History YMMV / RogueOne

** [=K2SO=]: as an Imperial droid reprogrammed by the Rebels, is he any more free, or is he just a tool they use; another weapon against the Empire? Much of his dialogue, such as his line to Jyn ("I'll be there for you. Cassian said I had to") suggests the latter interpretation.

** Saw Gerrera makes up for his [[AdvertisedExtra lack of screen time]] with his [[LargeHam extremely memorable line delivery]] and quotes, to the extent that manages to provide several of the film’s biggest [[MemeticMutation meme lines]] during the few scenes that he is given.

** ''Film/{{Solo}}'' would be criticized for giving backstories and explanations for very self-explanatory things, but this had its origins in ''Rogue One'' doing the same thing for points like the Death Star's weak point and the origin of the Rogue Squadron name; audiences had accepted for decades that the Death Star was a really big gun with an obvious design flaw, being a product of the same AwesomeButImpractical style the Empire favors enough to have built something like the Death Star in the first place (in the ''[[Franchise/StarWarsLegends Legends]]'' novel ''Literature/DeathStar'', the fatal exhaust port was portrayed as just a dumb mistake and the request to fix it got lost in the bureaucracy), and the "Rogue Squadron" callsign [[RuleOfCool gives all the explanation it needs by sounding cool]]. It worked anyway because these were major things in-universe and, though fans weren't particularly clamoring for explanations of where they came from, there was room to do so anyway, especially in the case of the Death Star's development, which for the most part only had a small handful of attempts at explaining its origin that did little more than [[CallForward remind the audience it would be built down the line]] before [[AbortedArc going nowhere]], and they developed into plot beats naturally enough. It got ridiculous when ''Solo'' tried to continue the trend by giving explanations to trivial things that not only did audiences never see any need to question, but which the crew couldn't come up with explanations for that [[{{Narm}} weren't extremely silly]], like the backstory of Chewbacca's bandolier boiling down to "he put it on" (which just raises the question of why he wore the ''same'' bandolier for several decades) or revealing that Han apparently [[OnlyOneName never had a surname]] until the name "Solo" was given to him by an Imperial recruiter [[LineOfSightName because he happened to be alone at the time]] (which makes audiences wonder why they're supposed to accept names like "Luke Skywalker" as real [[ArbitrarySkepticism but not "Han Solo"]]).
** ''Rogue One'' also caught flak for having a few rather gratuitous references to the animated shows that had run earlier and concurrently to it, like background cameos from Chopper and the ''Ghost'' from ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsRebels'' and Saw Gerrera from ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars'' being a major supporting character, which were more or less lost on people who only watched the movies. However, these were just bonuses for savvy fans and weren't distracting or confusing for casual viewers; Saw's role as Jyn's mentor and surrogate father is still completely understandable within the context of the movie to people who hadn't watched ''The Clone Wars'', and the other references were kept in the background for eagle-eyed viewers. ''Solo'' got it worse with major plot points that ''only'' worked [[ContinuityLockout for viewers who'd watched several TV shows or read several books]], most infamously its reveal in the last half-hour that [[spoiler:the Crimson Dawn's leader is ''Darth Maul'' - this was a major plot element clearly meant to [[SequelHook set up for possible future adventures]] rather than just a small bonus for viewers well-versed in Expanded Universe works like the later seasons of ''The Clone Wars'' or ''ComicBook/DarthMaulSonOfDathomir'', and for anyone who ''wasn't'' it came completely out of left field, since to a casual viewer who'd only seen the movies, Maul's last appearance was getting bisected and thrown down a bottomless pit [[Film/ThePhantomMenace twenty years ago]]]].

** Darth Vader, arguably the TropeCodifier, returns in spectacular fashion. [[JustHereForGodzilla Not only is he a major selling point of the movie]], but [[spoiler:he's depicted at his scariest and most brutal here]], reminding audiences of how horrifying he can truly be after years of being mostly known for his status as a pop culture icon than anything (diluted even further by
how popular and heavily-marketed he is with kids).

* SpecialEffectFailure:
** Wilhuff Tarkin is fairly impressive on its own yet comes off as obviously digitally animated when juxtaposed with real human actors.

** Darth Vader, arguably the TropeCodifier, returns in spectacular fashion. [[JustHereForGodzilla Not only is he a major selling point of the movie]], but [[spoiler:he's depicted at his scariest and most brutal here]], reminding audiences of how horrifying he can truly be after years of being mostly known for his status as a pop culture icon than anything (diluted even further by [[MisaimedMarketing how popular and heavily-marketed he is with kids]]).

* MisaimedMarketing: Some fans of ''The Clone Wars'' don't appreciate that Saw is being dubbed the 'Original Rebel' by advertising, when the entire arc that introduced the Partisans involved everyone including Saw realizing that Steela was better fit as leader (and thus dubbed her the true leader of the Partisans) and that she ''died'' in the battle that ultimately liberated Onderon from the Separatists. Many aren't pleased with her martyrdom being ignored and the spotlight being completely given back to Saw.

