A refreshing prequel though not the best Star Wars movie, but better than the failed sequel The Force Awakens

Rating: 5/10 (15 October 2019)

I watched this movie when it came out and it was at least mediocre when it came to Star Wars movies, though let's get things straight.
First of all, everyone was calm and it wasn't hyped like the Justin Bieber concert known as Ep VII - The Force Awakens that left everyone on Earth and even the natural animals erupting like crazy into thunderous applause.
Yet there was no screaming anywhere or even at the end with this movie.
It's better than The Force Awakens, because that was a rehash of the original trilogy.
Now people did say this was really dark for a Star Wars movie, and it was definitely darker than most, but NOTHING like the Force Awakens or even Ep IV - A New Hope (where Alderaan and everyone on it got destroyed), as the 1st Order destroyed the planets with the Starkiller Base killing all the inhabitants.
The Death Star in this was at minimal power and the results were just localized areas being annihilated, like cities and towns.
Yet good characters died in this, but they were NOWHERE near as important as Han Solo, who was killed off by his son Kylo Ren in TFA, traumatizing me and many others.
In fact that's the biggest problem with this movie.
All the good characters were killed in this, and that's become an unintended thing in the movie.
Plus there was blood in this multiple times (more times than on Ep III - Revenge of the Sith that's for sure).
Yet the 2nd biggest problem was that there were no lightsaber duels, which are a staple in the Star Wars franchise, and if Rogue One had those, it'd be more popular and get better ratings.
Another problem was that it failed to warn guests about the filming technique because the camera work was shaky for the majority and looked more like a vlog on the set of Star Wars than a typical movie.
Something that doesn't usually happen in the majority or entirety of a Star Wars movie.
I know it was supposed to be a gritty war movie, so that it would look like live footage of a war, but just think about it.
Imagine watching a 2 hour 13 minute YouTube video/vlog from one of your favorite vloggers who teleported to the Star Wars Galaxy vlogging his/her experience on the planet Scarif or Jeddah.
Yet some people are prone to dizziness and motion sickness, so there should've been warnings about that at the entrance and on tickets.
The plot focused on the fact that it took place somewhere between Star Wars Rebels & A New Hope (both after Revenge of the Sith), though near the end, the good guys were trying to save a town and facility on it, before the Death Star came and fired its laser (again at minimal power) on the target, killing off the last good characters in the movie.
Though ironic how the ships near the end moved like bath toys in a tub.
Though in the end it felt it was gonna continue leading to the beginning of A New Hope, though it was still different scenery (and Leia was clear in this and nailed her CGI well).
Overall it was a MUCH better movie than the Flop Awakens and certainly had great visuals and was a great idea that they decided to make a movie between Star Wars Rebels and A New Hope in the timeline.