Episode 3.5?

Rating: 10/10 (17 December 2016)

Ever since the publication of the "Admiral Thrawn" trilogy launched the Star Wars Expanded Universe, there have been many stories that have made admirable attempts to fill in the crucial historical gap between "Revenge of the Sith" and "A New Hope." Namely; the events leading up to that fateful transmission of the Death Star 1 plans to Princess Leia. But, once George Lucas sold the franchise to Marvel-Disney, he relegated all those SWEU stories to the status of non-canonical legends!
Now, however, we _have_ a canonical explanation. And the telling of it is done brilliantly and poignantly.
We have new characters like Jyn Erzo (the daughter and only child of Death Star 1's reluctant chief architect) and Director Krennik (the ambitious Imperialist who wants full recognition and sole credit for the battle station's existence). Then, we have the return of old favorites like Governor Tarkin and Princess Leia, herself. The former played by a different actor; the latter, vocally reprised by Carrie Fisher; but, both of them the recipients of ingenious computerized face- matting!
I'm not going to reveal anymore than this, because that wouldn't be fair to the extreme spoiler-phobes among those of you reading this. Suffice it to say that, if you're a true Star Wars fan to any extent, you will love this filler prequel as much as I did. Believe me; it is worth the seven bucks.