One of the things Rogue One did right was adding weight to Death Star, making it even scarier. When many creators fall into the trap of “even bigger explosions!”, R1 just holds the audience a bit longer in a scene which was so (too?) short in ANH.
It would have been scarier if it weren’t even in the movie to begin with.
Considering the fact that I’ve never been properly scared of the Death Star until seeing Rogue One I’m going to have to disagree with you.
Well we pretty much disagree on everything Star Wars related, so I’m not surprised. You can write the script so that the characters express the danger of the Death Star through their acting and dialogue, and what is going on in the plot, rather than just cramming everything on screen.
Are you a fan of the SE wampa by any chance?