This is how Disney Star Wars should be.

Rating: 10/10 (7 January 2018)

I confess I hated this movie seeing it in theaters. Now after seeing it a few times, I can honestly attest that was because I was too stupid to see the forest for the trees. The plot blasted off leaving me in the dust. I told people I didn't like it, but the strange urge to see it again kept coming back, again and again.
Rogue One is the first movie since the original Star Wars to make me well up with tears out of inspiration.
The first act is a mess of loose, seemingly unrelated plot threads, and this is a detriment to the first viewing. But upon subsequent viewings, these threads are the beginning of something beautiful.
The tone is the thick, oppressive cloud of the Empire and its forces looming around every corner. Characters are walking on eggshells to avoid attracting attention, vigorously going about their business or solemnly complying with invasions of their privacy... all this in the background as plot rolls forward. This movie is dense, the setting is alive.
The pacing starts out at a jog, but slows into a brooding strut when things escalate and subtle characterization becomes more prominently noteworthy.
The second act sees our ensemble cast through their devastating ties to the project and the devastation it leaves instigates discussion and a time for deliberation and action. There is some great character drama here. There is a gray moral area our characters must navigate, but it bears little consequence on the final act... but rather it serves as a tool for character growth.
The structure between the second and third act makes for a cause and effect rather than a direct consequence. The second act is all about the events and character growth that will decide whether or not the third act is even going to happen. The third act is very much a rich emotional payoff to a crowded yet kinetic busy second act.
The first act, for me at least, is given value through exposure to the second and third acts, which facilitates or necessitates second viewings. The threads scattered throughout the first act are merely plot elements being teed up at first glance, but in actuality, it will become retroactively apparent that there is a lot of subtle character set up here as well. So the structure is weird in that it folds back into itself. It is built to be watched again and again.
I can't express how touching I find the main lead Jyn Erso's plight. The ending of this movie inspired me and moved me to tears. Every element of a classic Star Wars film is present and accounted for, and amplified to modern standards. This is Star Wars at its absolute best. It won't stand up to saga films, since it stands alone, but it is the best Lucasfilm has given us since the Disney regime started up.
New characters will insert themselves at the drop of a hat, and it seems like this is nonsensical and lazy until you think about why it happens. It becomes clearer the more familiar you are with the film, which gives each viewing a new layer of information uncovered. The writers injected something I value immensely from the prequel trilogy, which was layered story-telling. Every time I watch it, I notice something new. This movie is a phenomenal middle ground between two divisive trilogies and a perfect bridge between Episodes III and IV.
Visually, Empire and Menace were artistic monsters that pale any other installments in comparison. But in my humble opinion, this movie blows either film out of the water. This film has excellent framing and some truly unique points of reference that Empire really only touches once. The once stunning CGI cityscape of Menace's Coruscant are dwarfed by the mixed digital and practical set pieces in this film. The worlds in Rogue One are living and breathing, a true testament of the power of modern film-making.
The side characters are charming once you get to know them. The themes are wonderfully illustrated through natural dialogue and action. The plot is solid. Any oddities in plot that one might notice upon first viewing will be ironed out with small details or simple imaginative thought the more small details are taken into account.
Compared to its formulaic predecessor, this film is a masterpiece. As for where it fits into the episodic saga, it is a classic. This film alone is worth the Disney sell-out. Even if all the new trilogy films flop for me, I'll have one more phenomenally crafted film to add to my collection.
I consider this film to be flawless.