*Warning, there are spoilers in this review.*
"Rogue One"is a good movie that I personally recommend, with a few requirements however: a prior basic knowledge of the "Star Wars" movies (or at least "A New Hope") and what they are as a franchise, as well as an appreciation for entertainment.
Most people have had a positive reaction to this movie, but from the antagonist side I have heard complaints of the movie being too predictable, too complicated, and hollow. The next 4 paragraphs will be deconstructions of all these points and then lastly provide a conclusion proving my thesis: "Rogue One"is a good movie.
It does not matter that "Rogue One" is predictable, because everyone already knows what happens at the end. With a very basic knowledge of "Star Wars", or just a very simple idea of what this movie is about, you know that the movie ends with the rebels getting the plans to the death star and that (*SPOILER*) very few of these characters are in the rest of the series, meaning that they won't stay around that long / will die. Arguing that "Rogue One" is predictable is like having a friend come up to you and tell you that this crazy thing happened, asking them how it happened, and then cutting them off at the end of the story because you know what happens. It makes no sense to be mad that "Rogue One" for being predictable, because the movie was made with the knowledge that people will know the basic premise of the movie, and that the whole point of the movie is to learn about how it happened.
I will not say that "Rogue One"isn't a good movie, but I will say that it is a much better "Star Wars" movie. A major reason for Star Wars's success, is its expanded universe. Hundreds of comic books, TV shows, novels, toys, and now full movies have been made spinning off the main narrative, because there is so much potential. The brilliance of George Lucas is not his screen writing or directing (I mean look at the "Phantom Menace"), but that he made this vast universe, full of planets and weird creatures and unique cultures. When people complain that there are too many places and names, they don't appreciate the expanded universe factor that many others love. The good thing about "Rogue One" is that you don't need to learn all these places and things, they are not essential to the plot, and are just there for those who care about that stuff.
This is the hardest argument to fight, because the best way is to win is tell them to shut up and enjoy the explosions. Of course "Rogue One" is no indie film or documentary exploring the human consciousness and looking for the meaning of life, nor is it a movie like "Her" (Joaquin Phoenix) or "12 Years a Slave" with clear morals, but it is very entertaining and I personally believe that it does have a meaningful theme: trust . Jyn trusting the rebels after spending years just wanting to run from the chaos of the universe, Cassain letting Jyn keep the blaster, Imwe trusting Malbus to have his back in any fight. Additionally, K-2SO liked Jyn in the end, the rebels trusted that Galen Erso would be loyal to his daughter and the cause, Gerrera trusting Jyn to believe in the cause, in the end every rebel believing that their cause is worth it, etc. There are countless instances of faith in this movie and I think it adds a real moral, we learn and take away the power of believing in people and ideals, and I actually believe that is meaningful. There are also awesome explosions and a funny robot so shut the hell up, eat some popcorn, and have good time.
Sure there were some weird CGI people and other weird characteristics, but overall I think it was a good movie. The characters develop: Jyn going from careless fugitive to actually dying for the cause, Malbus believing in the force, Cassian compensating for his evils, etc. There were also good and enjoyable characters: K-2SO is the best sassy droid in the galaxy, Ben Mendelsohn plays the perfect unpleasant villain through Orson Krennic, and Jyn Erso is another awesome female lead. Lastly the movie was visually stunning, did a great job referencing the rest of the franchise (12 death sentences dude), was comedic, and the thing I appreciated the most, the brilliant impact it had on the rest of the "Star Wars" universe. The oldest plot hole in "Star Wars" history, besides the horrible aim of storm troopers, was how easy it was to destroy the Death Star, but now we have the answer. The Empire's tyrannical rule over the galaxy had repercussions, and the lead engineer on the Death Star designed an internal flaw in the infrastructure as a sabotage and final act of retaliation. They took a plot hole in a single act of a movie and made it into a powerful statement about tyrannical control and rebellion: to me that is brilliant. All these reasons are why "Rogue One" is a good movie.
