Rogue One

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When construction on the Galactic Empire's top-secret weapons project, the Death Star, meets setbacks, the Empire seeks the help of Galen Erso, a brilliant scientist now living as a farmer, and family man. He submits to their request, as his young daughter, Jyn, narrowly escapes with the help of Rebellion soldier Saw Gerrera. In the near future, Jyn is a prisoner of the Empire under a false identity. When a prison transport vehicle is ambushed en route with the intent of rescuing her, she finds both her freedom and fate in the hands of the Rebel Alliance in an absolutely spectacular addition to the Star Wars universe.

This is a great movie, and I enjoyed it quite a bit. The Star Wars feel and atmosphere is well-preserved, and it blends superfluously with the pre-existing films. The entirety of the cast did outstanding jobs; Jyn was a great character juxtaposed with the rest of the cast as a bit of a loose cannon, and K2-SO is everything you could want in a witty, and smart ass droid. Donnie Yen has been one of my favorite martial artists in film for decades, and I very much enjoyed his character Chirrut Îmwe. The score is per usual Star Wars epicness, with fleeting traces of the original Williams compositions popping up at the right moment. The action scenes were intense, and the star fights are some of my favorite in the entire series.

But what really stood out for me, was the cinematography. Hands-down some of the best in the entire franchise; one shot in particular was jaw dropping, and is one I won't soon shake from my mind, and it wasn't alone. There are a lot of gorgeous shots in this film, and some very cool use of light and shadow, in particular the first on-screen reveal of the Death Star, which I found brilliant.

They definitely made something that could stand on it's own sans lightsabers, and if they keep it up, this 'a Star Wars movie every year' thing is perfectly fine with this guy. I loved this movie a lot, and by the end of the final scene I had an enormous smile on my face, because the ending evokes piss-your pants glee for the biggest of Star Wars fans. It was really, really awesome.

So if you're a diehard Star Wars nut like myself, be sure to see this movie!

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