7) The Ill-Defined Antagonists
Even when they were at their most evil, you kind of understood what the Empire was all about. Darth Vader, the Emperor, their snooty, superior officers: these guys stood for the Establishment, while the Rebels represented the counterculture, the freedom-seekers trying to stick it to the authoritarian system. Conversely, what exactly the First Order stands for in Episode VII is unclear.
There’s a sense of hero worship from Kylo Ren for Darth Vader, and obviously Supreme Leader Snoke is some kind of Sith overlord seeking to spread the dark side throughout the galaxy. But the First Order itself is ill-defined.
It followed on from the Empire, but why? What are its ideals and objectives? The uncertain intentions of the main antagonists makes them just that little bit weak, even if Adam Driver, Domhnall Gleeson and Andy Serkis are individually great as the First Order bosses.