So briefly, before I get into this topic, let me say this: If you think Rogue One was bad, then you are wrong.
I’m no Lucas apologist, but that movie was awesome. It had everything going for it that Episode One *should* have had. No references to THX 1138, no Wilhelm scream’s, no throwbacks to old lines, just focused on making it a well-told, autonomous story. They broke with the conventions of the other Star Wars stories to create a movie that took its place by the side of the original trilogy. Bravo.
If you need more validation on why Rogue One was amazing, you can check out this Reddit thread. Inevitably, some will find fault with different aspects of the movie but that’s to be expected. In fact, that’s why I’m writing this blog post – it’s time to draw a line in the sand between the people who love science fiction and the creeps who use science fiction as a purity ritual.
I won’t get into all of it now, but it’s something to think about. Sci-fi has this weird orthodoxy attached to it, where a sci-fi movie isn’t a SCI-FI MOVIE unless it conforms to some byzantine equation that only exists in the mind of the angriest geeks. It’s killing sci-fi, it’s why Hollywood yawns, smiles tolerantly at us and ignores us until it’s time for us to open our wallets.