I don't hate everything that is Disney Star Wars since there has a couple of things I have loved but I miss the Star Wars when Lucas was in control of. I really loved the direction and how unique the OT, PT and The Clone Wars are especially in setting. And I like that he tend to take risks. As I said before I might like Disney Star Wars but I feel lot of the stuff is just super safe.
The Force Awakens is the definition of "safe." Yet, to Disney's credit, it needed to be. Four billion dollars later, the company couldn't afford to take a risk. General audience consensus at the time, as far as I remember, was: "OK. This is Star Wars. It's back. Let's see where this goes."
Unfortunately, given the subsequent "Episode" films - and some of the series - it didn't go to places we wished to visit.
As to what came before:
The prequels are still a mixed bag - to me, at least. I rewatch Phantom Menace hoping to, via new perspective, eventually realize its quality (I have a bin of movies I've seen too many times, given this same approach...Tenet, The Counselor, Miami Vice, etc.). I haven't gotten there, yet. Episode 1 is not great.
Obviously, just my opinion, but: Episode 2 is indefensible - it's a terrible film, despite the inclusion of a few good sequences/ideas. Episode 3: It gets a better reputation than it deserves due to finally depicting Anakin's transformation.
Point being: "The prequel trilogy isn't THAT BAD" is not a solid precedent and should not result in some expectation in terms of holding the sequel trilogy to some impossible standard.
I'm rambling, but the Disney Episode films are not some heinous crime against humanity. They're not good, granted. They can easily be forgotten.
I'm not necessarily happy, overall, with Disney's approach to this universe, but Rogue One is "taking a risk." Solo is "taking a risk" (I like that film, admittedly). Andor is probably the biggest risk. Mandalorian, as a series, is a risk. Aside: The film sequel to it (Mandalorian) is most definitely "safe," though, "safe," only from a content perspective. The film will most likely under-perform and result in the usual, "See! Disney Star Wars sucks!"-bit, regardless of whether or not the movie is any good. I'm not defending Disney, necessarily, but this idea (which is most definitely retrospective), "Lucas never did anything wrong" - is false.
Lucas, himself, sacrificed great storytelling for film tech in the late 90s/early 2000s. Episodes 1-3 are severely lacking, as compared to the original trilogy (again, obviously, my opinion). The narratives are weak and the acting (a lot of it) is atrocious. George gets some new toys and plays with them. Fox pays for it. Dick Jones exclaims: "Spare parts for twenty-five years! Who cares if it worked or not!"
I don't blame him (Lucas). He is, all said and done, one of our great filmmakers. He deserved to do whatever he wanted to do. This does not mean he is above criticism and does not imply he would have made something amazing had he still had creative control over episodes 7-9.
Disney also bought a new toy...an expensive one. They've done some good things with it...and some bad. Let's not get too bent out-of-shape over it. Shouting, "Decanonize! Decanonize!," ain't gonna do nothin.'
Some people do like TLJ. I don't understand those people, but some do!
Funny bit, this. After seeing the film for the first time...well, I didn't really know how to react to it, though I didn't hate it. I ultimately settled on: "Well, it's neat they're trying to do something unique and I'm intrigued by Kylo Ren's attempted alliance with Rey. They killed Snoke, too! Donald Glover: 'Good.' (that character fucking sucked)"
After subsequent viewings, I'm of the mind: there is too much to forgive and, the film: not great.
To the thread's proposition: Han is dead, Leia is dead, Luke is...mostly dead. These things needed to happen, so, let it be and hopefully new creatives will actually conjure new, entertaining stories.
...because, practically, this shit (what has come before) is always going to be canon and the focus should, alternatively, be: "How does this get better?," given the immutable existence of Mouse House's "contributions."