** ''Rogue One'' gives backstories and explanations for very self-explanatory things, like the Death Star's weak point or the origin of the Rogue Squadron name, which would come to be a point of criticism for ''Film/{{Solo}}''; audiences had accepted for decades that the Death Star was a really big gun with an obvious design flaw, being a product of the same AwesomeButImpractical style the Empire favors enough to have built something like the Death Star in the first place (in the ''[[Franchise/StarWarsLegends Legends]]'' novel ''Literature/DeathStar'', the fatal exhaust port was portrayed as just a dumb mistake and the request to fix it got lost in the bureaucracy), and the "Rogue Squadron" callsign [[RuleOfCool gives all the explanation it needs by sounding cool]]. It worked anyway because these were major things in-universe and, though fans weren't particularly clamoring for explanations of where they came from, there was room to do so anyway, especially in the case of the Death Star's development,[[note]]About all that had been explained about it in the ''Legends'' continuity was where the initial idea of a superlaser came from, where the campaign of ''VideoGame/StarWarsBattlefrontII'' has you stealing a crystal that apparently goes into powering that laser before abruptly forgetting about the plot point entirely.[[/note]] and they developed into plot beats naturally enough. It got ridiculous when ''Solo'' tried to continue the trend by giving explanations to trivial things that not only did audiences never see any need to question, but which the crew couldn't come up with explanations for that [[{{Narm}} weren't extremely silly]], like the backstory of Chewbacca's bandolier boiling down to "he put it on" (which just raises the question of why he wore the ''same'' bandolier for several decades) or revealing that Han apparently [[OnlyOneName never had a surname]] until the name "Solo" was given to him by an Imperial recruiter [[LineOfSightName because he happened to be alone at the time]] (which makes audiences wonder why they're supposed to accept names like "Luke Skywalker" as real [[ArbitrarySkepticism but not "Han Solo"]]).
** It also caught flak for having a few rather gratuitous references to the animated shows that had run earlier and concurrently to it, like background cameos from Chopper and the ''Ghost'' from ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsRebels'' and Saw Gerrera from ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars'' being a major supporting character, which were more or less lost on people who only watched the movies. However, these were just bonuses for savvy fans and weren't distracting or confusing for casual viewers; Saw's role as Jyn's mentor and surrogate father is still completely understandable within the context of the movie to people who hadn't watched ''The Clone Wars'', and the other references were kept in the background for eagle-eyed viewers. ''Solo'' got it worse with major plot points that ''only'' worked [[ContinuityLockout for viewers who'd watched several TV shows or read several books]], most infamously its reveal in the last half-hour that [[spoiler:the Crimson Dawn's leader is ''Darth Maul'' - this was a major plot element clearly meant to [[SequelHook set up for possible future adventures]] rather than just a small bonus for viewers well-versed in Expanded Universe works like the later seasons of ''The Clone Wars'' or ''ComicBook/DarthMaulSonOfDathomir'', and for anyone who ''wasn't'' it came completely out of left field, since to a casual viewer who'd only seen the movies, Maul's last appearance was getting bisected and thrown down a bottomless pit [[Film/ThePhantomMenace twenty years ago]]]].

* TooCoolToLive: [[spoiler:The entire main cast to varying degrees, given that they died sticking it to the Empire, but particularly Chirrut, Baze, and Kaytoo. Also Admiral Raddus, the only guy in the Rebellion brass willing to take the fight to the Empire.]]

* WTHCastingAgency: Despite Creator/StephenStanton having played Tarkin in [[WesternAnimation/TheCloneWars both]] of his [[WesternAnimation/StarWarsRebels animated appearances]], [[http://knmakeup.com/v-web/gallery/albums/MensGrooming/photo_3_17.jpg looking a bit like Peter Cushing]], and being present to voice Admiral Raddus, he doesn't play the Grand Moff in this film. Instead, the character is portrayed by Guy Henry, with Cushing's face recreated with CGI. For what it's worth, Stanton has voiced nothing but approval for Henry's portrayal and the technology that went into it.

* CharacterRerailment: After the prequel trilogy focused more on Anakin/Vader's sympathetic side and the angst that he went through, this movie is the first one in years to portray Darth Vader as a terrifying force of nature like he was in ''A New Hope'' and ''The Empire Strikes Back'', further updated to 2016 standards of NightmareFuel.

** The Red and Gold Leaders reappear through archival footage. Unfortunately, these shots have a noticeably different quality to them (mostly because they're much more grainy) compared to the rest of the film, which sets them apart and makes it obvious that they're both from a different movie.

* EvilIsSexy: Director Orson Krennic. Part of it's from being played by Creator/BenMendelsohn. The rest is to do with his swanky outfit, an all white ensemble complete with a full cape.

** Wilhuff Tarkin sanctions the [[spoiler:obliteration of rebel city Jedha and claims the victory as his own. Tarkin later has the Death Star fire on the [[spoiler:Imperial base on Scarif to quell rebel activity, killing countless members of the Empire's own men as well as his hated rival Orson Krennic, while also wiping out the remainder of Rogue One and Blue Squadron]].

