Okay, I did it. I'm not sure if I'm glad I watched the prequels or not. I will say that I really enjoyed Rogue One; I'd say it's right up there with the OT (you see, DisneyLucasfilm, you can produce quality films when you try).
Rogue One was a little confusing at the start. I wasn't quite sure what was going on and who was who, but that might be partly because I was sold a defective disc, so it kept skipping for many scenes early on. But once I got past that, I found the characters interesting, and the storyline compelling — even though I knew the Death Star plans would make it to Leia.
Cassian is a complex character, trying to reconcile doing the right thing with having to compromise his morals for the greater good. Jyn is a very sympathetic character, whose skill set is credible and explained (no Force downloads here), who works as a team with her new allies to get the plans and fulfil her father's last wish (and doesn't just save the day by herself and beat the bad guy cos she's just awesome and don't need no man), and is just a very likeable protagonist (you know, everything that MaRey Sue isn't). Chirrut seemed a little overpowered, but I kinda get what they were trying to do with him. Bodhi was just soooo likeable, I just really related to him. Baze, too. I cried at the end. The ending was really sad, you have been warned!
The CGI Leia was awful though.
Rogue One is just a really good film. I recommend it to OT fans for sure.
Now for the prequels. Oh boy. I've rewritten my review to make it more readable.
Verdict
Rogue One: it's really good! Watch it! Prequels: too much dumb. Watch it for the memes, but be warned it will ruin Vader for you. Qui Gon is one of the best characters in the franchise though.
So here's my overall ranking for all the canon films. Yes you read that right. ALL the canon films:
- VI - A New Hope
- V - The Empire Strikes Back (very close second!)
- Rogue One
- I - The Phantom Menace
- VI - Return of the Jedi
- III - Revenge of the Sith
- II - Attack of the Clones
- The Star Wars Holiday Special
How about you? How would you rank the films?