Opinions on those films and the Disney Star Wars films overall are deeply divided, but one of the criticisms of The Last Jedi is that it doesn’t feel like Star Wars.
On The Adam Buxton Podcast, Simon Pegg specifically noted that he felt that he missed George Lucas while watching during the last Star Wars film, though it isn’t entirely clear if he is speaking about Solo: A Star Wars Story or Rian Johnson’s Star Wars: The Last Jedi.
Perhaps that intangible quality is what George Lucas brought and that’s what’s now missing.