I saw the film a couple of days ago and I found it decent, but nothing more. I understand the comment about keeping the wheel, but personally I just felt it was as much a remake as a sequel.
It didn't help that I've read some of the starwars continuation books (particularly the Heir to the Empire trilogy) so even though I knew the story would be different, I suppose I was still expecting that universe to be around.
I suspect this is one case where the less familiar you are with the original material (particularly the books and games), the more you will enjoy the film and to be fair, when I was leaving the cinema all the comments I heard were positive.
Mark
It didn't help that I've read some of the starwars continuation books (particularly the Heir to the Empire trilogy) so even though I knew the story would be different, I suppose I was still expecting that universe to be around.
I suspect this is one case where the less familiar you are with the original material (particularly the books and games), the more you will enjoy the film and to be fair, when I was leaving the cinema all the comments I heard were positive.
Mark