An Amazing Addition to the Star Wars Saga—5/5 For Star Wars (Spoiler Free)

Rating: 7/10 (15 December 2016)

Gareth Edwards and his crew accomplished something I never thought would be possible: they contributed a great Star Wars film to the Star Wars saga and canon.
This movie was great as far as Star Wars is concerned. It truly *felt* like a real Star Wars movie, and not a cheap fan service attempt like the Force Awakens was (although the Force Awakens was very fun, it felt like it didn't take Star Wars itself seriously enough).
So what worked with this one? Here's the list:
1)The story.
It felt like a totally believable space fantasy story, and furthermore a totally believable Star Wars story. It clearly was Gareth Edwards doing his own thing with Star Wars but also paying total respect to the path George Lucas originally paved with a New Hope.
At the end of the day this story is a GOOD Star Wars story and it feels like it can be placed alongside the original trilogy in story quality.
2)Not only the story, but the fact it was taken seriously.
Whether you like the Force Awakens or not, you got to admit, it felt a bit cartoony. It didn't feel like a *serious* addition to the Star Wars saga. It felt as if that the people involved certainly liked Star Wars, but in a very fan-servicy sort of way. Everything felt very "fun" in the Force Awakens, but not serious. Rogue One doesn't fall into this trap. It was an amusing and fun ride surely, but the story was clearly priority here.
Furthermore, the story elements and movie went *dark* when it needed to and didn't hold back. If the story needed death, that's what we saw. If it needed to show slaughter and killing, we saw it.
3)No element of Star Wars was abused.
There was no over abuse of lighstabers, the Force, or any old Star Wars characters. Wherever there was any fan service in this movie, it was done VERY tastefully. A respectful nod to the previous movies, but it never went "HEY LOOK HOW COOL THIS IS. THIS IS SOMETHING YOU GUYS LOVE, RIGHT?"
4)The characters and the actors that played them.
Star Wars is never going to be known as a movie with "great acting", but full credit should go to the actors in this edition of Star Wars. They did a great job of bringing life to these characters— enough for us to care about them and the action occurring on screen, but not so much that it distracted from the ensemble story.
5)The pacing. This movie was perfect Star Wars pacing. And by perfect Star Wars pacing, I refer to Empire Strikes Back. This was not an overly speedy movie that gave you no time to think, and yet it was not an overly slow and drawn out movie.
6)The tie-in with the original trilogy.
This story takes place before A New Hope. And as much as Rogue One completely does it's own thing and takes its own direction as a standalone film, it *beautifully* ties in with the original series. As I said above, I completely believe and accept this story as great Star Wars material as much as I do George Lucas' original stories.
Overall, this Star Wars film is a 5/5 Star Wars film. I only rate it 7/10 on IMDb because, well, Star Wars is Star Wars and not the Godfather :D. As far as Rogue One stands in movie history, it's a great action movie. But as a Star Wars film it now has a special place in my heart.
My personal new Star Wars top 3 ranking goes as follows: 1)Empire Strikes Back 2)A New Hope 3)Rogue One