** There's some opinion that, while all of the main cast are interesting -- Chirrut and Baze as former temple guardians and Bodhi as a defecting Imperial pilot in particular -- we never really get to know too much about them or their backstories [[spoiler:and since they're all killed off by the end, we likely never will.]]
** Or not, since Cassian at least is getting [[Series/Andor a spinoff]]. It's possible that other characters will too.

* UnexpectedCharacter: Saw Gerrera's appearance in the film was a surprise to many. He was a character introduced in ''[[WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars The Clone Wars]]'', making it a jump from animation to live-action. While this has since become commonplace for the franchise, at the time it was quite a novelty. Prior to the name reveal of Whitaker's character, there were references in ''[[WesternAnimation/StarWarsRebels Rebels]]'' and ''[[Literature/StarWarsBloodline Bloodline]]'' about Saw, meaning it was to build up the surprise.

** While this is the first theatrical spinoff ''Franchise/StarWars'' film, this is not the first spinoff movie. That honor goes to ''[[Film/StarWarsEwokAdventures Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure]]'', which [[MadeForTVMovie aired]] in 1984. In some international theaters, ''Rogue One'' technically isn't even the first theatrical spinoff.

* UnexpectedCharacter: Saw Gerrera's appearance in the film was a surprise to many. He was a character introduced in ''[[WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars The Clone Wars]]'', making him the first character to jump from a ''Star Wars'' show to a movie, and also a jump from animation to live-action. While this has since become commonplace for the franchise, at the time it was quite a novelty. Prior to the name reveal of Whitaker's character, there were references in ''[[WesternAnimation/StarWarsRebels Rebels]]'' and ''[[Literature/StarWarsBloodline Bloodline]]'' about Saw, meaning it was to build up the surprise.

* UnexpectedCharacter: Saw Gerrera's appearance in the film was a surprise to many. He was a character introduced in ''[[WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars The Clone Wars]]'', making him the first character to jump from a ''Star Wars'' show to a movie, and also a jump from animation to live-action. Prior to the name reveal of Whitaker's character, there were references in ''[[WesternAnimation/StarWarsRebels Rebels]]'' and ''[[Literature/StarWarsBloodline Bloodline]]'' about Saw, meaning it was to build up the surprise.

** It also caught flak for having a few rather gratuitous references to the animated shows that had run earlier and concurrently to it, like background cameos from Chopper and the ''Ghost'' from ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsRebels'' and Saw Gerrera ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars'' being a major supporting character, which were more or less lost on people who only watched the movies. However, these were just bonuses for savvy fans and weren't distracting or confusing for casual viewers; Saw's role as Jyn's mentor and surrogate father is still completely understandable within the context of the movie to people who hadn't watched ''The Clone Wars'', and the other references were kept in the background for eagle-eyed viewers. ''Solo'' got it worse with major plot points that ''only'' worked [[ContinuityLockout for viewers who'd watched several TV shows or read several books]], most infamously its reveal in the last half-hour that [[spoiler:the Crimson Dawn's leader is ''Darth Maul'' - this was a major plot element clearly meant to [[SequelHook set up for possible future adventures]] rather than just a small bonus for viewers well-versed in Expanded Universe works like the later seasons of ''The Clone Wars'' or ''ComicBook/DarthMaulSonOfDathomir'', and for anyone who ''wasn't'' it came completely out of left field, since to a casual viewer who'd only seen the movies, Maul's last appearance was getting bisected and thrown down a bottomless pit [[Film/ThePhantomMenace twenty years ago]]]].

** The religion BadassNormal Chirrut Îmwe practices is basically canonized [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jediism Jediism]].

* MoralEventHorizon: There are many moments when both Krennic and Tarkin commit irredeemable atrocities that crossed this line.
** In the final battle, [[spoiler:Tarkin uses the Death Star superlaser (albeit with a lower power setting, as it doesn't destroy a planet) to destroy the Empire's installation just to kill any remaining rebels and his political rival Krennic. While [[KickTheSonOfABitch Krennic got what he deserved]]]], Tarkin's actions end up killing hundreds, if not thousands, of loyal Imperial forces, showing how little regard he has for lives of the Empire's troops.
** Krennic cemented himself as an irredeemable bastard with his actions on Eadu. When informed that a spy has been leaking out data about the Death Star, Krennic holds Galen's engineering team at gunpoint and threatens to execute all of them unless any traitor confesses. When Galen reveals himself as TheMole and begs Krennic to spare the engineers, Krennic still executes them anyway just to spite Galen for his treachery.

* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotForKids: Some viewers felt that the writers tried to invoke this trope by making ''Rogue One'' as adult as possible, with its more grounded approach and DarkerAndEdgier tone than even ''The Force Awakens''. A few people felt that the loss of whimsy took away the "''Star Wars''" feel, though whether that's a [[GrowingTheBeard good]] or a [[TooBleakStoppedCaring bad]] thing is up for debate.

* {{Narm}}: It's a ''Narm/StarWars'' movie, after all.