Just got back from seeing it. I definitely liked it, but I didn’t instantly adore it like I did TFA. I think most of the characters were a good bit weaker (the exception being Chirrut, who is seriously in my top five favorite characters in the entire saga now [I liked Bodhi as well, but it had more to do with the performance than the writing]). This is probably a symptom of the size of the cast coupled with the pacing. We never get more than vague allusions to troubled pasts from Jyn and Cassian; other than that, everything they say and do is strictly to move the plot along. Likewise, I think Krennic and Galen were underwritten, especially given how insanely charismatic the actors playing them are (I didn’t have as much trouble getting invested in them, though, because I got hip to their dynamic through Catalyst). This is kind of par for the course with Gareth Edwards, though, so it didn’t shatter any expectations.
CGI Tarkin was exactly as bad as I feared he would be when that rumor first hit, but it wasn’t nearly a big enough deal to break the movie. I thought Leia looked just fine.
Now that we’ve finally seen Vader full on wreck some shit, I hope they leave him well alone going forward. I thought he was fine in this, but James Earl Jones just sounds tired these days. I really appreciate how plodding and un-acrobatic he was in his slaughter scene at the end. The tank scene was absolutely chilling, too.
I thought the score didn’t use nearly as much Williams as it should have. Liberal use of the rebel fanfare and a few more Force themes could have anchored this to the saga more firmly.
I agree that the first twenty minutes or so after the flashback were all over the place and I had real trouble finding the film’s rhythm, but once it calmed down I thought it moved at a really good clip. The whole final act was absolutely stunning, and I was 200% all-in.
Retconning the exhaust port into an intentional sabotage was kind of brilliant. I’m glad they found a way to put that to bed once and for all.
Anyway, I need to go to bed. Final verdict is that Rogue One is flawed but supremely entertaining. I can’t fault it for being more ambitious than TFA, but I think its reach exceeds its grasp. I give it a low B. Subject to change on repeat viewing, but right now I’d rank it at number 5, between Return of the Jedi and the ouroboros that is my ever-shifting opinions on which prequel sucks the least.