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Rating: 6/10 (28 December 2017)

Although I thought Rogue One was ok overall, for a spin-off, anyway, it is among my least favorite Star Wars movies largely because it is the most unnecessary. Rogue One is clearly a better movie than, say, The Phantom Menace; however, in my opinion, Rogue One has the least merit of all of the Star Wars movies due to the fact that it is the most irrelevant to the overarching Star Wars narrative. It's a movie that really didn't need to be made and one that was, ostensibly, only made to cash-in on the Star Wars brand. As flawed as the prequels are, they give the original trilogy much exposition that it, for better or worse, would not have had otherwise. This exposition is nonessential and arguably even detrimental to the original trilogy, but it is nowhere near as irrevelent as Rogue One's, which doesn't shed light on all that much, and which doesn't answer any questions that really needed to be answered. In addition, neither the story nor the characters are very engaging. I can't recall a single moment in the movie where I sympathized or identified with any of the characters, and was disinterested in both the story and the characters during the great majority of the movie. The entire movie seemed inconsequential to me, like it didn't matter whether the main characters succeeded or failed, whether they lived or died. In its defense, I think it would have been extraordinarily difficult to have made Rogue One good. As a spin-off of off and a prequel to one of the greatest movies of all time, which really didn't need a spin-off/prequel, Rogue One was almost destined to disappoint.
To conclude the review, I would like to clarify that I didn't dislike Rogue One. There are a few things to like about it. The CGI is amazing, for one thing, and the ending couldn't have been much better. The way it bridges the gap between Rogue One and A New Hope is perfect. That said, I still kind of wish Rogue One hadn't been made. From a business standpoint, releasing a sequel/spin-off every single year is a good move; from a business standpoint, I don't blame Disney at all; however, from an artistic standpoint, Disney's milking of the franchise and relentless marketing dilutes and cheapens the magic of Star Wars. There's frankly something concerning about the degree to which Disney is willing to capitalise on fans' seemingly insatiable appetite for new Star Wars movies. Rogue One is a stark reminder that Disney has already begun to convert Star Wars into something much like itself: a money-making machine, sleek and durable, but cold and lifeless.