Slight spoiler near end of review with warning: Star Wars is still a saga

Rating: 8/10 (25 December 2016)

Firstly, if you're not a fan of Star Wars already this episode is not likely to win you over. Otherwise, I think it continues to set the bar of emotional intensity that hopefully upcoming episodes will match.
The visuals remain great: fantastic landscapes while continuing to blend reals sets and locations with CGI so one rarely gets that annoying 'my video game looks better' vibe. The big screen and 3D are once again the venue needed to take it all in.
I think this is significantly different film than "The Force Awakens" which I thought was a long overdue fantastic continuation and reboot of the Star Wars series. "Rogue One" is grittier, darker and really not family friendly. I could say it is the antithesis of "The Return Of The Jedi". Like others have reviewed, I would tend to call it a war drama, one that increases in intensity with war torn looking characters as the movie progresses. Every member of the rebellion is not a clear cut hero for the first time as well.
No spoiler in saying that the plot is retrieving the secret Death Star plans, and Episode IV already revealed of course they were successful. But this is still a standalone film in all other ways, even if an imperfect one.
I personally like characters that are expressive and complex, and for the first part of "Rogue One" I felt like I wasn't getting it. By the end I did.
Slight spoiler ahead not in plot but in my opinion why the character portrayal made perfect sense towards the end of the movie. As one learns more about the variety of 'protagonists', it becomes evident that every main person in the crew including the lead is traumatized. My understanding of traumatic response is one can lose their emotional affect and not have the normal range of highs and lows. These seem like real rebels: disturbed by their pasts, steadfast to their cause and resigned to their fate. If you never really hated The Empire and Darth Vader before, you likely will after this films ends.
For the first time in a long time, I will be going into future Star Wars episodes with high expectations of a poignant, complex and visually stunning journey into a galaxy far far away. Hard to imagine how they can keep it all going. If they do it should be amazing. Just no more Death Stars please.