Awesome Side Story in the Star Wars Universe

Rating: 9/10 (19 July 2017)

Rogue One is a great start for the Star Wars Anthology movie series. It's also the best prequel so far in the Star Wars franchise. I was worried Rogue One was going to go the route of Suicide Squad because of the reshoots. After watching Rogue One with a friend and my mother last year, the movie is one of my favorites beside the Original Trilogy and The Force Awakens.
The main thing I like about Rogue One is it does an amazing job explaining how no one in the Empire knew about the weakness in the original Death Star that was exploited by Luke in Episode IV-A New Hope. It's also great in leading up to A New Hope. Also, Rogue One shows the Rebel Alliance in a different light. It shows that the Rebels are willing to do some dark things like killing people. I found that to be very interesting.
Rogue One isn't without its flaws. One of those flaws is some characters don't have their backstories fully fleshed out. We get a bit more info about Jyn Erso and Cassian Andor than the others. The other members of the Rogue One team are just there for the ride. The movie's main villain, Orson Krennic, and K2-SO were the stand-out characters in Rogue One. It was awesome that James Earl Jones returned as Darth Vader. His appearance in Rogue One was a highlight for me. I had issues with certain characters appearing in the movie because of really obvious CGI. It was very distracting when those characters appeared.
The movie's score was another flaw for me. I loved Michael Giacchino's previous works on movies and shows like The Incredibles, Doctor Strange, and Fringe. His work on Rogue One had to be done in three weeks because the previous conductor, Alexandre Desplat, because of reshoots and he was unavailable. It's obvious that the music was rushed because of that.
Despite those flaws, I really enjoyed Rogue One. It added much needed information and background to the Star Wars Universe. The movie had a great cast. Also, Rogue One is way better than The Force Awakens. Definitely worth adding to my movie collection to watch over and over again. It's also worth a watch for any Star Wars and sci-fi fans.