A grown-up and refreshing Star Wars story.

Rating: 9/10 (15 December 2016)

The trailer made me assume something, that Star Wars has grown up, and I wasn't wrong. There's a strong sense of verity with Rogue One. It's different, doing away with certain techniques, yet still baring a few Star Wars' trademarks and honouring other captures that instantly remind you of the rest of the saga. The small elements that nod to the previous movies should invoke plenty of grins among fans, it follows basic Star Wars formula but is dressed up so well it's refreshingly brilliant.
Felicity Jones is so fitting as the estranged anti-heroine, Jyn. She's nothing short of amazing and the emotion she brings is some of the best seen in Star Wars. She's a stubborn survivor, a fighter with a good heart which makes her the ideal rebel.
Diego Luna plays Cassian Andor, the rebel's rebel. We quickly learn he's not as heroic as we might expect which actually raises a question with the alliance making me think of our own current affairs. Lucas has previously drawn his story from many of our own atrocities and cultures, and the writers here seem to be making a point, one I'm not totally comfortable with; which is actually a big plus for me. He's a great choice, reminding me a little of Vincent Cassel.
It must be such a challenge to invent a droid fitting for a new yet old Star Wars film. Awakens did so well with introducing BB-8 to the droid family and Alan Tudyk reprises a robot, baring a slight resemblance to his Sonny from I, Robot. K-2SO has a presence of a T-800 with a high level of abrasive sarcasm, basically a risk-calculating C-3PO with bolt-on aggression that disobeys all of the three laws of robotics.
I'm so glad they didn't repeat the same mistake that Blade II editors did with Hong Kong screen legend, Donnie Yen, which was nothing more than a disappointing tease. Yen has been around since the 80s but possible reached wider audiences with the Ip Man trilogy and having him play the blind and spiritual Chirrut was an excellent choice, having some of the key parts and best lines, I just wanted to see more.
Ben Mendelsohn brings a strong sense of realism to his character, Imperial Director Krennic. Just like Jones, he brings good, strong emotion into his character. In fact, checking the rest of the cast, they all perform superbly. Mads Mikkelsen, Riz Ahmed and Wen Jiang really make up the supporting cast and stand out with the film keeping a good balance. Forest Whitaker's extreme activist was probably the weakest character.
There's a destroyer load of action, more than what I expected and is in typical Star Wars fashion. It embellishes the classic Star Wars style without going so far to distance itself for its parental source. There's certain scenes that'll have you silently shout "YES!" You can tell Gareth Edwards is a loving fan and knows his Star Wars well. See Mr. Lucas, this is what happens when you let the fans continue your legacy.
The film frequently jumps around at light speed for the first part, which starts to become off- putting but it soon passes and is necessary to make sense of the plot. What comes after is a non-stop, epicness on a galactic scale, the starships and the incredible, fluid star battles go above and beyond amazing.
It's shows a different light of the rebellion, providing an intelligent, better understood foundation of the alliance, being exactly what they are, rebels but disjointed, possibly misguided and not entirely united, not everyone singing from the same page. It's about those that hate the imperial rule yet sit just outside the governance of the alliance, I think where a lot of us can relate to with our current climate. This gives the rebellion cause and a firm footing, the key stone to the original trilogy, a prefect bridge in terms of story making more sense to A New Hope and seeing what actually happens behind closed doors. *winks*
It's predictable but not in a bad way, you know what's coming but instead of sighing at the inevitable you eagerly look forward to how it'll play out. Being given a taste of these characters with little background, similar to what the A New Hope did with characters like Han Solo and Chewbacca, they making them likable yet only hinting at their history. I want to know more about these characters too now.
There's a successful mix of CGI with real costumes, locations and cosmetics, gladly not making the mistake Lucas did back in the 2000's. They do a fine job of replicating that '77 look especially when going TRON with a couple of familiar faces. It's like walking into a zoo of Star Wars characters saved from extinction, your eyes pointing at each one acknowledging who or what they are.
But where does it place among the rest of the saga? I find Rogue One far superior than Force Awakens for a number of reasons. While it has its humour and wisecracks, it's not silly or as clichéd as Force Awakens. It lacks the forgivable mistakes of Awakens, but don't get me wrong, I rated Awakens quite high giving it 85% (read the review here), but that was mostly because it was for the fans made by a fan, a proper Star Wars movie. Edwards has simply raised the bar above J.J. Abrams, but that's what we want right? Wouldn't be satisfying if it was worse and anticlimactic of if it was equally good.
Of course, I will be watching this again, possibly multiple times, I was even tempted to catch the 3:15am showing straight after if it wasn't for work and aching bum cheeks. It's the intergalactic western that mimics the sacrificial heroics, war and western movies did so well. This is the Star Wars film you have been looking for.