Darth Vader is truly impressive :)

Rating: 8/10 (21 April 2017)

Reviewing the movie: "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" (8/10 stars)
The previous film; "Star Wars: The Force Awakens", was such a disappointment to me that I wasn't expecting R1 to be any good. However, I'm glad to say those 2 movies are nothing alike.
R1 felt true to the original spirit of the first Star Wars movie (episode4) and feels like it sits perfectly as episode 3½ (which I suppose it's aiming for, although not officially, given the story- line)
There was nothing that felt out-of-place or 'wrong', in how it told the story preceding episode 4, which actually is a bit stunning considering the movie is made 40 years after episode 4.
This is VERY well done! :)
Not even the hair-styles felt out of place.
Also, thank the force, there was no Jar Jar Binks.
So, the story fits, the visuals fit, the sounds fit, in pretty much all regards R1 feels like a true Star Wars film. Understanding how much Star Wars have become almost a kind of religion to fans, that is a really huge accomplishment.
George Lucas himself messed up with episode 1, 2 and 3 (and to some extent also with his re-makes of episode 4, 5 and 6 (although, in all fairness, I do like the remade version of Jabba the Hutt more than the original human character (played by Thomas Declan Mulholland) that was supposed to be in the very first release of episode 4, but ended up as a deleted scene))
And Jeffrey Jacob "J.J." Abrams, who directed episode 7 is just no good at directing (He's good at producing though). Even though he has a cool middle-name he has not directed a single movie I liked ("Mission: Impossible III" was OK, but the rest of his directing- work is all terrible)
So, as a long time fan of Star Wars, watching episode 3½ was like seeing the first real new Star Wars film since episode 6 (from 1983) So for me there are 4 real Star Wars films; episode 4, 5, 6 and now; 3½.
So is there nothing wrong or bad to say about this new one? Yes; the 3D version was 'fake 3D' (as in; a conversion from 2D to 3D), although a very well made 'fake 3D'. If you don't know what to look for, you may not notice it's a conversion, but once you know what 'real 3D' looks like; you can tell it's a conversion. It's not really a problem, unless you're a purist. In my world; 'fake 3D' (conversions from 2D) is to 'real 3D' what CGI-characters like Jar Jar Binks is to real people; just stupid and annoying.
Speaking of CGI-characters; it was actually quite fun to see how Governor Tarkin and princess Leia was brought to life in this. In episode 4 Tarkin is played by Peter Wilton Cushing (He made some seriously cool cult horror-films in the old days. Actually he's made a ton of cool films. A magnificent actor. One of the few really great ones), who passed away in 1994. I guess in the near future real actors will no longer be needed, since it's now possible to hire any face you want. They weren't perfect (the facial movements and eyes still don't look fully natural), but they were close (If you don't know the original actors It IS possible you wouldn't notice). Especially Leia (although she only had one scene, where Tarkin had a full role)
About the story; ever since the original in 1977, female protagonists have been common. This one is no exception. Actually it takes it a bit further; this time the main-lead, Jyn (played by Felicity Rose Hadley Jones), is a full-on solo lead. I guess you could say it does in fact deviate a bit from the originals here, in that we only really get one main-lead. She does have friends that help, but it's not quite the band, or group of close friends, of leads, all with their own personal story-line, like we saw in the originals.
It gives it a bit of a Joan-of-Arc feel, which actually works very well for the story and how it plays out. I don't know if that was an intentional decision, but it happens to fit the story perfectly.
Finally; Darth Vader is, and here it comes across even better than in the originals, just the most formidable villain in all movie- history. The main scene he has in R1 is just too cool. So super awesomely cool that it is down-right epic! Who ever designed that scene... wrote it, filmed it, edited it, lighted it, the lot... that crew is just a pack of pure genius talent! I was just blown away by that scene :) THAT was the REAL Darth Vader right there. Fantastic.
That's it. What a cool film :)