I think The Last Jedi gets "a bad rap" but TFA, while fun, seems to get a pass. With the original trilogy, a story arch is complete. Luke goes from farm boy to hero of the Galaxy, Han goes from scoundrel to loyal friend willing to sacrifice his happiness, etc. Vader redeems himself (as much as he could, I guess.). The big villain is defeated. Everything is tied up in a neat little bow.
With the current trilogy, they untied the bow and kinda took a dump in the box. Han went back to being a criminal for some reason. Luke became... whatever he became. Now, it seems like even the big villain who finally got defeated in the end didn't even get his comeuppance.
I love Star Wars. I always will, even when I hate it. People say the old movies will always be there--but it does effect the enjoyment when you know that the happy ending doesn't really end up happily for anyone. They meet mostly tragic ends. I salivated at the idea of more Star Wars with modern technology but now it kinda makes me sad.
Despite all of their flaws, the prequels had a central cast that I cared about. Sure, they were no Luke, Han, and Leia but I enjoyed Anakin, Obi Wan, and Padme. The familiar characters like Yoda seemed to be treated with respect. The new trilogy, so far, hasn't given me someone to cheer for and the old characters have become sad and unfamiliar. This, on top of the directionless story and unimaginative worlds and scenarios we've come to expect.
Rise of Skywalker really has its work cut out for itself.
