“It is a period of civil war. Rebel spaceships, striking from a hidden base, have won their first victory against the evil Galactic Empire.

During the battle, Rebel spies managed to steal secret plans to the Empire’s ultimate weapon, the DEATH STAR, an armored space station with enough power to destroy an entire planet.

Pursued by the Empire’s sinister agents, Princess Leia races home aboard her starship, custodian of the stolen plans that can save her people and restore freedom to the galaxy….”

There it is…I have spoiled Rogue One for you.

Of course, if you have any Star Wars acumen, then you were aware that there already exists a sequel for this just released “Star Wars Story”, Rogue One. It is a little film originally known as Star Wars, aka Episode IV: A New Hope.

Those opening lines, from the film in 1977, are the basis for the latest film in the franchise, and to dispense with any aura of suspense I will let you know right now that I loved it.

What follows is a brief “review” of the movie, with NO SPOILERS beyond what is revealed in the trailers. Once you get to the jump–the “Continue Reading” link–it will be ALL SPOILER LADEN conversation. I will kindly give you another warning then.

In brief, Rogue One follows a young band of rebels assigned to steal the plans of the Death Star before its rumored destructive power is used to bring all worlds into subjection to the evil Empire.

Rogue One breaks from tradition is many ways, not the least of which is that most of the characters you will meet are wholly new to the Star Wars universe. Despite this film being a chapter in a much larger existing story, there is a lot that the film makers have to accomplish in the brief 134 minute run time, and while you won’t want it to be over when it ends, you are likely to be satisfied with the end product.

I enjoy going into a film where the actors are largely unknown to me and this is one of the reasons the characters in Rogue One make such an impact. They get to inhabit these characters and make them their own. And each one of them is interesting in their own right and in the way they interact with one another.

The special effects are nothing short of amazing, which is exactly what you would expect from Industrial Light and Magic, but even more amazing is the way in which the design fits so fluidly into the look of the original Star Wars, while also not feeling dated in any way. From special effects to sets to costume design to hair styles, this looked like a movie that takes place right before the events of Star Wars and yet it takes full advantage of how much film making has changed technically over the last nearly four decades.

Rogue One is admittedly darker than what we have seen in the other seven Star Wars films, although Revenge of the Sith got pretty dark there near the end. The “darkness” in this film has much to do with hope vs. despair and with giving Star Wars a more realistic feel without stealing it away from the children who were George Lucas’ initial audience.

I was hooked from the opening. The original trilogy will always be my favorite, with The Empire Strikes Back being my #1, but Rogue One, less than 24 hours after seeing it at any rate, is running a close second. I feel that my engagement in the story was enhanced in a major way due to reading Catalyst last weekend, but none of the others I was with had read it and they all enjoyed Rogue One every bit as much as I did.

When you don’t want to leave the lobby and want to keep standing around talking about a film, you know the film makers were successful in their movie magic.

From here on out THERE BE SPOILERS. As I’ve done with other Star Wars films, I want to write down some specific thoughts about the film. They will not be vague thoughts, they will be very specific. Please see the film before you “continue reading”.

And don’t read the comments either until after you have seen the film. I’m giving carte blanche for as much spoiler-filled conversation as anyone wants to have in the comments section. And as always, feel free to disagree with me as vehemently as you wish.

You have been warned. Go see the film.

Okay, here we go with spoilers.

I did not mind the lack of the opening crawl. Not one bit. I do want to see it continue to be a part of the films that are considered “episodes”, but for these “story” films I like that it provides a visual cue that this is more of a vignette than a big overall story.

I expected Rogue One to be tragic, and frankly would have been disappointed had it not been. I like these rebel characters so much, I really do. Reading Catalyst gave me a connection with Galen and Lyra Erso, and even Orson Krennic, and so on one hand I can understand that I did not want to see any of them die.

But they needed to.

You could do a Rogue Squadron film or maybe a number of other films with new characters who could live on in the universe despite the fact that we never see or hear from them again in the already completed Episodes. But you really can’t do this with the team assembled in Rogue One. What they did became the pivotal point for all that follows and for them to completely disappear and not be an obvious part of what takes place in episodes IV, V and VI simply would be too much of a stretch of credibility.

They had to die for the story to have meaning, and I think the crew who crafted Rogue One did a wonderful job of handling this well, in particular the way the story ended for Jyn Erso and Cassian Andor. Perhaps my only disappointment was in the way that Orson Krennic passed. He is such a scheming, driven character in Catalyst and the film doesn’t really give you much time to have an investment in him without that background, but because of it I was left wishing that he had put up more of a fight. It is a minor, minor quibble.

K-2SO was fantastic. I did my best to stay well away from any information about the film outside of the trailers and the prequel novel, so although I was aware that Alan Tudyk was in the film, it wasn’t until the credits rolled that I knew he voiced the robot. Tudyk is getting good at playing characters who suddenly bite it, isn’t he? In Catalyst and in Rogue One the writers do a great job of having familiar characters (droids, smugglers, scruffy-looking nerfherders) who do not fall into cookie-cutter patterns. K-2SO was not R2-D2 or C-3PO. Is he funny? Undoubtedly. But his humor was more darkly sarcastic, or perhaps fatalistic, in fitting with the mood of the film.

