The new "Star Wars" film both frustrated and delighted fans for the same reason. For some, the movie wasn't original enough, but for many it simply touched upon all the right nostalgic ideas and visual cues that echoed and reverberated what the very idea of "Star Wars" was in the hearts, minds and imaginations of a generation that grew up when the original trilogy was released. Despite George Lucas not being involved in "The Force Awakens," it certainly felt like the filmmaker had a presence onscreen with all the visual reminders of why fans initially fell in love with his creation.
With director Rian Johnson set to release his contribution to the franchise later this year with "Star Wars: The Last Jedi," only time will tell just how he decides to echo the past in his film.
Droids with data vital to the survival of the Rebels
Some fans have always argued that the franchise is the story of the droids R2-D2 and C-3PO and the story is basically told through their point of view. This disenfranchises the human element of the Movies, but there's a strong case to be made that without the droids the plot of the movies never moves very far from point to point. In "A New Hope," when Princess Leia gives R2-D2 information vital to blowing up the original Death Star, Obi-Wan Kenobi may be her only hope but the astromech droid with the Death Star plans is truly the hope that the Rebels entrusted first.
Moving forward to "The Force Awakens," BB-8 plays a similar role as the droid with the information that can help discover the location of Luke Skywalker. Without BB-8 fulfilling his destiny and delivering that information to the Resistance, and without R2-D2 with the assist piecing together the map of the galaxy, Rey would never be able to track down Luke on Ahch-To, the location of the first Jedi Temple, and her presumed training in the Force would never be possible.
Evil masked antagonists looking for droids, seeking power
This point is pretty obvious but it's worth being noted. Darth Vader wore a mask and suit because much of his body was burned, broken, deformed and destroyed by Obi-Wan Kenobi during their epic battle at the end of "Revenge Of The Sith." Much of "A New Hope" is Vader trying to track down a droid that contain plans to his Death Star before they get into the hands of the Rebel Alliance.
Kylo Ren, who seems to be dressed up in a suit and mask purely for factors that may include nostalgia, his and ours, and homage to his fallen grandfather. Like his grandfather, Kylo Ren spends much of "The Force Awakens" trying to track down a droid with information that is vital to the plot. An interesting note here is that the information in R2-D2 was given to the droid in the form of a floppy disc and the information given to BB-8 more closely resembled a thumb drive, giving both film generations a nod to the storage media they may most be familiar with.
Giant planet and star system destroying lasers
The similarity of the original Death Star and the new Starkiller Base was perhaps the biggest gripe of them all for moviegoers.
This was the one recycled idea that drew the most controversy and created the biggest set of parallel lines between the original trilogy and the new trilogy. While the construction of a Death Star isn't even remotely like the planet transformation of the new star system destroying super weapon, in the end they both shoot lasers to achieve their goals. They also were destroyed in much the same fashion with a weakness in their defenses exploited by destroying a critical component. In the case of Starkiller Base that was the thermal oscillator and in the case of the Death Star that was the thermal exhaust port that allowed Rebels to blow up the main reactor.
