Although the Star Wars franchise has been around for 40 years, it always finds a way to impress. “Rogue One,” the newest installment in the series, is set in between “Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith” and “Star Wars IV: A New Hope.” Since A New Hope” came out originally before “Revenge of the Sith,” there weren’t many ties as to how the two are brought together. Although fans love the original series, there has been a huge plot hole that has stuck with them: How did the Rebels get the Death Star plans? “Rogue One” takes the leap to connect them, with stunning results.

Jyn Erson (Felicity Jones) was a young girl who grew up on the planet Lah’mu, where her father was taken and her mother was killed when she was six by the Imperial General. Her father was taken so he could help the Empire build a new, deadly weapon. Jyn is able to escape with the help of family friend Saw Gerrera (Forest Whitaker).

Over fifteen years later, Jyn is captured by the Rebellion to help aid them in finding her father. They have received word that he is helping them build the Death Star, a weapon so powerful it has the capability to destroy entire planets. Jyn discovers, however, that her father has planted a flaw in the Death Star that the Rebellion can exploit to destroy it. The loss of life is large for a Star Wars movie, and it keeps it authentic by portraying several on-screen deaths. It has many moving moments mixed in with epic fight scenes, making this one of the better sequences in Star Wars.

This particular movie shows that following orders is not always the right thing to do. Captain Cassian Andor (Diego Luna), a leader of the Rebellion, was ordered to kill Jyn’s father. However, after hearing Jyn’s story, he decides not to kill him, which puts him at odds with his feelings of the Rebellion. “Rogue One” has a lot of context and storyline, but the best part was the climax, which featured a large scale battle. This has been one of the biggest battle scenes in Star Wars since the battle on Endor, or perhaps the battle between the Jedis and the droids on Geonosis.

The multiple mercenaries are spread out on the ground and split up into squadrons. Jyn goes on her own to shut down the forcefield, so they can transmit the Death Star plans to the rebels. The battle goes on with the mercenaries fighting the stormtroopers on the ground, and the rebel fleet fighting above them. The loss of life is large for a Star Wars movie, and it keeps it authentic by portraying several on-screen deaths. It has many moving moments mixed in with epic fight scenes, making this one of the better sequences in Star Wars.

There is a large absence to anything Jedi-related, although it was part of the main plot of the original series.The Jedi Order was down to a very limited number of Jedi. After the battle on Geonosis and the Jedi massacre by the clone troopers when they turned against the Jedi Order, very few who possessed the Force were left. The only current Jedi that were known to be alive at the time were Yoda and Obi Wan Kenobi, but the only time they were mentioned in this film was towards the end. They mentioned the Emperor and Vader throughout the movie, and those were the only two Sith Lords in the original series. The Force, of course, was constantly mentioned, but without acknowledgment of those who possess it, which disappointed many fans.

Overall, “Star Wars: Rogue One” was an excellent addition to the Star Wars Franchise. “Rogue One” is a phenomenal movie, and deserves all of the positive reviews and raves it received. After this movie, it is difficult not to be excited for the next movie of the series to be released.