So I recently rewatched The Force Awakens and honestly, I may be in the minority here, but its actually not that bad. Or at least, not as terrible as many people in fandom like to say.
From a narrative perspective, it is internally consistent and has an clear, if simple, storyline which follows the traditional formula. (Beginning, middle, end. Hero, villain, conflict. Introduction, threat, resolution).
In a lot of ways, it reminds me of A New Hope (some people have said it is basically a rehash of that story) but has one advantage over that movie: the company knew they were making a trilogy, so there weren't going to be any huge suprises in terms of characterization.
Except with Rey, who i think they were setting up to be a Skywalker by blood.
Rey, now I have to say for all people call her a Mary Sue, I think it is least apparent in this movie.
She runs away, she whines about wanting to go back to Jakku, and even turns down oppurtunities to better herself on that very basis. She's also in denial. When Maz Kenadda confronts her about her past, telling her she knows deep down her parents aren't going to come back, Rey refuses to accept it, and tries to run away again.
These aren't the actions of a Mary Sue. If anything, she reminds me of Luke in ANH (and she's also supposed to be about the same age).
Her ability to use the Force without even understanding it- also doesn't necessarily make her a MS.
Consider that in the The Clone Wars series, literal infants are shown levitating toys and such. Anakin in The Phantom Menace has Force abilities he doesn't
The other objection people have is Force abilities, complaining about "new ones" not seen before.
Honestly, I don't see any.
Force Freeze for example, has been done before.
Dooku used that particular power on Anakin to win thier duel of in Attack of the Clones. If you watch closely you can see him suspended in mid-air unable to move for several seconds, during which Dooku cuts off his arm and force pushes him.
Probing people's minds or "interrogating" with the force can be seen in The Clone Wars series. Even Jedi characters do it a couple of times.
Finally, Rey's defeat of Kylo Ren is often cited as absolute proof of her Mary Sue status, but this also doesn't work for a couple of reasons
Rey did have some combat experience, she used her staff as a weapon.
Kylo was quite badly injured after being shot with Chewbacca's wookie bowcaster, and was even seen with blood dropping from his wound onto the ground
Before defeating her though, Kylo had been a formidable opponent, he nearly killed Finn and threw her against a tree, despite his injuries.
At one point his lightsaber was rammed against her neck, and she was struggling to hold him back.
Rey eventually defeated him by drawing on the Light side of the Force and using its power
It is well established in Star Wars lore and canon that the light side is stronger, and its followers will ultimately win.
Whereas darksiders derive power from negative emotions (hence why Kylo kept punching his wound, to increase the pain), lightsiders simply draw on the Force itself.
Rey's victory then is actually entirely plausible, and does not make her a Mary Sue. Indeed, in previous movies and series characters have defeated healthy and full-powered opponents in rather less than plausible ways.
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