Best. One. Sentence. Review. Of. #RogueOne ... Ever.
"I don't know how much less "necessary" a film could get than having 40 years of fans being unbothered by its nonexistence."
http://www.denofgeek.com/movies/star-wars/18992/would-george-lucas-approve-of-the-star-wars-machete-order

"I think The Force Awakens can be watched as the very first Star Wars movie a person sees, and it works just fine."
Despite my love for the originals, I actually think this is the genius of what JJ Abrams did with #TFA. I took my daughter and her boyfriend to see it, and yeah, I think she'd seen some (maybe all) of the other films on DVD, but it would have been fine if she hadn't.

#TheForceAwakens works as a standalone movie the same way #ANewHope did. Yes, it brings back characters from the older films and sets up the narrative framework for the new trilogy (most of which #RianJohnston takes a wrecking ball to in Ep 8). But you don't need to watch any of that to grok any of what happens in Ep 7, or to get a narratively satisfying conclusion. Can you say that about 8, or any of 1-3, or 5? Maybe 6, but 7 is a better film.

Why is Ep 7 a better film than Ep 6? Ironically, mostly for the reason people claim to like Ep 8. 7 has a swashbuckling heroine, who is central to the plot throughout, rather than being constantly sidelined by a pointless trip to the races. Leia gets to wear pants, and even if she doesn't get to really *do* anything with her pants on, at least she stays conscious throughout (although it's touch and go when Han dies *sigh*).