A strong Star Wars entry with very vague potential spoilers

Rating: 8/10 (18 December 2016)

It has its flaws, lulls, questionable cgi and flat dialogue moments but overall SWRO is so good that it makes these moments forgivable. The movie feels it has a weightiness to it a desperation with real consequences that had me feeling like no one is safe.
I stayed away from any trailers or media on this movie at all. To me, this movie seemed very character driven, I found myself invested and on board with character motivations and caring for these characters that I knew nothing about previously. The story was engaging and woven so nicely into the Star Wars universe that it had me wondering whether this was a screenplay written in the time of the original trilogy that never got made.
I found it a relief that unlike TFA which I also enjoyed but found it borrowing from ANH on several story plot points, RO was not recycling but actually adding and expanding what we know of the Star Wars universe. I see a definite potential in the SWU in these stand alone single entries to expand and take the franchise in places that you couldn't otherwise go within the main Star Wars franchise movies.
RO has a darker, more at stake tone to it then I expected and I already knew the ending before I went to it but found myself so invested that I was wanting and hoping to be wrong about the conclusion of the film.
Disney seems to have a real knack for doing right by their properties these days and I hope we get to enjoy this kind of quality for decades to come.