Star Wars 3.5, well done.

Rating: 9/10 (16 December 2016)

**NO SPOILERS** Another feather to add to the cap, for the Star Wars franchise, Rogue One satisfies and thrills entirely. With engaging character- building and location development, this movie seamlessly ties together pace, emotion and realism. True human flaws are depicted with delicacy, however without the loss of that grand, old valiance and righteousness that we all love, in our leading characters. Despite being introduced to them for the first time, through the course of the film, we connect and empathize with the characters and feel like we've always known them-- which is a tough feat to achieve, especially because the movie had to bear the burden of not having anyone(much) from the Episode Films. This had me wishing, (although unjustly, I know) for the ending to be different.
But the little that we do get to see of our old beloved characters, is enough for at least the hardcore fans' hearts to feel content. Darth Vader is given to us in just the right quantity with it feeling neither like a repetition of Episode 4 nor a completely detached story. Jyn Erso is the perfect rogue-turned-hero and her rebel allies are just as sharp and driven. Cassian(Diego Luna) is a warrior in the true sense of the word and the war that he and his team fight is gritty, convincing and unpredictable, just like it should be. It would be unfair to leave out K-2SO from this review, as he is a delight to watch, perfectly balancing the mechanical features of C- 3PO and the sass and persona of R2D2 (**Minor Spoiler**both of whom, I'm happy to say, are given a couple of seconds on screen).
It is a much required "prequel" and is important to the saga to bridge the events of Episode 3 and 4. The visuals, as expected, are worth watching in 3D and IMAX and reach their full peak towards the end of the movie resulting in a spine-tingling climax. For someone like me, who never really is out of the Star Wars spirit, this is just what I needed. If this is any indication of the future spin-offs to come then I can say that things are looking very bright ahead, indeed. And now, begins the wait for Episode 8 (hey, that rhymes!).