One could complain that we do not really get to know Jyn Erso, or Cassian Andor, as fully as we should. Given that they, and other members of the rebel band, hint at their back stories, it is entirely possible that we will have an opportunity to get to know them further in both novel and comic formats. However, we are given to understand that all of these characters have had a rough and complex background. War is not pretty. Oppression is not fun. And the fight against it has lead these particular characters through ethical and moral dilemmas. Yet even with the constraints of having one film only for fans to develop a connection, the choice of casting for Rogue One allows that to happen.

“Fan Service” is defined as “material in a work of fiction or in a fictional series which is intentionally added to please the audience”. There was a lot of fan service in The Force Awakens. Some people loved it, others hated it. I fell in the camp where I thought there was far too much of it, but my annoyance with it has pretty much dissipated with subsequent viewings. Depending on what one sees as fan service, there may be too much of it in Rogue One, at least that is what some critics point out. Personally I don’t agree with these critics.

I feel like the very obvious moments of fan service were minor and when they existed felt more natural within the story, with possibly the exception of the brief cameo of R2-D2 and C-3PO. But I was glad to see them. I also enjoyed seeing Jyn bump into Dr Cornelius Evazan and Ponda Baba in a nod to the Cantina scene at Mos Eisley spaceport on Tatooine. Given that Rogue One is set firmly in the universe of the original trilogy, there was not as much of a need for writers to try to give fans cues that this was a Star Wars film. As I stated earlier, the look of the film does that in a way that no amount of intentional fan service ever could.

Although he is not in the film for very long, there was far more Darth Vader than I expected and I was glad for it. This was the Darth Vader we know from the first two films (eps IV and V)–dark, menacing, powerful, merciless. More on that to close this post.

I’ve read as many complaints about the CGI presence of Grand Moff Tarkin as I have praise. I expected the character to be in the film, particularly given his inclusion in the story line of Catalyst, and for that reason alone I was glad to see him. He is such an integral part of the original Death Star story that he had to be there. I am glad the estate of Peter Cushing gave them permission to use his likeness. Yes, it was obvious that he was a computer generated character, but I thought the effect was good and I enjoyed having him in the movie.

I thought it was great to see some of the X-wing pilots from Star Wars: A New Hope present in Rogue One with the same actors reprising their roles.

I have read complaints about the prolonged battle scenes. I loved them. I’m wanting a Rogue Squadron film, so give me X-wing battles over and over again. Love ’em. I also felt that adding a drawn out ground battle was very important in lending Rogue One the gravitas it needed and I felt this was handled well.

I was pleasantly surprised by the way Rogue One succeeded in making the Death Star an even more frightening weapon than it was when we saw it blow up the planet Alderaan. The revelation that it could be used for surgical strikes not only makes sense but also makes it infinitely more sinister.

I enjoyed every building, every outfit, every weapon, every creature, every piece of machinery. The aesthetic of Star Wars is grafted into my psyche. I was not quite nine years old when the first film was released. I cannot wait to watch this film again just to concentrate more on the set pieces and the overall design, which I found brilliant in every way.

I liked Rogue One. I have read several reviews now, most of them glowing tributes that I largely agree with. I’ve read some negative reviews where it is painfully obvious the reviewer either does not like, or does not understand, Star Wars. I have read some criticism that is valid when looked at objectively but was clearly not my personal experience, for example, that Rogue One started too slowly. Overall I am pleased with the response that I have seen to the film and have no doubt it will make more than enough money to have justified the efforts which makes me hopeful of seeing many more films with the “Star Wars Story” tagline. But today I’m simply glad that I enjoyed it so much. My expectations for this film were much higher than I had for The Force Awakens and those expectations were exceeded. No where more so than in the closing minutes.

I had no idea how closely Rogue One would get to the events that opened the very first Star Wars film. When it became obvious that it was going to go right up against the capture of the rebel blockade runner, my heart started racing in anticipation. It was there that Darth Vader perhaps had his best scenes in a Star Wars film to date. As he mercilessly mowed down the poor rebel troops hoping to keep him from recapturing the stolen Death Star plans, the tension was palpable. We all knew the plans would leave the ship, eventually be placed within our favorite R2 unit, and find their way into the hands of Luke Skywalker. But as the familiar music reached a crescendo and Darth Vader wielded the force with terrifying efficiency, I felt myself wanting to holler at the screen for the guy behind the mostly closed door to “grab it already!!!”.

As those scenes played out, and the surprising presence of Princess Leia was revealed, you could hear the audience reaction and the film ended with the kind of applause that makes you happy to have experienced going to the movies with like-minded people.

I find myself not minding the break in tradition that has lead to the Star Wars films being released just before Christmas. It makes it feel as if my childhood is reaching forward from the past to give me a special gift.

So what did you think? Love it, hate it, or somewhere in between. Let’s talk Rogue One.