Obviously, I watched this movie as soon as I could; it is Star Wars. But I was worried, because it is the first "Star Wars Story" (spin-off from the episodes). Rather than focusing on the Jedi and Sith, it focuses on regular people, the rebels who did the down and dirty fighting.
And I have to say, the movie delivers on that promise. It only feels slightly like a Star Wars movie. Part of this is due to the aforementioned lack of Jedi (and lightsabers), and the very few familiar faces (Darth Vader is a particular standout), but there's also Michael Giacchino's score. This is the first time someone besides John Williams composes for a Star Wars movie (and the classic themes are basically absent, but occasionally referenced). Personally, while I thought Giacchino was the perfect composer to take over for Williams, I was somewhat disappointed; it was fine, but nothing special.
That kind of goes for the whole movie for me. The actors all do a fine job. Felicity Jones is a good lead, and Donnie Yen (the Chinese martial artist of Ip Man fame) is the standout of the supporting cast. None of the characters are really fleshed out enough though, so they don't have the charm of the characters introduced in The Force Awakens. Honestly, that brings me to my biggest problem: there's just nothing that makes this movie pop for me. It expands the universe, answers some questions, and tells a somewhat interesting story, but it doesn't do it in an especially compelling way, and the pacing is pretty awkward. That's not to say there aren't some fantastic sequences (especially near the end). But I can't get into most of the great stuff because it would be very spoiler-heavy, so this review is going to come off more negatively than how I feel.
If you're a Star Wars fan, even a casual one, you're going to watch this movie regardless, and you will most likely come out of this movie pretty satisfied, because while it's full of cliches and forgettable characters, at no point is it a bad movie, and occasionally it's a great one.
