I know it's a little late, but I just got the film on Bluray and wanted to share my thoughts on how I feel they could have made the story much stronger.

I think it's easy for everyone to pick on the minuta of the film and second guess the film makers, I think overall it was a good, solid job and I can understand many of the decisions and directions they have taken. I think one thing which, I'm sure has already been debated, but is going to bug me, and I feel I have a much better suggestion of how it might have been handled is, the Starkiller Base meeting.

It's basically another Death Star but bigger and the whole scene is about 60-seconds long. They basically admit it's just another Death Star and Han just says 'there's always a way to blow it up' and they pretty much settle it there.

Now my suggestion is:

Leia: "it's much bigger than the Death Star, it's the size of a planet."

Resistance Officer: "It's no use. There's nothing we can do, there's no way to destroy a planet."

[A pregnant pause , the camera focuses on Leia, as the gravity of what the young officer has so naïvely pointed out sinks in]

Leia: "I know a way."

Han: "Leia..."

Leia: "No Han you don't get to comment here. I was there remember? I watched it happen."

Resistance Officer: (trying to intervene and atone for his earlier mistake) "But both Death Stars were destroyed and we don't have the time or the resources to build another."

Han: "Leia... He's right."

Leia: "Han, let me finish! While you've been jaunting around the Galaxy playing pirates I have been working. We don't need to build a space station, only the weapon. And fortunately, we have the plans..."

I think this helps the story immensely, it adds depth to Leia's character and demonstrates her ability as a General (she just appears to hide in the base and react to what is going on otherwise). It adds complexity to her and Han's relationship as well.

Also links nicely to the 1st act of A New Hope.

It could also be fleshed out that the Empire had plans for a 3rd Death Star or that the Rebellion confiscated and decommissioned a now defunct prototype of the original weapon. Perhaps a whole side story on the Bothans....

Anyway, that is my thoughts, I hope some of you will agree! (Or interested to hear your own ideas!)