A great movie about hope and rebellion!

Rating: 9/10 (15 December 2016)

Going into this movie, I was extremely exited, but vary at the same time. Having purposely stayed away from reviews and spoilers, I didn't quite know what to expect. What I did know, was that I was thrilled and overjoyed with having another Star Wars movie to enjoy.
The film's main story is about the rebellion and their mission to obtain the plans for the "Death Star" which we all know is the Empire's super weapon for the film in "A New Hope" and through the Star Wars story line. The film opens with Mads Mikkelsen who portrays the main scientist behind the "Death Star", Galen Erso, with excellence and he manages to show the quarrels and doubts he has about creating such a devastating weapon for the Empire. The main story though, revolves around Jyn Erso, the daughter of Galen Erso, played extremely well by Felicity Jones, and her transition from a wandering criminal without roots, to a leader in the rebellion's mission to obtain the schematics for the "Death Star" which her father, Galen Erso, purposely built with a flaw, which we can later see being exploited in "A New Hope".
Big credits to Diego Luna for his portrayal of Captain Cassian Andor and Forest Whitaker as the extremist rebellion character of Saw Gerrera. There was also memorable performances by Donnie Yen (Chirrut Îmwe), Wen Jiang (Baze Malbus) and Ben Mendelsohn as the Empire's Orson Krennic. There was also two extremely nostalgic flashbacks with the CGI characters of Grand Moff Tarkin and Princess Leia, which were so real I almost teared up when I witnessed it (especially since I've seen "A New Hope" almost 20-30 times as a youngster). We also get a few scenes with Darth Vader and his mission to obtain the schematics for the "Death Star", at the end of the movie, which leads up the opening sequence of "A New Hope". The movie had a few scenes with comic relief, especially from Chirrut Îmwe, and the re-pogrammed droid K-2SO (brilliantly voiced by Alan Tudyk), but overall the suspense and drama were the most integral parts of this movie.
All in all the film has everything a Star Wars fan wants, and this movie was more "human" in it's portrayal of characters and story line. There are no Jedi's to easily fend off 40-50 storm troopers alone, and even though I at times "wanted" Jedi's to appear, the Force is not the main proponent of this story, even if we get glimpse of it at times. The Rebellion and the coming together of the Alliance to obtain the schematics for the "Death Star" was really well done, and when the movie was over I immediately wanted to watch "A New Hope". There are a lot of critics and fans who wont like this movie, as with "The Force Awakens", but make up your own mind and try to be thankful we actually get to see more Star Wars in the future. I for one am thankful and grateful I got to enjoy another Star Wars within a span of 1 year, and I cant WAIT for more to come! 9/10 stars from me!