Theres no getting around it: The Force Awakens and A New Hope had similar plots. In both films the hero found a droid that held the key to beating the bad guys. The hero then teamed-up with a group of rebels and helped blowup a planet-sized superweapon. The haters biggest criticism against The Force Awakens is, then, that it was a remake, not a sequel. Theyre not wrong that the films had similar plots, but that doesn't make The Force Awakens a rip-off. The similarities are pastiche. The Force Awakens pays homage to the entire Star Wars series. Since release, J.J. Abrams has met the rip-off criticisms head-on by stating the obvious: Star Wars has always been derivative. And he's right. George Lucas 1977 film paid tribute to the sci-fi serials and Japanese cinema that inspired him to become a filmmaker. A New Hope itself is a semi-remake of Akira Kurosawas The Hidden Fortress. That didnt stop it from being entertaining. J.J. Abrams did the same thing with The Force Awakens. He remixed movies that inspired him into something fresh for a new generation. And he succeeded. What did you think of The Force Awakens? Were the haters right or is it all an overreaction? Share your thoughts down in the comments.