Do you actually think that the R1 plot would be compelling had it not been littered with Star Wars imagery? Take away the Death Star and replace it with some other space device and I don’t think anyone would have been interested.
I love R1, but totally agree. If this wasn’t a Star Wars movie and so all the Star Wars stuff was replaced with original sci-fi designs, I wouldn’t care for it at all.
It’s a just movie for Star Wars fans. And that’s ok.