Shrug, 2 characters who are actual characters and who have motivation
There's a difference between their not having motivation and your not liking the motivation provided. I'm not saying you have to
like it of course, the reaction to the execution is gonna vary, obviously.
But the motivations of Krennic, Bodhi, Cassian, Baze & Chirrut are all pretty clearly/cleanly established. The motivations of Jyn are muddied, absolutely. Her character is shown to basically do whatever a father figure says she should do, so that motivation ends up seeming flimsy in the final accounting.
Since you called out Return of the Jedi as a comparison, the motivations of Han, Leia, Chewie, & Lando (even Vader) are just kinda/sorta stated, and then they go do stuff (or stand around and watch until it's their turn to do stuff). Which is reductive, but then again, their actions are mostly perfunctory. Add to the fact none of their characters really
act like their characters but more like shorthanded sitcom versions of their characters, and it seems more like what's happening is all the heavy lifting Empire Strikes Back did is substituting for the work that's
not being done in Jedi.
But that's always been Jedi's biggest handicap, aside from basic nostalgia and that last half hour coalescing as well as it does: It drafts
hard off Empire Strikes Back's goodwill and impact. It freely depletes that investment and goodwill, and almost runs it dry before that last half hour hits the nitro and rockets to the end with just enough left in the tank to hit the teddy bear barbecue.
Rogue One doesn't have that handicap, so I could see where a direct comparison might cause it to fall short for some people. but for me, even with that handicap removed - there are better performances from characters who, even though thinly sketched (by necessity, really) still make an easy to understand, easy to read, easy to follow, easy to
invest in impression on an audience, thanks to the strength of the actors essaying them.
Return of the Jedi is about 90 minutes of wheel spinning and place setting, and 30 minutes of a great sequel to Empire Strikes Back. Rogue One is a better-than-average men on a mission movie that leads to the best 30 minutes of prequel storytelling the series has gotten by a
wide margin, and (I still believe this) the single best battle in the entire series.