https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wlBpRnFEcg

1: Yeah, I agree. I didn't like The Last Jedi but it didn't have anything to do with "the savior being a woman". Rey was great in The Force Awakens and while I see why people think it resembles A New Hope a bit too much, I still think it worked great in regards to kickstarting a new generation of Star Wars. TFA made me interested in Rey and Finn. TLJ didn't. I hope JJ manages to bring back the chemistry and mystery.

2: I'd be interested in seeing the fan edit. You got a link?

I got no problem with women being protagonists; some of my favourite films have female protagonists; Alien/Aliens, Gamera 3, Terminator 2. Heck, I even quite liked Rogue One.

My issues with the new trilogy are mostly what DarthMetalliCube already covered; boring characters lacking any charisma, a disjointed mess of a plot, shallow spectacle over substance, etc.

I never said the prequels were much better, they're not very good either.

Saw The Force Awakens, saw The Last Jedi, wont be seeing this one. Much like how there was no way Game of Thrones S8 could be good after S7, I don't see how Rise of Skywalker could be good after the previous trainwreck. TLJ set up absolutely nothing for TRS to build off of, seriously that movie may as well not have happened, it didn't advance the plot at all. Luke somehow still isn't involved (permanently now), First Order is led by Kylo now but their goal is the same, with no real change in the state of the galaxy. The amount of nostalgia pandering screams desperation rather than actually having good interesting ideas.

That is the primary defense many people use though, convincing themselves that the mass backlash is for stupid reasons such as gender. Then if you try to deny their idiotic reasoning, they'll take your denial as confirmation, a common tactic for narcissist. Not saying you're doing this or that you are one, but I did get a similar impression as Darc when I first read your post.

Super excited. Bought my midnight tickets and a couple of days later with a group!

There's no way I'm watching anymore Star Wars. They've overdone it.

Mary Sue is the issue. No one cares if the protagonist is a male, female or a androgynous alien.

It felt like there was no direction on what force will awaken. They made it look like it might be FIN as well as Rey and FIN has just become supporting cast as well as Poe. Everything seems to focus around Rey who is bland AF. Almost a Twilight Kristen Stewart.

The original trilogy and prequels at least gave characters motivation, depth and an arch across the trilogy, but this just feels like most of the Disney franchises, all fx and no soul. Cash in using old characters and homages, but that's as far as it goes.

Luke didn't have much depth, he's a whiny bitch for most of the first two movies. He gains depth because of the revelation of Darth Vader being his father, that puts him into a different light and suddenly makes him more interesting because this giant family secret thrust upon him. That made the character interesting, otherwise he's really kinda one note himself.

Anakin was just a straight up bitch all the way through, alternating between whiny and annoying with the worst dialogue in modern big budget cinema and a completely implausible turn to the dark side. 

Harrison Ford as Han Solo is the actor that really carried the mail for the OT along with Carrie Fisher. New movies don't have anyone on that level though the Poe actor is fairly charismatic. You're not gonna find another Harrison Ford though.

Bold: Well, I liked her portrayal in TFA and looked forward to hear more about her story and origin. Problem is, TLJ didn't move any of its characters forward.

She's likable and earnest enough, but yeah TLJ basically puts her character on pause to allow Luke to take over the 3rd act of the movie, which is a no no.