide fan service by giving them a final moment of affinity.

Understandable. Still, none of the awkwardness was helped by the fact that, while we saw the same ol’ Han we know and love, Leia was far more earnest and far less sassy this time around. The circumstances surrounding her son were dire, sure, but she never lost that edge in A New Hope despite seeing her home planet decimated.

5. Needs more cowbell memorable music.

Famed composer John Williams returned to score The Force Awakens, which is a gift for us all to relish. And while there were a few lovely new motifs introduced (notably “The Scavenger,” which plays as Rey slides down the dune), the score didn’t seem as instantly stirring as his previous Star Wars music. In fact, it’s when the orchestra plays the greatest hits from the original trilogy — “Main Title,” “The Imperial March” (which plays briefly as the melted helmet of Darth Vader is revealed), “Han and Leia,” and Luke’s theme (a.k.a. “The Force Theme”) — that we realize how little the new music has resonated.

6. The casual obliteration of Republic City and the Hosnian System.

Just as the Death Star zapped Leia’s home planet of Alderaan in A New Hope, the Starkiller does some serious damage in The Force Awakens, at one point wiping out five planets in one fell swoop. Unlike with Alderaan, we do catch a brief glimpse of one world’s populace about to face D-day. That planet was Hosnian Prime, seat of the New Republic and a formidable fleet, and its obliteration was treated as nothing more than a tossed-off moment. The entire holocaust amounted to only a few minutes of screen time.

7. It all came a little too easy for Rey, no?

As we mentioned above, totally onboard with Rey as The One. And the moment toward the end where she out-Forces Ren and calls the lightsaber to herself is one of the film’s best moments.

But how did she become such a legit Jedi so quickly? Luke Skywalker had to go through two full movies, fighting self-doubt and Jedi balls, before he had similar skills. Rey doesn’t sludge through the swamp with a single Yoda on her back, so to speak, but breaks out the Jedi mind trick on a Stormtrooper and outduels Kylo Ren. Is the Force that strong with her? Here’s hoping we find out why in Episode VIII.

See the stars of ‘The Force Awakens’ demonstrate how to properly play with their action figures: