Jyn is written in a similar fashion to most Ken Follett historical fiction protagonists. They aren't the catalysts of the story per se but they participate in major historical events and show interpersonal growth. Jyn went from feeling bitter and abandoned to someone who had hope. FWIW, Jyn has her heroic moment when she transmitted the data off the base forever changing the fate of the universe.
Right, there's nothing wrong with a framing device protag who has a personal journey amidst the overall plot. My problem with Jyn as a character comes from she is given catalyst importance from beginning to end while not being very interesting or very effective.
You got the feeling she went from bitter to hope but I always got the impression from the beginning she was just fatalistic and by the end she still feels fatalistic. She was running from the Empire precisely because she knew fighting them she would die and she wanted to live. Then by the 3rd act we see Jyn is going to fight the Empire but she still knows fighting them she will die. That could be construed as character growth except we never see the impetus for that change. The biggest event she has before her decision to fight back was Galen dying and Cassian yelling at her but we're never shown that Jyn has a moment to think on those and reach any sort of conclusion. She is just at the next scene ready to fight. I wouldn't mind that she wants to fight too but somehow this makes her the leader too?
So she's changed to want to fight, despite a likely death following, but despite being relatively unimportantance in the over Rebel Alliance, a giant squad of Commandos decide to follow her to their deaths too. Even more perplexing is that Chirrut and Baze, who met her maybe only hours to a day before, follow too on this quest that will likely lead to their deaths. Cassian as well seems to give up leadership to her too despite being shown as an experienced infiltrator and spy. Bodhi I can understand because he's Galen Erso's biggest fan but everyone else has little reason to follow her or better to even have her come along. Of course she's the leader though because she's the main protagonist but then she does very little heroic until the end of the movie.
So we get to the end. The big confrontation we've been waiting for. They've set up who Director Krennic is, the man who kidnapped Galen and ruined Jyn's life. They've set up who Jyn is, the woman who lost her father to the Death Star and Director Krennic twice (though the Rebel Alliance is who actually killed him). She's finally meets him to get vengeance and he says "...who are you?" and she responds "You know!" and he still fails to figure it out. And hoenstly this confrontation is symbolic of all the problems Jyn has in this movie. Who is she and what has she done that Krennic would care about her up until now? Until a little bit before not only was Krennic unaware of who she was but practically unaware of anything she had done in the movie. It's this moment that deflates the movie for me no matter how interesting the battle is, because it signifies how beyond the battle there wasn't anything else to the movie. The clash between characters ultimately ended being and meaning nothing because Krennic at this point had no reason to even care about Jyn. And further, it's not her who defeats him, this man who upended her life and ruined it forever, it's Cassian who even gets to hurt him while Jyn does her data transmission.
Overall Jyn's purpose in the story should have been a participate whose importance was being their for the grand pivotal moment in history and whose little contribution and personal journey adds up to a lot, I've enjoyed those stories in the past. But she's never presented that way with having so much of the story revolve around her. She's alot of the reasons things happen in the plot and drives it, but for the majority of it besides the beginning we see so little about her or her motivations. Because of that she's not really a character to me and whatever little they give her isn't interesting. She becomes less of a character in the story and more a vehicle that plot uses to drive it to the next planet.
Inside Jyn's Brain: "Bitch, literally a couple hours ago you tried to kill that same father"
It's pretty easy. Which movie has Director Krennic in it, and which movies don't?
Alright, no lie, for as much as I don't like Rogue One I love Director Krennic and every scene he's in.