Diego Luna, Felicity Jones, and the voice of Alan Tudyk (Walt Disney Studios)

Last Christmas, The Force Awakens reinvigorated a franchise that all but the most devoted Star Wars fans had given up on. Unfortunately, despite a strong cast, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story seems more like a stop-gap measure than another franchise hit.

It opens with the familiar, “A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away,” but without the expository crawl and theme music, which means it’s already missing the chill of nostalgia that John Williams’ iconic score invokes, no matter how corny. (Michael Giacchino’s score suggests Williams without forging his own path).

But its opening scene, a battle of wills between two great actors, is a promising start. Scientist Galen Erso (Mads Mikkelsen) is confronted by Empire Director Orson Krennic (Ben Mendelsohn), who will use Erso’s talents, by force if necessary. Erso’s young daughter Jyn (Beau Gadsdon) watches from a distance as her mother is killed and her father seized by the Empire for its nefarious world-bothering purposes.

It’s the stuff of myth—or at least, of other Star Wars movies. Years later, the adult Jyn (Felicity Jones) becomes a pawn in a game to find her father, who under duress has built for the Empire a Death Star capable of destroying an entire planet.

So far, not bad. The story picks up players along the way, including pilot Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) and his wisecracking droid K-2S0 (voiced by Alan Tudyk), who’s a sort of hulking black metal Jar Jar without the unfortunate patois. The movie’s most inspired character may be the blind martial arts master Chirrut Îmwe, played by Donnie Yen.

If Rogue One gets at least one kid to see one of Yen’s insanely entertaining Ip Man movies (he even fights Mike Tyson in the last one), then it may all be worthwhile. Alas, it gets weighed down and muddled just when its forces begin to unite toward their cause. When the action pivots on the exciting plot point of data transfer rates … well it should resonate among people of all ages who want a reliable data plan, but somehow this mundane crisis doesn’t seem elevated to a planetary level of urgency.

Director Gareth Edwards is a special effects wizard who helmed the 2014 Godzilla reboot, and if Rogue One threatens to spit out the kind of wooden dialogue that killed The Phantom Menace, his actors do a decent job of making it sound like conversation. Mikkelsen’s villainous turn in Doctor Strange should have made him a shoe-in for a larger, more sinister role in this world, but he does fine in his limited capacity. Mendelsohn is less successful; his slightly effete middle-manager would work great in a smaller movie, but although he exudes a subtle menace he doesn’t emit the kind of evil sparks needed for a picture of this scale.

Treated as a standalone movie in the Star Wars universe, Rogue One connects with the other films in ways that will become pretty clear. It’s far from the worst entry in the series, but it doesn’t make one want to camp out in anticipation of Rogue Two.

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Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
Directed by Gareth Edwards
Written by Chris Weitz and Tony Gilroy; story by John Knoll and Gary Whitta, based on characters created by George Lucas.
With Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, Alan Dudyk, Ben Mendelsohn, Mads Mikkelsen, Donnie Yen, Forest Whitaker
Rated PG-13 for extended sequences of sci-fi violence and action
134 minutes
Opens tonight at a theater near you