Why the Sequels were bad?
Two big reasons for me:
1. Poor Storytelling
- I'll just use the Force Awakens to make a point. No originality. I saw it to be a watered down version of ANH. Compare it to the relaunch of Star Trek. Star Trek had a scary villain. The entire theater was laughing at Kylo Ren when he yelled "Traitor!" With the tone of Star Trek, you really felt the despair. After wiping out fleets of star ships, destroying Vulcan, and capturing Pike (nobody knew if he was going to make it) you could feel the hopelessness around the heroes. How do you beat a villain like this? Star Wars was laughable. Their Starkiller destroyed 3 planets and there was about 15 minutes to destroy it with no plan but the heroes casually winged it. (When Rey was 'captured' everybody and their mother knew she'd get out herself) There was 0 thrill to it. Nobody cared. When Star Trek ended, everybody dashed to the bathroom because they didn't want to miss it. Star Wars was just another day at the movies
2. New characters nobody cared about. Primarily Rey.
- Rey finds out the force is real. Minutes later she's able to pilot the Falcon against experienced TIE Pilots, resist telepathy, use telepathy, telekinesis, and never picked up a light saber but manages to beat Darth Wannabe. This girl had the personality of white bread, and made zero mistakes on her journey.
Personally, I thought the story should have focused on Finn. Have him point out the pros and cons to both the Empire and Rebellion. Use Rey sparingly. A mysterious girl found with immense powers but zero control or predictability. It would have been more fluid having these two characters find their role in life. Maybe they become friends. Maybe they become enemies. Finally, the OG Cast deserved light years better treatment.