The One to Bring Back the Balance

Rating: 9/10 (17 December 2016)

Man, my faith in the force has finally been restored. In the biggest way possible.
After four disappointing entries, Disney finally brought the balance back with the very best Star Wars movie since Empire. So we went from the second worst Star Wars movie in 2015 (if you count the Holiday Special as dead last) to the second best just one year later.
Rogue One, "a Star Wars story," is something barely short of masterpiece filmmaking. Where the copycat The Force Awakens was *supposed* to feed off our nostalgia for the Star Wars universe by bringing back most of the original cast, it failed in creating new and interesting characters with depth, people we cared about and have unique personalities. Rogue One accomplished all that in the first fifteen minutes and by a landslide.
I cared about these (new to us) characters. I loved their lines, their chemistry amongst each other, their heart and complexity. While this is all good and I highly praise Rogue One for this, I am sad because this was supposed to be Episode VII's job since that one carries us into the future and this movie was a stand-alone leading right up to Episode IV: A New Hope.
Yes, the movie is another prequel and it marks the fourth of eight Star Wars sagas (now excluding the Holiday Special) that has to do with the Death Star. But, damn, the story is rich, the visuals – including the incredible background shots – were absolutely amazing and it was the most original and heartfelt Star Wars movie to date. I even had to battle my own tears back towards the inevitable conclusion.
On the simple side, the movie tells the tale of the rebels who fought to bring back the Death Star plans to the Rebellion so Princess Leia, R2D2, et al can exploit the Empire's first of three Death Stars. I knew this synopsis going in and I actually did have hopes after being so let down with The Force Awakens. I just had no idea how much more complex it would be thanks to the expanded and interesting story and characters.
I loved this movie from the first couple of minutes, and it just got progressively better and better. It also helped the humor was spot on and had me rolling. Especially from my now second favorite droid, K-2SO just under C-3PO.
Since A New Hope began the series as the fourth chapter in 1977, this might be also a good starting point for Star Wars virgins. You literally can begin here and lead yourself into the original classic. The only downfall, with the exception of The Empire Strikes Back, you see the highest quality and best shot film of the series upfront and while some other chapters are still very well made, they do whither in comparison.
***
Final thoughts: No spoilers, but one of the best plot points of this movie was that they explained the biggest plot hole from A New Hope, one that people have made fun of for generations. And they do it in great detail. Heck, it's practically the whole movie. Well done.
Here's my list from best Star Wars features to least:
1. Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back 2. Rogue One 3. Episode IV: A New Hope 4. Episode VI: Return of the Jed-I 5. Episode III: Revenge of the Sith 6. Episode II: Attack of the Clones 7. Episode I: The Phantom Menace 8. Episode VII: The Force Awakens 9. The Holiday Special (are we back to counting this?)