An unbalanced but enjoyable film

Rating: 7/10 (24 December 2019)

Rogue One contains many scenes that would likely satisfy Star Wars fans and general viewers alike in the second half of the film. This film appropriately acts as a reasonable "bridge" between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope.
The action sequences and aerial battle scenes were exciting, breathtaking and are definitely worth watching. Several references to the Original Trilogy as well as the Prequel Trilogy were excellent additions to the film.
However, the first half of the film had a somewhat "messy" plot and unbalanced direction. The pacing was also very confusing and incoherent for viewers to follow. The film also suffers from unbalanced development of some of its characters.
Overall, this film functions well as a Star Wars-based war film, and an Anthology film for the Star Wars universe. However, it does not have much to offer to the expanding lore of the Star Wars universe, and has issues with the introduction of new characters.