A great addition to the Star Wars Saga

Rating: 8/10 (25 December 2016)

I remember leaving the cinema feeling absolutely stunned. I was filled with all sorts of different emotions that the film gave me and I also felt surprised - all in a good way. I was amazed at how Rogue One felt more like the truly epic space opera film Star Wars is - fitting more into the universe than I felt the The Force Awakens did, it simply felt more serious and mature. The film is seen from a different perspective as the main character is not a user of The Force, and it had a larger emphasis on war as a whole, with a darker tone compared to previous Star Wars films.
The battle scenes were very well done, both on ground and in space simultaneously. Great visuals on an epic grand-scale battle scene that we know from Star Wars. The end battle scene in Rogue One can easily rival the great end battle of Return of the Jedi or at the start of Revenge of the Sith. As Gareth Edwards said: "It's the reality of war. Good guys are bad. Bad guys are good. It's complicated, layered; a very rich scenario in which to set a movie."
The CGI in this film was downright absolutely astounding and was very well made - They brought back Tarkin, and he is by far the best CGI I have personally seen to date in any film, while he wasn't perfect, he was definitely convincing. The film has many diverse and breathtaking new planets & locations. One of the planets being Scarif as we have seen from posters and trailers, but also smaller Imperial Bases on asteroids and planets. My favorite location in the film has to be Darth Vader's Castle.
It was great to see all the references to the original trilogy and the prequels, the film included old characters, one of them being Darth Vader as we saw in the trailers. The film was packed with tons of ships, creatures, and many more great moments that connected the film to the rest Star Wars saga, as well as the two animated series. It also had a ton of comedic moments and lines as we known and love from the previous films.
As to the characters, I wish they had used a couple more of unknown actors rather than the established ones we might already know from other films. While I mostly liked all the characters, I would had preferred they didn't include characters like Chirrut and Baze, since they just felt put in for no reason, perhaps removing them would help the rest of the characters develop further. That aside, all of the characters were definitely different and interesting.
The ending was a good conclusion to the story of the film, and there is a surprisingly clear connection to A New Hope, and a great scene with Vader that has to be one of my favorite out of all the films.
Overall Rogue One is a job well done by Gareth Edwards, he made a serious Star Wars film that both fans and non-fans alike will enjoy. Worth a watch!