The Last Jedi is the film The Force Awakens apologists deserve

https://www.reddit.com/r/saltierthancrait/comments/955ray/the_last_jedi_is_the_film_the_force_awakens/

"Hate to have to put it that way but it needs to be said.

You wonder why TLJ was so bad? Why would Disney even bother trying to make a coherent film after the vast majority of Star Wars fans decided to collectively give TFA a pass despite its many fatal flaws?

Let's just remind ourselves what TFA did for Star Wars:

Reduced a galaxy wide conflict to 12 x-wings vs yet another Death Star.

Wipes out everything the heroes accomplished in IV - VI.

Reduces Han Solo to a senile buffoon who gives up on his own family, leads the FO to BB8, and dies while trying to give a genocidal maniac a hug during a commando raid.

Turns Luke into a Macguffin in his own saga.

Introduces Rey, the Maryest Sue to Sue them all.

Introduces Finn, who flips from PTSD suffering shock trooper, to gleeful comrade murdering traitor, to sub Martin Lawrence comedy sidekick in 20 minutes flat.

Introduced Kylo: a guy who is evil because he worships Vader. Despite Vader turning to the light. Despite force ghosts being shown to be able to communicate with the living. (Anikin has no problem turning up and chilling out at his own funeral but can't be bothered to spend 10 seconds telling his grandson that cool kids don't do genocide).

Gives the cast from the OT exactly zero seconds of screen time together.

I could go on...

Every mistake TLJ made (shrinking universe, ignoring lore, bad characters, misplaced humour etc) stems directly from TFA and the only reason it feels like a worse movie is because so much of the fans' goodwill had to be expended in convincing themselves TFA wasn't the travesty it so clearly was.

Let's dispel the notion that TFA 'needed to happen this way'. It didn't, the story could have gone in 1000 different ways and literally nobody wanted a reboot until after TFA came out.

Let's dispel the notion that TFA 'set up story lines'. It set up nothing - all it did was demand its sequel fix the holes in its own plot.

Let's dispel the notion that JJ Abrams managed to capture the 'spirit of Star Wars'. If it felt like Star Wars it's because it had the original cast acting out a syfy standard mockery of ANH.

If TFA got the reception it so richly deserved then maybe, just maybe, Lucasfilm would have changed direction so that we got an episode VIII fit to bear the Star Wars logo. But it didn't. And so here we are. With JJ 'I am become death, the destroyer of beloved Sci-Fi franchises' Abrams at the helm. Can't wait!"

Took the words right out of my mouth, although I would say that far more egregious than turning Luke into a pointless Macguffin was erasing his accomplishments & making him a failure who went AWOL.

JJ Abrams put Luke on that island in the middle of nowhere, having deserted his friends and family and the Republic for 20 years, allowing the threat of the First Order to rise unchecked. That's ALL JJ Abrams. This forced Rian Johnson to explain 'why' & the Luke he presented was a plausible conclusion based on the garbage that Jar Jar Abrams established with Luke in TFA.