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Rogue One: A Star Wars StoryBelieve in the rebellion.It's hard to believe, that despite being one of the biggest film series in history, The Star Wars series has yet to see a cinematic spin off, over its now 30+ year run. Despite a cartoon series, comics and numerous expanded universe books. The Star Wars series remained largely outside the spot light, forgoing opportunities to push out spin offs and sequels, up until the series acquisition by Disney in 2012. In most scenarios this would be a good thing, saving the series integrity after the questionable prequels. However after 2015s Force Awakens successfully brought the series back and recently walking out of a viewing of Rogue One this past weekend, this may be the first time a corporation buying a series out is a good thing. When the end credits rolled on Rogue One, I left fully convinced not only of Disneys control of the Star Wars license but of the potential for the future of the expanded universe. It is a visually stunning, gritty and well acted war movie, that manages to show a different side of Star Wars while also being faithful to its source material.Set before A New Hope. Rogue one's story follow Jyn Erso, an outlaw who due to reasons I won't spoil, finds herself forced to help the rebellion, after a pilot defecting from the empire claims to have info on a super weapon they've been building (something strikingly moonlike). I'll keep things vague in this review, though as most know Rogue One is the story of the team who acquired the original Death Stars plans (the plans that would assure the rebels successful assault on the Death Star, 39 years ago). It was impressive that despite having a predetermined ending, Rogue One actually manages a few surprises, as well as some good retconning explanations for events in the originals. Though it's still the small band of rebels up against the impossibly large force of the empire (seriously the emperor needs to invest in better troop training). Many moments aren't quite as cut and dry, with spanners being thrown in the works and moments of questionable morality. There's nothing particularly out there or drastically different, though for Star Wars the very definition of good versus evil, it felt refreshing.The film can be broken up into three parts, with the first being the weakest. As we are introduced to the characters and drip fed plot, it isn't bad however it can feel a little disjointed, hopping from character to character before we know any of they're names. It feels necessary however, when the film settles in and the plot really begins. The second act of the film is brilliant, with the introduction of many likeable characters. From the brilliantly sarcastic K-2SO (Alan Tudyk) a reprogrammed empire droid, who loves to tell his team the odds of their survival. To the funny back and fourth between Chirrut Imwe (Donnie Yen) and Baze Malbus (Jiang Wen) a mysterious pair, who eventually join the group. The film has a good amount of comedic relief sprinkled throughout, that thankfully never feels out of the place or forced. By the end you'll genuinely care for Rogue One's rag tag group, this is down to great acting across the board and a smart script that made me care for them, without it feeling forced or unwarranted. The film's final act is a sublime battle sequence, that showed the kind of gorilla warfare I've wanted to see in a Star Wars film for years. The feeling of desperation and stacked odds is palpable, with rebel trooper hiding in bushes, setting traps while the empire chase them down in AT-AT's. the sequence is paced perfectly so that it doesn't fatigue and the mix of space and group fighting is perfect. A film that focused more on combat than mythology or character drama had to bring the action right and Rogue One does not disappoint here.Props also goes to Gareth Edwards direction and the special effects team. Going from creating the special effect on his laptop, in his independent alien movie monsters, to Godzilla to Star Wars is an impressive career trajectory and Rogue One is definite proof it's warranted. The team has gone on record as saying they were inspired by the Vietnam war when creating rogue one and it's easy to see the influence. The gritty nature of combat here, makes Rogue One stand out. With a great sense of scale throughout. The battlefields feel big, yet being down on the ground with the rebels feels personal. Multiple memorable shots still stand out to me, like the rebels fleeing on the beach from AT-AT looming behind to x wings ducking and weaving past Star destroyers. It's visually stunning without feeling clean or distance. The special effects are as expected excellent, with incredible detail put into every ship cockpit and alien facial expression. This is by far the most visually impressive the series has looked, with CGI characters I did not expect, looking so good I hardly noticed they were (I'm being vague but you'll know what I mean when you see it).Rogue One manages to be the rarest of things. Not only is it a great spin off, it is also an excellent prequel. (Both new ground for Star Wars). Any problems to be found here are at the most forgivable and at the least nit picky. It's a gritty and refreshing war movie that manages to feel fateful to Star Wars while being something different to the main series. Disney have made a strong case for their Star Wars Anthology series here (I'm slightly less worried about the Han Solo origin story now) and just an all around great holiday season movie. Whether you're a hardcore or casual fan there's something to enjoy here.9/10