Full disclosure: I love the Star Wars series and I think that they’re great movies (with the exceptions of stories I-III because Hayden Christianson cannot act, I don’t care who you are). But I have only seen them each once or twice. That being said, from where I’m standing Rogue One is an incredible addition to the Star Wars canon.

Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones) has had a troubled life. Witnessing the death of her mother and the capture of her father by Imperial forces; getting raised and trained as a soldier by a half-crazy rebel; getting captured and sent to a work camp. It hasn’t been great. But when she’s rescued by the Alliance, she learns that she’s of use to them. Jyn’s father, Galen Erso, is an engineer working for the Empire on a new super-weapon called the Death Star. Hoping to leverage Jyn’s parentage, the Alliance sends her out too meet with Saw Gerrera, her father’s old friend and the man who raised her, with the ultimate goal of gaining intelligence about the new weapon. The film then follows Jyn as she joins Cassian Andor (the beautiful Diego Luna) and the rest of the Alliance to capture knowledge of the Death Star and defeat the Empire.

Wow. It’s been a minute since I saw a two-hour movie that kept me captivated. What a great standalone. Rogue One does a fantastic job of bridging the gap between introducing us to a new storyline and new characters while keeping the original world of the films intact. Everything fits spectacularly well. We’re able to follow a new story with new characters that perfectly fits the vein of the entire series without compromising quality. It somehow manages to keep itself current while also paying due homage to the films from the 70s and 80s.

The movie also does a fantastic job of balancing humanity, humor, and the realities of rebellion. While the charismatic characters and post-rebellion context of The Force Awakens kept its mood a little lighter (in general), the mood of Rogue One is far more heavy, showing the human impact of the Empire’s efforts to snuff the Alliance. Children being raised in politically tumultuous times, and the violent instability as the two sides fought, are really clearly portrayed by the two mains Jyn and Cassian. And the things that we’re witness to in the original series gain new context as we get a closer look at the people that made them possible.

It’s also interesting to see such an objective-driven storyline. They need to get the Death Star plans. That’s the goal. And their will to complete that goal encapsulates the whole rebellion. The themes of hope when all is lost make it truly memorable. “Rebellions are built on hope.” Hell yeah.

SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS!

I also really liked how neatly this film wraps itself up. Despite the possibility that there is for these heroes’ stories to continue, there’s a reality in the ending that I wasn’t expecting. Sometimes greatness has to occur at the cost of great sacrifice, and the idea of serving a greater good is something that really resounds at the end of Rogue One.

OKAY! OKAY! OKAY! OKAY! OKAY! OKAY! OKAY!

All in all, Rogue One is a fantastic addition to the Star Wars canon that pays homage to its predecessor films while remaining currently relevant. Great characters, great story, great cinematography, great film.

9.5 outa 10. Must-see.