I had very high hopes for Rogue One, and, overall, I was not disappointed. No, it is not a perfect movie, but it did what I wanted it to do: it took the Star Wars narrative in a new, grittier direction.
Now, the Star Wars properties have explored these types of new directions for years: from the extended universe novels, to video games, to the cartoon series, we've seen how vast the Star Wars universe is and how many different types of stories could be set in it. I think for me this led to a gnawing sense of disappointment after watching episode VII, which for all its strengths, felt like it mostly stuck to the safe, worn path of the previous stories. Even when it wasn't directly retreading prior plot points, it echoed some similar themes and tropes: hero with mysterious origins, conflicted father/son relationships, etc.
Now, in recents years, a cottage industry has popped up around the idea of the "gritty reboot" of a beloved comic and toy franchise from the 80's. Maybe Christopher Nolan and "the Dark Knight" are to blame. But it did seem that the market was flooded with them to the point of absurdity (I wouldn't be surprised if the gritty reboot version of Calvin and Hobbes had been an actual real thing on some Hollywood producer's desk at some point).
Well, for my money, Rogue One did gritty right. Maybe it's the fact that the prior Star Wars movies, and the original trilogy in particular, was so thoroughly epic, mythic, high mimetic, that the franchise was crying out for a treatment in a low mimemtic mode, something through the eyes of everyday citizens and members of the rebellion.
Like I said earlier, it's not perfect. Act 1 in particular, has its problems -- both in narrative, which felt choppy as we jumped quickly through time and space to introduce the major players, and in plotting, with the obvious question of why Galen doesn't send the Death Star plans out with the pilot, rather just giving the information of where they can be found.
These issues are easily forgiven and forgotten by the time the action gets rolling in Act 2. We seen Jyn as grown up and fiercely independent, maybe a little too dangerous and edgy for the comfort of the rebel alliance leaders. The Alliance feels a little more fleshed out and real, too, compared to the original trilogy. It truly is an alliance of disparate rebellion factions, with deferring ideals, goals, and limits as too how far they will go to defy the Empire. We meet Saw Gerrera, who has to be one of the most intriguing characters in the series. He's painted as an extremist, and we see his crew in action, springing a trap on a group of Imperial troopers in Jedha. Obvious parallels to present day conflicts there.
The action moves quickly to the third act, where we get too see some great sci-fi action as Jyn's crew struggles to complete their mission and the rebel forces show up to lend their support. The ending was very surprising for a Star Wars and Disney property, a really bold move that earned a lot of respect from me (I'm a sucker for movies that avoid the typical Hollywood happy ending).
So now to address some of the criticisms of the film I have seen on line:
I wasn't attached to the main characters: It's true that once the action gets going, we don't get as much time to learn about Jyn and Cassian. And that's too bad, because I found them both really intriguing. Jyn had much more of an edge than Rey in episode VII, and made for a far more interesting "strong female lead" character. Cassian was amazing, I loved the way this supposed "good guy" could turn around and do the most cold-blooded things in the name of the rebellion. So I thought the main characters were great, and this wasn't at all an issue for me.
The CGI of characters from the original trilogy was bad: I'm scratching my head at people saying this. I thought it was pretty amazing.
Krennic was not a compelling villain: Krennic is a ruthless careerist, opportunist, more driven by selfishness and thirst for glory than by pure malevolence. I think his character points to the banality of evil, like he's the Eichmann of the Star Wars universe. Different, for sure, from other main baddies we've seen, but certainly preferable to, say, having an angsty, patricidal teenager, at least in my book.
The Darth Vader scene at the end was gratuitous: the Darth Vader scene at the end was one of my favorite scenes in all of the franchise! Holy crap, it was like a horror movie - great in the overall characterization of Vader with regard to the overall series; I mean, the original trilogy only gave you the slightest glimpse as to why he was so feared. And I would argue that the Death Star plans were the central point of the story, so it's entirely appropriate to keep following them on their way to Lelia's hands.
Looking back, I felt I've spent more time defending the movie than boosting it, so I'll leave you with this: I loved the film, it is fantastic, and you should go out and see it as soon as you can if you haven't already! May the Force be with you.
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