Rebecca Keegan, a film writer for the Los Angeles Times, wrote: "Story, characters, design, humour - Star Wars fans, this is the movie you're looking for."
She also reported that women were well represented in the film, which stars British actresses Daisy Ridley and Gwendoline Christie, as well as Oscar winner Lupita Nyong'o.
The Hollywood Reporter executive editor Matthew Belloni wrote: "Star Wars premiere just letting out now. A LOT of smiling faces."
Documentary director Brett Morgen, best known for Montage of Heck, about Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain, wrote: "Force Awakens might be the best blockbuster since the original."
Steven Zeitchik, an arts and entertainment writer for the Los Angeles Times, praised the retro feel of the film, writing: "From comedy to costumes, fights to FX to overall feel, JJ Abrams has created a thoroughly old-fashioned movie #StarWarsForceAwakens."
"I loved it," actor-director Zach Braff told AP immediately after the premiere. "I thought J.J. did an amazing job. My favourite part was just seeing the camaraderie between the veteran and the new cast members."
Comedian Patton Oswalt said The Force Awakens brought him back to what made him fall in love with Star Wars in the first place.
"It was a lot of fun," he said after watching the film inside the TCL Chinese Theatre, where Star Wars first premiered in 1977. "I had the same feeling as when I would watch these films as a kid."
Star Wars: The Force Awakens is released in New Zealand on Thursday.
Star Wars - what Twitter said
Grab your copy of the TimeOut Star Wars: The Force Awakens special tomorrow. Inside, we've got interviews with Harrison Ford, director JJ Abrams, new villains Adam Driver and Gwendoline Christie plus a look back at the ten best Star Wars scenes - so far. And who is the NZ telly star only too keen to don the Stormtrooper helmet on our cover?
- Agencies
