The hardest part about judging a movie like Rogue One comes with considering it's context and purpose as a film. Is it meant to be considering fully as its own piece of work, or simply just as an addition to the Star Wars cinematic universe? This experience of entering into a predetermined story is especially jarring for someone like me who is not the biggest fanatic of the Star Wars franchise, but in the end Rogue One can still be seen as a bit of fun in addition to fulfilling its quota of fan service.
Story-wise, this movie was somewhat backed into a corner, in terms of telling a story with a predetermined outcome. Some 40 years later, and a story introduced in the original Star Wars (Episode IV: A New Hope) makes it onto the big screen in its own feature length film. That alone is a remarkable feat, and shows how powerful the franchise really is. Despite this already established story arc, Rogue One still manages to feel like the plot could go in any direction - a sign of a truly exciting narrative. A point is eventually reached where the audience remembers that this story already has an ending, but this doesn't take away from the viewing experience at all.
In a story that has to be told only in this movie alone (no trilogy for this one), it is understandable that the character building of some supporting characters might be a bit lackluster. This is especially disappointing, however, when considering the amount of unnecessary and somewhat forced comedic additions early in the movie. It's fine for even the most serious of movies to have comedic value in them, but when they are forced and in place of detailed character development, it is hard not to question their relevance. In the end, the characters realistically just fit into the cliche of the rag-tag group of outsiders going against the 'big guy', with most of them being token racial characters from different parts of the world (when I'd assume these countries don't even exist in Star Wars).
Lastly, while the fan service was necessary and ultimately pretty well balanced, I can't help but envision some wasted potential in the 'big moments' of Rogue One. Without going into spoilers, the movie maybe could have been more reserved with their limited space in terms of big reveals. While ultimately this would have led to less fan service, it could have been better fan service. In the end, however, this is just nitpicking at what was ultimately an enjoyable flick and a comfortable addition to the Star Wars movies. I can only hope that their future 'story' movies continue to feel like this one, and less like unnecessary money grabs.
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