I found the story pretty standard and filled with countless clichés. The acting was average and I didn’t really care for the characters. The addition of Donnie Yen and his martial arts was cool but strange. But here is the good thing, the last 40 minutes of this movie is a straight up, full on blast of awesome galactic action. The graphic, the settings, the editing… just great! 6.5-7/10 (I preferred The Force Awakens)
shareI agree with you on the ending. I thought the final space battle was the best in any Star Wars film. As much as I loved it, I think it suffered from the patchwork direction and editing that it endured.
shareI wish that the story conveyed a more sinister background to the Empire. One where Jyn's father was a full participant in their war machine buildup because it was under the notion that they were restoring order to the universe. You kinda have to blame Lucas for that one, but I was hoping that they would break canon, scrap Lucas' weak backstory and showed how the Empire gained stock through lies and empty promises. Jyn's story could have been more elaborate by expanding her background as Imperial scientist instead of a slave which kinda of made her a cliched Spartacus-type of caricature.
I didn't mind the marital arts aspect as I thought it was a clever homage to where the idea of The Force was inspired from, and it kind of rectifies Lucas' inability to cast global people to play in his galaxy far, far away.
I preferred this to the Force Awakens, jaw-dropping CGI effects and planet landscapes, interesting characters.
"countless clichés"
[spoiler]Well, the fact that so many good characters are killed, including ALL protagonists, and that their mission cannot be described as successful makes up for the various possible clichés.[/spoiler]