I don't see this as a reboot at all. Yes, there are some similarities to Star Wars & TESB, but I believe that was done more to remind/reinforce that this is Star Wars and not Political Theatre anymore. And that is very import to all involved, to get away from complicated storylines and back to fast paced action.
The pacing and the acting in this movie is great, very easy to watch over and over again. Kylo Ren is a great character, very complex with his internal struggles and need to live up to his grandfather. I know everyone figured this was it for Han, but I thought that scene was great, and there was enough drama for there to be some doubt as to the outcome there.
Rey/Finn had a great dynamic between them, and Han was very good in this movie. I didn't really get much from Poe, but he's likely to be more involved going forward. I did really enjoy the stolen tie fighter scene and also the first scene with the falcon, great action.
The things that I was slightly disappointed in were pretty much only the small significance of Captain Phasma & the lack of new ships. I do think the focus on TIE's, X-Wings, Star Destroyers, & the Falcon were intentional though, again to put emphasis back on Star Wars and the originals. They didn't want to stray too much from what worked for this first one, for fear of being associated moreso on the prequels with all of their fancy ships and gadgets.
The only thing I wished for though, was that Starkiller Base was disabled and not destroyed. Would be interesting to see what would come of it with stored energy it couldn't use. Would it be abandoned by the First Order? Try to fix it? Fall into the hands of another set of baddies?
As for Rey, probably Luke's daughter but it was best to leave open ended... builds the anticipation for VIII.
