Rewriting Rogue One’s most irksome scene — (Spoilers!)

Felicity Jones looking as confused by the script as Rogue One’s plot is

I want to talk about Rogue One — and my problem with the final cut.

I preface this by admitting the film was a commercial success, grossing more than $1bn globally — success that was reflected in the audience meta-reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, securing 84% fresh from critics and an 86% audience score. That’s decent numbers.

Nevertheless, the film left me feeling empty, and it took a second viewing a few years later on Netflix to really grasp why. Specifically, it took one scene to pinpoint my frustration with the film.

My problem is with the writing — the agency, character development and dialogue. And the scene I want to examine comes smack-bang in the middle, following the X-Wing bombing run on the Imperial research facility on Eadu.

To refresh your memory

We’ve just seen Jyn and Cassian land on rain-drenched Eadu (accompanied by those supplementary characters who do nothing and you can’t remember their names) in order to ostensibly rescue Jyn’s father, Galen, from the Imperial base, but whom Cassian has orders to assassinate.

Cassian heads up to a ridge to find a good sniper’s vantage point, taking the pilot, Bodhi, with him as his spotter to identify Galen (presumably they didn’t have photographs a long time…