I am in the minority, but I don’t think the film is as great as many believe.

There is plenty of forgettable elements about this film because people remember that spicy Vader-hallway scene. And it starts with a pretty weak lead in Jyn Erso, who has a very cookie-cutter backstory. The cast itself is also overstuffed, and tries too hard to capture the standard “rebel group” we are familiar with in A New Hope.

The second act lags, and fails to bond those excess of characters while also splitting them up. Then the final battle misses the mark and the stakes fall flat because it is a prequel and we know, even if they don’t live, the mission will succeed. (I also hate film prequels in general for that)

I feel “Star Wars adults” exist similarly to Disney adults. Mostly all the fans I hear say Rogue One is their favorite also add, “it’s Star Wars for adults.” The originals, and Disney films, have always been dark. We’re talking about the company that killed Mufasa and had Simba mourn over his dead body. And A New Hope had Luke stare at the crispy corpses of his uncle and aunt.

The film itself takes itself too seriously by trying to please those Star Wars adults, and in return, sucks the fun out of what makes Star Wars wonderful. It also benefits from not having to do anything too daring visually since it is such a close prequel to A New Hope.

By the way, in case it sounds like I didn’t, I still really enjoyed the film and will turn it on if it’s on TV.