Hopefully we don't have to revisit this thread after TFA is released, but I thought it might be worth getting fears out in the open now so that we aren't surprised if the movie is a giant letdown. I know this is a bit of a downer, but some discomfort can be a good thing.
In no particular order:
- TFA (and the sequels in general) feels completely disconnected from or narratively irrelevant to Episodes 1-6
- Daisy Ridley can't carry the weight of the film
- The OT characters make too many winky references to previous events (Indiana Jones 4 syndrome)
- Harrison Ford phones-in his performance
- Carrie Fisher delivers a performance that makes you want to claw your eyes out or become deaf
- JJ Abrams' action sequences are too "busy" - either too much going on or the camera work is too distracting
- The film has heart but lacks the balletic wit of the OT
- John Williams makes some references to OT cues, but delivers a consistently underwhelming score
- Maz Kanata is Jar Jar Binks 2.0
- Kylo Ren is Darth Maul 2.0 (looks awesome, fights awesome, has great presence but is criminally underused)
- The film tries to do too much to please fans and devolves into OT callbacks
- There's no explanation for why a planet that has the exact same environment as Tattooine is called Jakku (not so fussed about this, though it is weird why they'd do that)
- The film tries to pack too much into one instalment and loses focus
- The Emperor is cloned
- Another Death Star
- Use of flashbacks
- Anthony Daniels plays an over exaggerated version of C-3PO (as he has on the cartoons)
- The script finds no room for the droids
- Every new character is somehow related to an older character (with the exception of the Skywalker chain)