Elong
The fire rises
Jump off the hype wagon, mate.
Supposed if they canceled Episodes VIII & IX right now, then VII would look pretty stupid trying to stand up on its own 2 feet as a standalone work.
I'm not a hype wagon, I genuinely enjoyed it and didn't look up any spoilers or anything. It's hard not to be enthusiastic over something you've been waiting a long time for.
Agreed about it not working as a stand alone film in comparison to A New Hope. In saying that, was it ever going to be that way? As you say, they weren't sure if they'd get to make a trilogy back in the 70s; they 100% know they can make a million movies in 2015.