Episode IV did a much better job of providing context than this one did, I think. We're told early on that there's some kind of rebellion against an evil Empire that replaced a seemingly benevolent old Republic, which the rebels are trying to restore. Okay, got it. Makes sense. Let's do this.
In Episode VII, we're told that the First Empire arose from the ashes of the Empire (good so far) and there's a Resistance fighting against it. Okay, why is there a Resistance instead of just the Republic? Evidently we're expected to figure out that the Republic is secretly bankrolling the Resistance's campaign against the First Order in some kind of proxy war, but it's not doing anything openly. Why not? All of that information can be found in various tie-in materials, instead of in the movie where it should have been.
