*Spoilers* A true Star Wars film, made with love.

Rating: 9/10 (10 January 2017)

This is a serious Star Wars film that primes the watcher for the greatest movie trilogy ever created.
I've read a lot about Rogue One over the past week or two. I've seen it 3 times, twice at IMAX 3D and once in normal 2d. I've read some pretty cutting criticism, and seen some overly friendly reviews. I'm naturally a critical person and I was worried for this film, primarily because the director Gareth Edwards made a film that I didn't finish despite having paid a cinema entry ticket; Godzilla. I left halfway through.
On my first watch of Rogue One, I briefly fell asleep halfway through. Admittedly I had *ahem* had a late night the evening before... Christmas drinks. I think it's fair to say that this film has some flaws and one of those flaws is a flaw that it shares with Godzilla. It suffers from a slightly bloated mid-section. It's not a major flaw, but a flaw nonetheless. Other flaws include the slightly forced fan service; the inclusion of C3PO and R2D2 felt a tad annoying and pointless, as did the addition of the "Cantina ruffian" in Jedha. We don't need this in every Star Wars film. We really don't. These are minor issues.
This film is packing the greatest 45 minutes of action yet seen in any Star Wars film, and the rest of the film is simply an elaborate set up for this crescendo. It's a long time since I had to suppress an urge to punch the air in public, but there I was witnessing the Rebel fleet exit hyper space above Scarif - to the tune of John Williams Death Star attack music - as they arrived to support the Rogue One mission on a crazy suicide, all-or-nothing attack to get the plans on the planet below. It's exhilarating, hair-raising stuff that felt like the arrival of the Riders of Rohan at the fields of Pellenor, except... it's Star Wars. A great moment.
Every Star Wars fan knows the end result of this story, but the tension as the attack gathered pace was beautifully crafted by the director, ensuring that although we all know what is coming there is still a room full of tension. There has been criticism of the character development in this story, but these criticisms feel vapid to me. Enough time was given to understand the motivation of all of the motley band of Scarif attackers. We didn't need to understand every single life nuance of Boba Fett to enjoy his character in Return of the Jedi so why do we suddenly need it here - that's not what Star Wars is about. What we do get is a tragic story arc for every character, all of whom gather under the banner of the Rebel alliance. They all have different histories, motivations, and reasons for being there, but it all comes down to the urge to fight back against a clear evil.
They all make the ultimate sacrifice to give their cause a chance, and I found it exhilarating and life-affirming, sad but uplifting.
The musical score does the story justice in the absence of John Williams, plucking at the heart strings when "Star Dust" breaks at the sight of her father, not seen since childhood, and lifting you on a wave as the action scenes unfold, with a stirring new Imperial theme as we see Vader foiled at the end staring after the Corellian Corvette that makes off with the plans.
Many of the reviews I have seen have spent a lot of bandwidth moaning about quibbles, like the use of hardware seen in other films (RLM tediously spend a lot of airtime complaining about the use of At-Ats), or the fan service references, or the effects on Tarkin or Leia. These additions are not simply cheap attempts to give one positive reinforcement, but feel to me more like successful attempts to make this film fit with the feel and atmosphere of the original trilogy. I think this is done very successfully indeed.
This film feels like a genuinely excellent addition to the original trilogy. It's serious in a way that the Force Awakens sometimes wasn't and it felt to me like a Star Wars film aimed towards an adult audience in thrall to the original films. So that's a hell of a lot of people. I think Gareth Edwards did brilliantly, and this is a more fitting addition to the films than the Force Awakens. Don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed the Force Awakens, and will do so again, but am fully aware of it's slightly infuriating imperfections and occasional cartoony feel. Rogue One has none of this.
The story is serious, emotional, fun in parts but never cheesy, exhilarating for the last hour, and it achieves a staggering amount in sending us off to a New Hope with a fresh but heart-warming perspective. If anything, it does what I thought would be utterly impossible, and it makes the original Star Wars: A New Hope beginning feel even more serious and dangerous. It crystallises the vicious threat posed by Vader, and grounds the vulnerability and desperation of the Rebel alliance more than any previous film. It sets up the arrival of Luke Skywalker and his sister in a way that I never expected.
Well done Gareth Edwards, and thank you!