Not what I had expected

Rating: 5/10 (14 December 2016)

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is not what I expected to see, especially after superb reviews, one of which even claimed it to be "the best Star Wars movie of all eight" -so far. They either have watched Star Trek films instead of Star Wars or were way too afraid of some fan backlash, I can't think of any other reasonable explanation. Anyway, never trust anyone who calls a "film" a "movie". This is not the best of all SW films, it probably is not the 7th best either -and yes, I mean you, JarJar Binks! Basically, it's a battlefront film (don't think Xbox, think more like Iraq or Afghanistan) based on the Star Wars universe with Bail and Leia Organa, Vader, Tarkin, and mention of a certain Wedge Antilles; and also some parts reminded me very heavily a certain 007's adventures in Cuba in "Goldeneye". Perhaps it is best to think of this as the "3rd Moon of Endor" sequence extended to over 2 hours. So, in a nutshell; was it a good film? Yes. Cinematography, CGI, acting (except F. Withaker), Lord Vader doing Vader-like things were all great. However, the film didn't appeal to me. It had no good vs. evil balance, no reason for the viewer to sympathize with the Rebels or the main characters, and, no ideology -in the G. Lucas sense of the concept-. At the end of the day, it was just a get-in-get-the-goods- get-out-or-die-trying kind of job. I don't know but I can count at least 5 films that followed the same routine and did it with one tenth of the budget and better, too. I for one, was mildly entertained but was not left flabbergasted by it. It was an alright film, I am not sorry I watched it. Yet, the major question is whether I or anyone else would part with their money to see it a second, third, or more times? I believe the answer is "No" and that is a problem, for sure. I hope they do a better job with Episode 8.