First Take: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story- this is NOT Episode VIII

Spoiler free as usual. Because Darth Vader doesn’t forgive and he never forgets. 

SYPNOSIS: The Rebellion makes a risky move to steal the plans for the Death Star, setting up the epic saga to follow.

Single-handedly the film that we have all been awaiting for the last 12 months, the return to that galaxy far, far away has finally arrived, and while it is brilliant, there are a few gripes that hampered my enjoyment.

Gareth Edwards has been very faithful in his direction of the film, with lots of subtle nods to tropes from within the series, and the way he has done it feels like the film was made in the 70s in line with the original Trilogy- that is nothing short of incredible. He directs from a good script from Tony Gilroy and Chris Weitz, however, there are a few pacing issues that made the 2 hour 14 minute epic a slight challenge to sit through- but the final 40 minutes are worth the price of admission alone.

Performance wise, there is some great work from Felicity Jones, but the supporting cast are incredible, with the supporting cast including Diego Luna, Mads Mikkelsen, Riz Ahmed and Forest Whitaker cementing their place in the Star Wars universe- but Donnie Yen (of the Ip Man films) has one of the best and funniest roles of the year. Oh, and as confirmed at Star Wars Celebration this year- the most menacing villain in cinema history is back, and with James Earl Jones providing the voice of Darth Vader, it feels like Star Wars is here to stay every year.

The cinematography from Greig Fraser is brilliant, once again fitting in with the style of the saga films, and the score from Michael Giacchino is just proof that the composer has had an incredible year of work- and taking the baton from John Williams is a big deal in this franchise. The film feels different, and that is exactly what Lucasfilm want.

THE VERDICT

Die hard fans will get a kick out of this film, but unfortunately the Force isn’t as strong here as I had hoped- the running time is a little bit overkill, but it is still a solid piece of filmmaking that slides effortly into place before Episode IV.

RATING- 4/5