It’s a bit showy, I’ll admit. I’m guessing that it was an Abrams decision rather than Kasdan’s. I can see why people criticise it, as actually freezing a blaster bolt in mid air isn’t something we’ve seen even Vader do. But if I wanted to justify it “in-universe”, I’d probably do so by pointing out that when Vader blocked blaster bolts, he caused them to dissipate/disappear. Maybe that requires a greater mastery of the force than just holding it in place temporarily.

Maybe? :p