Mostly terrible with some decent space battles

Rating: 4/10 (19 January 2018)

I hated The Force Awakens but Rogue One managed to be even worse up until its redeeming final act. The characters are dull and boring. They have no life to them, no personality, no positivity. They could win a lotto ticket and still find a reason to be depressed.
At least Rogue One isn't a remake of A New Hope the way TFA was. But it's story didn't interest me much. It has a lot of little references to the original Star Wars trilogy, perfectly matching the details. From the little black robot that buzzes around to the cool style of door that closes after Vader fights Obi-Wan in ANH, from the costumes and hairdos to the bright lights and machinery of the Death Star. But it lacks the life of the original movies. It's all style with no substance. Half the costumes look like they've just been made and are being worn for the first time. It lacks the dirtiness of Star Wars, where everything looks used, likes it been through a lot, even though it's futuristic.
The music is terrible. Michael Giacchino has composed great music for Pixar movies like Up and Inside Out, but this score sounds uninspired. He references the first few notes of various Star Wars themes, only to fall flat with some other vapid theme. There's no impact, no energy. No chills down your spine moments like John Williams' scores are full of.
The finale brought this movie from a 1/10 up to a 4/10. That's impressive. Parts of it are quite exhilarating, but only briefly. There are inspired shots that take you back to childhood for fleeting seconds. It's not because they imitate the spaceships from the older films, it's because space battles are exciting, especially when the effects, editing and cinematography are good. Having sophisticated vehicles juxtaposed with palm trees and a generally tropical location is also refreshing.
Rogue One lacks the intrigue of the force. One character repeats the mantra "I am one with the force, the force is with me." over and over again. This is more grating than interesting. The story is often far-fetched, falling into a common problem where we constantly feel we're simply at the mercy of the writers. Maybe a character will dramatically die, maybe they'll have a miraculous close call, maybe they'll do that thing where they shoot and get shot at while having a conversation. The danger is only there when the script calls for it. It's shallow and inconsistent.
What made the original movies so great was a combination of rare things: good characters, great music (amongst the greatest ever written IMHO), state-of-the-art special effects, iconic heroes, villains, vehicles and gadgets and good direction. At best, Rogue One has some sections of good special effects combined with good directing and some decent dramatic moments. But otherwise, it is woefully subpar for most of its running time, on the level of a TV show. I think it will age poorly.