How are you so sure it's just a vocal minority when the negativity is pretty much everywhere online you look, and ticket sales have actually dropped very sharply compared to the other films (meaning a lot of people aren't watching them twice/thrice/etc)?
It's still too small a sample size to have a definite answer. TPM was universally reviled, if social media and smartphones existed back then it would be a lot, lot worse than it is now.
Why is it absurd when it's practically the only thing we really have to measure it? It's not only social media, it's in comment sections of plenty of news sites that allow comments. Even local cinema audience reviews, too... though that wouldn't be as telling due to how random it is from cinema to cinema.
Subjective or not, it's why we're here, no?
Other major issues that are mentioned are the disjoint from the other movie, the lack of world-building and the lack of character development. Take Finn for example, in the last movie he has great chemistry with Rey and Poe, more time is devoted to his story (a hero's journey) and at the very least had an interesting arc to follow. In this movie? He waddles around and wastes most of his time, and when it was really his turn to put a stamp on his character (and the movie), it was denied by some of the most anti-climatic stuff I've seen in Star Wars. These aren't non-issues, these are important points that make people care more about the next movie.
I will admit though, I did have a fanboi issue on one thing - Luke kicking arse. The scene was set for it, in the cinema I was all "ohh shit, he's gonna kick some arse, this is going to be a Darth Vader Rogue One moment". And I'm sure the vast majority of people deeply wanted that, too. All that excitement though, dissipated... it would have had the potential to be one of the most epic scenes in Star Wars history, nay, cinematic history. Goddamnit, I was really angry by that.
Because it was
dumb, from a theatrical standpoint it was a complete waste of time as it made no sense at all.
I know you would've been emotional, but what I'm saying is that the characters weren't emotional
enough. A little more work should have been put into it, to convey more sadness. Like in ANH, when Obi-Wan's death happen he yells out in shock has to be pulled away, then the scene where he's sitting there all sad and is being consoled. That wasn't there in this movie for such a big character dying. Perhaps an acting issue, but I think it would have been handled better.
Why wouldn't I be? She
is a Mary Sue, it defines her pretty well. And since there's a male equivalent to this, it has nothing to do with "gender baggage" (please don't turn this into a sexist theme).
Most being the key word here. I haven't seen the Spiderman films at all because I'm not interested in him, never was. You don't have to be reading the comics to be a fan. Star Wars is a special case here, as the fandom is pretty much the backbone of Disney's earning power here. Who is going to buy all the novels, toys, etc that comes from these films? Star Wars fans, for the most part.
Sure, but Disney shouldn't alienate a large portion of the fanbase. Even if the film is successful and the next one will be, they could've made a lot more if they went about it differently. All those multiple screenings... like several, the diehards in the fandom do this for Star Wars movies generally. I don't think they'll be doing it for TLJ, and it's recent drop gives us a hint of that. Sure, it'll make a shitload in the box office, but it could've made a lot more. Disney shouldn't underestimate the pulling power of its own fanbase. I don't know what their internal projections are, but if it turns below par, Rian Johnson isn't going to direct any Star Wars movie.
That's half the fun of it though, isn't it?