People should remember too that there’s still a lot we don’t know, not just about TLJ but about the whole ST and everything that’s going on at that time. Personally I see the fight against the First Order as more of an even handed match up than Empire vs. Rebels, but you know I could be wrong about that, and that’s okay, as long as it’s handled well. It’s pretty silly to think that there’s no way that the First Order could have such power,
Certainly there’s some way they could’ve gained that much power, I’m just saying that I think it’s lazy storytelling. It’s the same conflict from the OT; a ragtag rebel group vs a big and powerful military dictatorship with a planet-destroying superweapon.
I don’t consider that lazy storytelling. What you described is just the broad strokes. There are so many similar types of stories, told time and time again. What matters is how it’s told.