Rogue 1: The best Star Wars movie since Star Wars

Well, you know what I mean.

Disclaimer: this post is written by someone who came to Star Wars late in life and does not have ingrained knowledge or fandom, just normal fandom. 

Woot!

The previous instalment in this franchise, The Force Awakens, while good - and a big relief even for me - seemed like the bar was set at "just don't fuck it up" and that's what they achieved ... a return to Star Wars of old.

Finally, Rogue 1 breaksnew ground. The feel of it can can best be described as a war movie, with a vintage look that blends it nicely with the original trilogy, while mixing in modern CGI and special effects.

The characters are stronger overall than they were in The Force Awakens, with no disrespect to Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford, who were a highlight. Bonus points are awarded here for a strong female lead and another excellent droid in K-2SO.

This movie stands alone beautifully, but also weaves its storyline seamlessly into that of A New Hope,

along the way addressing a plot hole nerds have been complaining about for years.

And I mean seamlessly!  The end of this movie was so well done our entire theatre actually burst into spontaneous applause as it ended. And you can't really give better feedback than that.