I thought it was very good. It met my expectations of being an enjoyable Star Wars side story and nothing more.
+Visually the film looked spectacular. The CGI was great and the art direction was fantastic. I love the gritty, blocky, analog futurism of Star Wars and how it mixes in with more fantastical elements like bustling cities filled with strange aliens and ancient structures. A lot of the redesigns and upgrades in TFA looked very good, but it was fun to see the classic ships and gear look even more detailed and realistic. Personally I found the Tarkin CGI to be very good. Yeah the lips were noticeable, but honestly you had to be looking for it. I was surprised he had so many scenes though. I thought he would be one and done. Leia on the other hand was a bit jarring. Skimming through the thread, people seem to have the opposite opinion though.
+The film had a lot of treats for super nerds of Star Wars. You got to see more about the inner workings of both the Empire and the Rebels. I felt like it did a good job portraying the galaxy under the boot of the Empire. How Stormtroopers were prevalent everywhere and while some people rebelled, many just tried to keep their head down and go on with their lives. The Empire was really portrayed as an almost impossible obstacle that the Rebels had no chance of defeating.
+The action scenes were a bit too long, but still really exciting. There was a good diversity. You got space battles, you got kung fu fights, you got shoot outs, you got Vader force throwing people. There was violence for everyone. The space battles really stood out though. I loved seeing the X-Wing zoom in and out, the horde of TIE Fighters being released, the Hammerhead pushing the Star Destroyer (not sure how it didn't just burst though but who cares) etc.
+I thought the Vader scene at the end was the perfect way to portray him. I wish the lateral scene with the disc went on a bit longer but I suppose people would start thinking, "Why didn't Vader just force take the disc?"
+/-The characters were a mixed bag. There really should have been more scenes where they just sit around talking about themselves and their motivations. I see a lot of people rail on Jyn but I thought her motivations and character arc was clear. She hates the Empire for taking her family away from her, but she has also become disillusioned about the Rebels due to her time with Forest Whitaker's character (Sol Gurrera? What were they saying). She fights the Empire in her own way throughout the years, but doesn't seem to believe there is any real chance to defeat them until she receives her father's message, which causes her to become more proactive. Donnie Yen was also probably one of the better characters and is best representative of the idea that even though odds are seemingly insurmountable, people are willing to fight for what they believe is right. The other protagonists though... I didn't really feel a connection with them. We really needed more information about Cassian's past. He seemed to be all over the place. He straight up kills his partner at the beginning for whatever reason, and almost snipes Hannibal, but then follows Jyn to the end. I didn't really get his whole motivation. He hints that he the empire killed his family or something, but I would like to know more. I don't know why Iron Man was so attached to Ip Man except for maybe that they were friends? And I have no idea why the pilot even defected.
-Darth Vader should never make a pun EVER.
-I already said it, but I felt the action scenes were a bit too long. You could have easily trimmed down the huge ending. I mean the actual plot of that whole scene is quite straightforward. They sneak into the base, try to transfer the data, the Rebels distract them, the shield serves as an obstacle, they deactivate the shield, send the info, mission accomplished.
-It was almost too dark at times. So many people got straight up shot, executed, exploded, lasered, squided etc. Did we really need to see a Stormtrooper get shot in the head as he was on the ground from point blank range? I didn't find K2 to be all that funny either. I know the more somber tone was to highlight how bad people had it under the Empire, but the tone shift from TFA to this movie is probably jarring for many, especially kids.
OH, and why did the Rebels decide to jump in on Scarif? They went from, "We can't help you" to "GO GO GO" so quickly. Maybe I wasn't paying attention but I completely missed their motivations for flip flopping and helping Jyn.
Anyways I had fun watching it. Like TFA it is a great film to watch in the IMAX due to its visual vibrancy. And DAMN WHEN ARE THEY GONNA MAKE A NEW ROGUE LEADER GAME?
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