The problem is the character never had any room to grow. When the protagonist defeats the villain in the first movie, where do you go from there? In Star Wars, Luke runs away from Vader in the hanger bay. In Empire, he scores a few small hits, but gets his ass kicked, and in Jedi he matures enough to hold back his anger and not go down the same path his father did. Ray feels like her arc is a straight line.
I remember back when TFA came out, most of the criticism I’d hear going around was on how it differed from the OT, rather than how similar it was, and one of such criticisms was how it moved “the duel” forward instead of saving it for the next movies like with Luke and Vader. Another common complaint I heard was how Kylo Ren was too immature and wasn’t intimidating enough to fit the new “Vader” role, despite that clearly being a conscious choice for his character.
In that regard, I think the duel at the end of TFA is great because it didn’t just propel Rey’s character forward, but Kylo’s, and I think TLJ did a great job following that thread, showing that his defeat rocked the very foundation of his beliefs. As for Rey, the duel marks the moment she finally embraces her calling, something Luke did way earlier in ANH, and I think her journey in TLJ became more interesting for it as it wasn’t just about becoming strong enough to confront Kylo.
I mostly heard the opposite but that’s mostly because of my Dad. He would ramble on and on about how it was just a ripping off Star Wars. I actually like the Kylo stuff in the first two movies. I wasn’t trying to say Ray should have been just like Luke, I just think she doesn’t get very many character moments outside of action scene, tech jargon, or mind control. Here running away from the call to adventure and getting captured wasn’t bad, but it was quickly dropped by the time she breaks out of imprisonment. Maybe after being captured and Han dying to save her would’ve been a good way to get her to join the rebellion or something. I guess it kind of is to some extent, but it kind of feels glossed over for Han and Kylo.
TLJ actually had some good character growth for Ray. It’s just a shame ROS has to undercut everything that movie did well. I think TFA is still built on some shaky foundation with bringing back the Death Star and the duel. But I mean, it’s a Star Wars movie. Could you imagine the uproar if two lightsabers didn’t touch in that movie? The real problem with TFA isn’t really the movie itself, it’s the sequels. I probably would’ve been fine with a fan edit of TLJ if they would’ve stuck the landing on ROS.