Star Wars returns with the first in a series of anthology movies – an exhilarating action-oriented, dare I say, prequel about Rebel spies discovering the plans for the Death Star.

Rogue One follows the exploits of a group of Rebel soldiers as they undertake a dangerous mission to uncover the secret plans that will allow them to destroy the Imperial Death Star. Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones), who as a child saw her father Galen (Mads Mikkelsen) recruited by Imperial officer Krennic (Ben Mendelsohn) to finalise the design of a superweapon for the Empire, along with fellow rebels Cassian Andor (Diego Luna), K-2SO (Alan Tudyk), Bodhi (Riz Ahmed), Chirrut (Donnie Yen), and Baze (Wen Jiang), must now track him down if the Rebellion has any hope of survival.

Rogue One, directed by Gareth Edwards, is a fantastic, enthralling addition to the Star Wars franchise, yet not without its holdups. The film starts like John Le Carré from outer space, as quick scenes regarding the rumours of a defecting Imperial cargo pilot spread throughout the galaxy. What could well have been a perfect opening is unfortunately held up by way too many captioned establishing shots of new planets. It’s a sign of how much respect a film holds for its audience whenever “London, UK” flashes up in front of an establishing shot of Big Ben, but here in a purely fictional setting, it’s completely unnecessary to show – except for a couple of locations integral to the story, the audience doesn’t need to know the name of planet for a ninety-second scene. Ironic then, that the tropes that Star Wars is known for are holding A Star Wars Story back from achieving its true potential. This rings true again with the score. Despite being a regular motif in the series, for the first time without John Williams, the score in Rogue One feels like more of a detriment to film, instead of raising it above. In several scenes, it actively breaks the immersion, and is concurrent throughout the film, seemingly without a break (at least it feels like it is) – so much so that perhaps A Star Wars Symphony would’ve been a more appropriate subtitle.

What works incredibly well in Rogue One are the truly wondrous special effects. The visuals and CGI are incredible here – to be expected from Gareth Edwards after his guerrilla debut Monsters and his 2014 adaptation of Godzilla. Clearly Edwards knows where the position the camera to truly magnify the visual effects. The third act here, is nothing but payoff. The enticing beach scenes from the trailer unfold into an utterly dazzling action set-piece that plays out on the grandest scale. There is a limit to its scope that’s refreshing amidst the recent fatigue from end-of-the-world superhero blockbusters. The story deftly operates within its means whilst maintaining the feeling that this is all-or-nothing.

The film’s characters offer both strengths and weaknesses. On one hand, there isn’t nearly enough backstory for most of the rebels, thus limiting the emotional connection between them and the audience. The film benefits from starring martial arts veteran Donnie Yen, who brings a more physical aspect to the fight scenes in a Star Wars film sans Jedi. Alan Tudyk’s K-2SO steals almost all of the film’s jokes, by far the most enjoyable character, yet out of all the characters, K-2SO is responsible for majority of the explaining done, and the humour written into his character feels designed to disguise that exposition. Forrest Whitaker, playing rebel dissident Saw Gerrera, is certainly trying something with his vocal performance, which treads delicately along a line between being adequately plausible and garishly over the top. Felicity Jones is great as fugitive rebel Jyn, as is Diego Luna as Captain Andor, though it would’ve been beneficial to give his character more development. The two lead the film and play off each together well. Riz Ahmed’s Bodhi, the Imperial defector, is a standout among the rebel characters. Ben Mendelsohn is chilling and sinister as Director Krennic, just as you would expect from an actor of his calibre. Though it must be said, the film suffers, like The Force Awakens, from its use of CGI characters, which unless filmed cautiously tends to reveal its trickery, especially in scenes opposite human actors, despite its importance and relevance to the story.

Thematically, Rogue One is on point. From the vaguely Middle Eastern city of Jedha torn apart by Imperial militarism and opposition insurgency is as clear an allegory for the current climate of Syria, while the not-yet-fully-operational Death Star is merely capable of 20th Century levels of nuclear destruction rather than the total planet obliteration developed by Episode IV: A New Hope. Star Wars continues with its strong message of morality.

The harsh truth is that Rogue One could use more ruthless editing. To be clear, it is still a brilliant addition to the Star Wars universe, yet there’s too much wasted runtime; too many call backs, which, although expected, are much like K-2SO’s one-liners; some are pulled of gleefully while other induce groans and surely only appeal to the most ardent fans of the universe. Character arcs change immeasurably over a few quick scenes, where a little bit more time could have been spent properly fleshing out the motivations behind certain decisions, rather than the implied ‘for the greater good’ reasoning attributed to them. It seems that opportunities for tangible dramatic tension have been sacrificed for just a few extra minutes of blaster battles and time consuming references. Overall though, the film could easily shave down its running length to become a tighter, yet no less enthralling, adventure. The aesthetic of the film is truly magnificent. Maximum credit goes to the production designers. At once both remarkably modern and at the same time a throwback to the original Star Wars from 1977 – right down to the Death Star vector graphics targeting system. The precious Death Star plans are carried on a data chip (that looks more like the jazzed-up lovechild of floppy disk and a flash drive) rather than being un-cinematically Airdropped to the Rebel Alliance.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is a very welcome addition to the Star Wars canon. It is a hugely entertaining adventure, and furthermore, may well prove to be the prequel that Star Wars fans deserve. It’s reassuring that once a year, we can forget everything and escape to the galaxy far, far away.

Written by Callum Mackenzie.