I saw this movie the day after Carrie Fisher died

Rating: 9/10 (29 December 2016)

I saw this movie the day after Carrie Fisher died, so I can't separate my feelings about Rogue One from my mixed grief and nostalgia. I was one of those kids who dressed up as Princess Leia, and of course, added a toy lightsaber, because obviously she was supposed to have one even if it wasn't in the movie. Leia was one of the very few characters I identified with as a child who matched my physical gender, although I have to admit I actually identified more with Luke. The last Star Wars movie showed me General Organa looking like a genuine older woman, and for the first time, in my whole life, I have looked at a major hero character in a science fiction show -- movie or TV -- and thought, that character looks like me. People like me exist in that universe. Because of that, I am writing a spoilery review because I cannot otherwise express how much I loved this. The very last scene in Rogue One unexpectedly showed me Princess Leia, looking exactly like she did the first time I saw her. I don't know if that was footage deleted from the original Star Wars like some of the stuff in the battle scenes (Gold Leader's lines for example) or whether it was a digital recreation like Tarkin. Whatever it was, it took my breath away. It was a fitting tribute to the late actress, and was stunningly more appropriate than the filmmakers could possibly have anticipated when they put it there.
If I hadn't been watching this through the lens of Fisher's death, I might have just seen it as a war movie. Putting the wars in Star Wars, this is basically The Dirty Dozen in space, and I like it. There is action, action, action, and no darn ewoks or jar jar or anything equivalent. There's even a sort of Jedi, although it's not clear if he's actually a real Jedi or just a devotee. I took one point off for having a slightly confusing beginning. At first I was unsure if the little girl was Rey or not. Turned out, not.
It didn't really detract from the story, but I wonder where the Bothans were? "Many Bothans died to bring us this information" is basically the entire reason for this movie, so it would have been cool if some of the fighters who died in the movie had been Bothans. Or I guess since they are just ignoring all the official Star Wars novels I've gotten from the bookstores over the years, maybe in the Disney Star Wars the Bothans aren't furry aliens. If Bothans were just a kind of human like Alderaanians then I guess this would work fine.
Bottom line: Fun movie with a huge bonus for Leia fans. The action and effects are worth seeing on the big screen. See it in the theater.