Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is the first stand-alone film in the Star Wars franchise that's set just before A New Hope and deals with the circumstances of how the Rebels obtained the plans to the Death Star. Although it starts out with a slow pace, it really starts to get going once Felicity Jones's Jyn Erso is tasked by the Rebels to find a man who has a message from her father, one of the top scientists in charge of making the Death Star. Compared to any of the previous films, especially Empire Strikes Back, this is perhaps the darkest the series has done due to its very realistic depictions of war that's done in such a way that reminds one of dark war movies like Saving Private Ryan. The scenes with Darth Vader add a great layer of mythology and fun, especially the end that leads to the start of Hope, though at the same time it shows too much dependence on nostalgia. Other than Jones, the rest of the cast shines just as much and the characters who all play the Rebel group that goes in to steal the plans all have great chemistry. Ben Mendelsohn is very intimidating and scary as an Imperial officer obsessed with finishing the Death Star, Donnie Yen is believable as a blind warrior in tune with the Force, Diego Luna is charismatic, and Alan Tudyk is hilarious as an enforcer droid who is the exact opposite of C-3PO. With a well written story and amazing effects, this entry still has various problems such as the use of CGI to recreate both Grand Moff Tarkin and a younger Leia being too obvious at times and the very last scene conflicting a bit with the beginning of Hope. All in all, Rogue One is still better than The Force Awakens due to not being a rehash of previous films. Over all: 100%
Top list so far:
1. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

2. Moana

3. Zootopia

4. Doctor Strange

5. Sully

6. Deadpool

7. Captain America: Civil War
8. Finding Dory

9. Arrival

10. Sausage Party

11. Star Trek Beyond

12. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

13. Indepence Day: Resurgence

14. The Shallows

15. The Nice Guys

16. 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi

17. Suicide Squad

18. Jason Bourne

19. Kung Fu Panda 3

20. The BFG
21. Ghostbusters 2016
22. Hail, Caesar!
23. X-Men: Apocalypse
24. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice