Watched this earlier, very good analysis.
The flaws and certain story elements of TFA are problematic. The entire Star Killer Base idea was just not good, though watching it was entertaining. But at the end of the day, whatever flaws TFA had they were not big enough to detract from a compelling cast of characters and setup for a larger new trilogy. And that's a leg up RO never had. TFA has the ability to improve and build upon what was done right and fix what was done wrong in the next two movies. There is something to look forward to as the story is not yet fully told. But RO had only one shot.
And it blew it, the entire film was just pointless. The very story itself of the stealing the Death Star plans is a story that did not need to be told, though I am fine with them trying to do so, but it just made it that much harder for them to make it a compelling story. And when it came to the element that matter most, they did fuck all to develop the characters or give anyone agency at all, least of all Jyn. That turn around from the death of Galen to Jyn's speech on Yavin killed the movie for me. Up to that point the film was pretty meh but hopefully building up, but once I heard that speech I realized they had no idea what they were doing, how to write characters or build up an interesting story.
While RO was a great looking movie, with a promising premise of expanding upon the Star Wars universe, it was dull and lifeless. Failing to do anything interesting with a story that didn't need to be told, but still could have proved to be an interesting one had it been made by someone who knew what they were doing. Unlike TFA, RO's flaws ruined the film. The final battle may have been a lot of fun and really exciting, but it lacked any emotional impact and left me thinking "who gives a shit."
