Okay, so I HATED TLJ when it came out. I saw it once in theaters and walked out just.. just done with Star Wars. I can't really quantify it more than that. I just didn't care. I disliked the movie, it felt so wrong, after so much build up. I was just so disappointed. After that, I really liked what they did with Rebels, and then really liked Solo, and the marketing campaign for TROS got me interested, but I just hated TLJ.
I ended up buying the novelization when it came out, hoping it would help me mentally resolve some of my issues with TLJ because I've been a huge Star Wars fan my whole life, and didn't "like" hating this movie so much. The novelization helped, a little bit. Giving extra info on Rose & her Sister, and details on the hyperspace tracking, and Poe's X-wings retrofits/etc was all nice materials, as well as more background on Snoke etc. It's a worthwhile read for anyone who likes Star Wars.
THAT BEING SAID! I did a re-watch this week before watching TROS, and the following points still stick in my craw, and I don't think they'll ever change.
*Complaints about Holdo staying on the freighter rather than boarding a transport ship and heading to Crait with everyone else. The logic makes sense, auto pilot would just make the ship fly straight, manually flying and turning the ship would hold the First Orders attention so that they wouldn't notice the transport ships leaving. It's lucky she stayed behind as well because DJ told the First Order what the Resistance were doing and she was able to save them.
Realistically, if her plan worked, they'd be gone fast enough so no one noticed she wasn't at the helm. Don't tell me they don't have autopilot or a droid that can do lazy S motions on a stick. There should have been a clear reason she needed to stay on-board. Honestly, she should have made a short jump to lightspeed, and had the whole First Order armada follow her the moment the shuttles disembarked. The First Order would have arrived and blown up the ship and assumed all were dead. WIN WIN! She goes out a hero, the Resistance is saved.. AND it makes sense. But no.. her "lucking" into being on-board to pull her Holdo maneuver isn't good writing, it's happenstance. That being said, I was happy to be rid of her so I'm ok with this one.
*Holdo being a "bitch" to Poe, no, military organisation's have a strict ranking and lower ranked officers follow the higher ranked officers with no questions asked. Even if Holdo told Poe what the plan was, mutiny would have just happened faster. Poe didn't commit mutiny until he found out about the transport ship plan. Two people on the same team fighting also causes a hell of a lot of confusion among the soldiers which is never a good thing.
No no no no no. Poe didn't commit mutiny until he got confirmation that Holdo was sticking everyone into the transports. That's it. No plan. Just getting in the transports. He even gives her an opportunity to explain or elaborate, which she doesn't. He mutinies, and all she says is "I hope you understand what you're doing". UHHHH OKAY. This (or any time prior) would have been a perfect time to mention, oh we're getting in this transports to MAKE IT TO A HIDDEN REBEL BASE RIGHT OVER THERE! Literally, anyone would have said "oh, okay that makes sense, lets do that" but no... she continues to withhold information for zero reason (spite?). There is not one defensible reason for her to continue to keep him/them in the dark at that point. Maybe if they'd written in some sort of "Saboteur/spy on board" plot, I could find a way to excuse her behavior, but... as it is on screen? No. This is completely, absolutely ridiculous. I have to literally actively try not to think too hard about this, or I can't enjoy the movie. It sticks in my craw something fierce.
Also, her attitude from the beginning IS "bitchy/sarcastic/rude" which is something we've never really gotten from a SW character in all the different movies. Even the villians are usually not blatantly rude. Ugh. Holdo is one thing I cannot forgive in TLJ.
*Finn and Roses plan to Canto Bight being a waste of time, no, Finn agrees to the mission as ultimately (in his mind) it will help save Rey. It's also where he decides to start helping the Resistance rather than look out for himself. Rose grows as a person, she goes from being a passive mechanic to actively involving herself in the battle. People say it's a waste of time as well because they accomplish absolutely nothing in their mission, that's exactly the entire point of this sub-story and the film as a whole, learning from our failures.
On another pass, Canto Bite wasn't as horrible as I remembered. It still wasn't GOOD, I think Rose's "Rich people evil!" shtick was too on-the-nose, and the whole space horses & slave children thing was.. ehhh. But it was okay enough where I can get by with an eye-roll at this point. Parking on the beach? The whole reason their mission got derailed? That's just dumb though.
The movie is so damn good. I love it so much.
I'll admit, it's better than I first though. Outside of the above things which I didn't like at all, and literally have to roll my eyes past, I enjoyed the majority of the movie. I think the Kylo/Rey/Luke stuff is great, when I first thought it was a gross mis-characterization. The movie is mostly very visually appealing, which is nice too. I liked the music better this time. The Luke/Kylo showdown was pretty cool too once you know what's coming/what to look for. I still don't think he should have died though, maybe pushed a Yoda-like scene into TROS where Rey comes back to a stricken/dying Luke or something. I dunno. It's okay.
So yeah, I HATED TLJ something fierce, and I've come to accept most of it (F you Holdo) over time. I don't think my TLJ opinion changed much due to TROS, but if anything it improved it a little as they followed up on some things introduced there.