But that does tell you pretty clearly that the Empire is in charge, and is the status quo. It also tells you that it is not invulnerable, and that the Rebels could very well make life difficult for them. Not only militarily, but politically. So, that line does a great deal IMO. In Force Awakens it's very murky to me on first watch. Why are they called the Resistance if they aren't enemies with the governing power? What is their relationship with the governing power, anyway (like Fabio, my assumption was that all of what were formerly rebels would now be in charge?)? And again, why is the New Order in the position it is in? If you rise from the ashes of an ousted regime, you don't look like that and act like that in the real world. It's possible that the Star Wars universe plays by different rules, but the viewers should at least have an impression of what those rules are if you want things to really make sense.
But again, I'm making these comments as someone who had these questions come to mind. But by no means are they deal breakers or even particularly detrimental to the story being told on the screen. They're logical nuisances that are problematic in a post-ROTJ universe, given the story Abrams and Kasdan obviously wanted to tell, but I'm personally happy to sweep them under the carpet for the purpose of enjoying a genuinely fun and effective Star Wars movie. I am genuinely interested to see where they go from here, and really hope that it's not ESB territory.
I don't agree that it gets a pass simply because of nostalgia (though that plays a role, I'm sure). It's a very well made film in many respects, and tells a good story by and large, albeit a familiar one. But critics should, and perhaps here are, using a different metric to assess the effectiveness of Star Wars vs., say, one made by the current indie darling. It's an action-adventure film, not a complex, heart-wrenching exploration into an abusive relationship or some such. From that perspective, as an action-adventure film, it deserves to be recognized. Raiders of the Lost Ark ain't the Apartment, but it's a friggen great action-adventure movie worthy of recognition on that front. I could say the same about another great action movie that I wouldn't blink twice about considering as one of the best overall movies of the last few years--Mad Max: Fury Road.
But on the other hand, I have first hand experience with some of the Force Awakens fanatic backlash, and it's intense
Not so different than what we saw soon after Dark Knight was released. And it's understandable for folks to get wrapped up in the excitement and hype over something, until the next big thing supplants it. But it's also quite annoying.
The backlash is inevitable and people will eventually accept the film for what it really is, but it'll be a while before that happens.
