Oh man, I've been thinking this so much when people are like "How did Finn and Poe/Rey become such good friends so quickly?" and flashing vividly back to that god damn elevator ride in AOTC where they're literally all "Hey, remember all those fun things we did off screen in between films and how we are buddies now?" and people complaining that we never actually saw Anakin and Obi Wan becoming buddies and doing buddy stuff. Then TFA actually shows us the moments the characters become friends, by doing awesome Star Wars shit together, where stressful and extraordinary events push them together and force them into situations where they need to work together, have each other's backs and make it out alive because they worked as a team, thereby creating the bond between them.
Character relationships built through action! It's what these exact types of films are supposed to do!