Watched
TM2YC's edit of this the other night, only the second time I've seen any version of the film. Now that on-screen
Star Wars combat isn't as novel as it was back in 2016, thanks largely to
The Mandalorian, and I was familiar with the story, the ragged nature of the script really stood out. Jyn goes from completely blowing off the struggle against the Empire to being a passionate,
Hope!-boosting leader merely from watching her father's message, and it just doesn't work. (Also, the repeated use of "hope" was overdone.) The random "save the cat!" moment of Jyn saving the little girl in the firefight was, to quote Luke, A Cheap Move. What's more, though the Vader scene at the end is still awesome, I wish we didn't hear him speak (
TM2YC left in one of his lines, which IMO is one line too many) - he would have been more imposing as a silent presence, and JEJ's voice is just too audibly aged.
In conclusion, then, while the Battle of Scarif is without doubt the finest action sequence of the new movies
Rogue One is a pretty meh flick overall. Meaning that the reigning champion of Disney
Star Wars movies is... (
DigModiFicaTion's edit and re-grade of)
Solo!
Solo is a decent adventure that should have been a Disney+ series, allowing for several short adventures rather than one big one, and
Rogue One should have spent much more time developing Jyn and Cassian, rather than making some character from the cartoons so central to the plot for no apparent reason. (Why does the designer of the Death Star just
happen to be good buddies with one of the galaxy's most prominent/notorious rebels?) As for Cassian, while Diego Luna is awesome, I'm not sure how much room there is to develop his character in a Disney+ series. I'm afraid I'm a bit less intrigued by it now than I was before this re-watch.
Such, anyway, are my two cents.