The Force is with me. I am one with The Force.

Rating: 7/10 (11 August 2017)

"Rogue One" functions as a bridge between Episodes III and IV in this ongoing "Star Wars" film series, telling the story of the ambitious plot to obtain the plans to the armored space station The Death Star and hopefully find a weakness. A character named Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones) is recruited by The Rebel Alliance because it was her father Galen (Mads Mikkelsen) who helped to design the damn thing. Even after Jyn learns from a hologram of her father that it does in fact have a weakness (that he deliberately contrived), the RA won't lift a finger to help her. So she goes "rogue" with various soldiers, a Rebel spy (Diego Luna), a smart alecky droid (voice of Alan Tudyk), and an Imperial defector (Riz Ahmed).
While it is true that the script isn't without flaws, "Rogue One" is a spirited enough adventure. We don't really get to know characters that well, but they possess a basic inherent rooting factor that does help. Director Gareth Edwards handles the scope of the material quite well, and this viewer, for one, didn't feel that his pacing was too sluggish. The expected abundance of CGI was actually fairly impressive, for the most part. The action steadily builds towards an ultimately large scale battle in space that is satisfying.
Best of all, it's nice to see Darth Vader in full bad ass evil villain mode, even if his screen time is limited. Governor Tarkin is also brought back, using the digitized rendering of the image of the late Peter Cushing, and this effect turns out better than expected, if not perfect. Various nods are made to characters and details from Episode IV, such as those characters who pick a fight with Luke in the cantina.
It really does throw you off at first, not hearing that familiar, majestic John Williams theme OR seeing an expository crawl at the beginning. (The score by Michael Giacchino isn't bad at all but it's nowhere near as memorable as anything Williams composed.) Fortunately, once the story kicks in, this becomes a solidly entertaining viewing experience.
The performances from the international cast are decent. Tudyk is amusing as a droid who doesn't ACT much like a droid; he has a sardonic, sarcastic personality. Forest Whitaker is over the top as an extremist character who really doesn't serve much of a purpose.
All in all, "Rogue One" shows the audience a fairly good time, right up until its conclusion designed to lead right into the opening of Episode IV.
Seven out of 10.