went with another movie-buff and pretty big star wars fan. We were impressed.

Rating: 8/10 (17 December 2016)

Where do I begin? (very mild spoilers - not at all really)
It looks phenomenal. Gareth Edwards and Disney hit the look out of the ballpark.
The minimized nostalgia, that was done with many subtle touches, not with overly sappy, nostalgic scenes like in Force Awakens. I liked Force Awakens. Gave it a 7. Here the nostalgia isn't spoon fed, it's little sidebars. Familiar faces in quick glances, and references that are tied to the first three films. They're all over, but they're not asking for attention.
This film stands firmly on its own and you will b wondering why this wasn't episode 3. It's what episode 3 should have been. It's better than Jedi too. Yea, I said it. Go ahead and make it not useful, but that's my honest opinion.
Love the new characters. Good performances across the board. Solid script. Funny, but it isn't overdone.
I thought it was paced perfectly. Building tension as it went, and ending spectacularly.
Mads, Mendelson, and Jones added some serious brass to this affair. I want to see this again. I'd have sat through it back to back if they'd have let me. Its exactly what they said it was.. a Star Wars story. A story that deserved to be told and in a way that blended it seamlessly with episode 4, and once and for all married the grit of 1976 with the cgi improvements of 2016. An elevated espionage factor helped move the story- line, and everything came together perfectly down the stretch.
So much better than I ever could have imagined. This is the first time I've truly felt like this since 1987. Like we never even left that galaxy far, far away. Of all the Star Wars films made since Jedi, it's easily the most akin to the original trilogy, in look, feel and overall quality.
80/100
Three nit-pick negatives were an early scene when another conspirator was shot next to the Captain. Seemed strange and poorly thought-out, and then another scene were Felicity couldn't muster-up some tears which were desperately needed. The CGI face-rendering was much better than say Tron Legacies' Clu, but still isn't as good as it will be in decades to come. It wasn't too distracting. Everything else was aces.
This still moves into first place for the time being - 43 of 89 films through the '16 watch-list. That's not a crazy fanboy ranking either... here's my scores for previous Star Wars Films for reference.
Episode 4 New Hope - 10/10 Episode 5 Empire Strikes Back - 10/10 Episode 6 Return of the Jedi - 8.5/10 Episode 1 Phantom Menace - 5.5/10 Episode 2 Attack of the Clones 4.5/10 Episode 3 Revenge of the Sith 7/10 Episode 7 The Force Awakens 7.5/10
It's the third sci-fi we've ck'd-out on IMAX. Force Awakens was decent, Arrival was just too slow and uneventful(sure it's thought provoking, but), but this is a good movie. A very good movie.