5) The Romance
So bad it deserves to be in its own category of awful, the romantic component of the prequels is so poorly handled that you have to wonder who the hell was really behind the Luke/Leia/Han triangle of the original trilogy – so sweet and simple (until the incest came into it). George Lucas, the man responsible for the iconic “I love you”/”I know,” somehow convinced himself that the prequels’ Anakin/Padme love story was good enough.
The Force Awakens smartly takes a much more subtle approach, leaving just enough tension between Finn and Rey to suggest a future romance. The sweetest love story on display in Episode VII, however, is still Han and Leia’s, with Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher barely even having to say a word to sell it. You feel through them years of connection, without Abrams feeling the need to resort to anything like Revenge of the Sith‘s dreadful “So love has blinded you?” exchange.