The war in Star Wars

Rating: 10/10 (24 December 2016)

Gareth Edwards here presents a worthy addition to the Star Wars canon, telling the tale of how the original Death Star plans were stolen and transmitted to the Rebel Alliance. The film fits seamlessly into the timeline, but is of a wholly different nature to the previously released seven movies.
This film is darker and grittier, and does not shy away from the bitterness and loss of war. There is some good acting here and a fair amount of psychology between many of the actors. The CGI is used moderately and not unnecessarily. There was a good feeling of "reality" on many of the planetary scenes. Some characters from Star Wars IV are present but are not used out of proportion to their involvement.
Humour comes mostly from K-2SO, a re-programmed Imperial droid. The two leads, Felicity Jones as Jyn Erso, the daughter of the Death Star's designer, and Diego Luna as Cassian Andor, a rebel captain, are intense and fit the mood of the film very well. There is good support from actors on both sides of the conflict.
There are no Jedi in this movie, but there is a priest who uses the Force in combat, and Darth Vader shows a trick or two, especially near the end, so the film suffers in that respect, but more than makes up for it in the quality of the set design and effects, the absorbing and interesting story, the chemistry between characters on both sides, the clever splicing in of rebel captains from A New Hope in their fighters, and the obvious love and care with which this film has been crafted.
See this movie, you won't regret it.