A great addition to the Star Wars universe

Rating: 9/10 (24 December 2016)

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story marks the first spin-off movie in the ever-popular franchise and tells the story of how the Rebel Alliance obtained the plans to the first Death Star. For those that wondered if Disney ramping up the production of Star Wars movies would lead to saturation, Rogue One may go some way to allaying those fears because it's a fantastic addition to the Star Wars universe.
A Force Awakens, whatever you may think of it, was criticised by some for its lack of originality. Could Star Wars under Disney really deliver anything new? With Rogue One, that's a resounding yes. Unless you haven't seen A New Hope (those poor few), the ending of the movie is already determined, but this isn't about whether they did it or not but rather how they did it.
Rogue One marks its departure from the canon movies by removing the traditional rolling yellow introduction text and instead just goes straight into the story. This fanboy was momentarily shocked by that but it befits the tone of a spin-off story. We are given a whole new cast of characters (okay, there are a few cameos to watch out for, some minor, some not) and they manage to bear the mantle of a Star Wars story well. There are a couple of famous faces such as Forest Whitaker and Mads Mikkelsen but it's really Felicity Jones as Jyn and Diego Luna as Cassian that carry the movie. All the performances are worthy of praise even if Jyn is a little similar in character to Rey from The Force Awakens.
The inner workings of the Rebel Alliance are shown in more detail than ever before and we get to show how fractious an alliance it really is. There is a palpable feeling of despair as the creation of the Death Star is concluded and how this small band can possibly hope to stand against the might of the Empire. Seeing the immense Death Star appearing over the horizon is a genuinely chilling sight and the impending doom it will bring.
Rogue One succeeds in broadening the Star Wars universe and shows that George Lucas' universe is a rich place indeed and it's fascinating to see the events between episodes III and IV on the big screen. Rogue One manages to dish out its fair dose of suspense but seems perfectly timed at just over 2 hours long. There are no lulls and being a Star Wars movie, there is the usual dose of space battles. There are some innovative tactics by the rebels that will elicit genuine smiles but no spoilers here of course.
Rogue One puts the new Star Wars movies back on track and shows that maybe the franchise is safe in Disney's hands after all. Here's hoping that Episode VIII (scheduled for 2017) will take a few lessons from Rogue One. Keep this up and we Star Wars fans will be a happy bunch.