I’m not as huge a Star Wars fan as I am a Trekkie, for a lot of reasons. I suspect, however, that the biggest reason is the utter simplicity of the Star Wars story, set against the backdrop of the stories I read – and imagined – in my youth: the Iliad, the Odyssey, the Aeneid (but not so much), the Arthurian stories, La Chanson de Roland, the Norse myths (especially the story of Thor and Utgard-Loki) and, to be honest, even Grimm’s Fairy Tales. Sure, there was a lot to resonate with in the old Star Wars trilogy, but there was precious little to challenge the imagination.
Not so with Trek.
Anyway, so the Force Awakens didn’t add a lot to the sparse landscape of Star Wars. Well, not to me, anyway. I suspect, however, that it will introduce a new generation of kids to the joy of the Hero’s Journey, and that is a very good thing in itself.