I think the problem was they put in overtime to make every good thing in the originals meaningless. Emperor? Not gone. Rebel victory? Squandered. Han in love? Sorry, no, kid’s a fuckup and Leila hates everything that made Han great. The force? Everything used before was literally the most underpowered thing ever and it’s a wonder it worked at all.
I ran a Star Wars tabletop RPG for most of the 90s. You tell a story by working within a lush universe, building folklore. Star Wars isn’t meant to be Dragon Ball. It’s meant to be an underdog tale where you might make it, but at what cost. Luke almost dies twice and ends in a decisive loss in Empire because that’s what Star Wars is.