Between story and technology, a perfect bridge between trilogies

Rating: 9/10 (15 December 2016)

WOW!
Going into this, I expected this to be good, but not THIS good. Deep down, we know overall how the film is supposed to end, with the Death Star plans in the hands of Leia with Darth Vader in pursuit. You know that going in.
What you want to see, though, is the character drama between the band of rebels together through a mix of plan, accident, and fate. Felicity Jones shines as Jyn Erso, but arguably she gets pushed to a supporting role on numerous occasions. On the rebel side, the reprogrammed Imperial droid voiced by Alan Tudyk is the wit and personality of the band, almost to a fault with the number of quips throughout the film.
And on the Imperial side, while his screen time is limited, Darth Vader is the undeniable star, back with more punch. However, on both sides it is also the characters brought back to youthfulness and from the dead through CGI: mainly Grand Moff Tarkin and Princess Leia. Both look great, though CGI Peter Cushing is just fake enough to be distracting in every scene he's in with real actors.
Still, aesthetically this film looks great, with just the right blend of elements of Episodes 1-3 and the visual feel of A New Hope. This is especially telling in the look of the X-Wings. In Episode 7, it's clear the X-Wings have a new feel to them for a new trilogy. In this film, though, the filmmakers did a fantastic job keeping the look of the fighters true to the original physical models forty years ago.
In short: while you may get sidetracked gawking at every single homage to A New Hope they crammed into it, Rogue One truly is a Star Wars story, perfectly setting up THE Star Wars story. You do not want to miss this.