5. It Tells Us Little About The Direction Of The Franchise
As much as the movie was a disappointment, The Phantom Menace conveyed the idea that there was a greater evil out there in the Star Wars universe, lurking in the background, waiting to be unleashed and bring about the rise of the Empire (come to think of it, Rise Of The Empire would have made a decent title). The Empire Strikes Back gave us an idea of where things are going. The Force Awakens really tells us nothing. Nothing about where the franchise is headed. Nothing about the state of the Star Wars universe. Nothing about why we need to return to it.