Rogue One: A Star Wars Story premiered on Friday, Dec. 16 in theaters across the globe. Debuting as the eighth Star Wars movie in the ‘new canon’ for the series, this is a promising film set a short time before Episode 4: A New Hope.

As a ‘stand alone’ film, it holds up quite well. With an interesting batch of six new characters, they each hold a good amount of screentime. No single one seemed to take the back burner in this film.

Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones) is the main character and the story follows her mission to find a way to destroy the Death Star, a massive super-weapon created by the Empire that is capable of destroying entire worlds. Jones has a large amount of growth over the course of the film and her character is easy to fall in love with.

But, she never feels all that powerful. She isn’t a Jedi and is not force-sensitive like many of the previous heroes in the franchise. She doesn’t have a Deus Ex Machina pitfall. It is a refreshing vibe to the film, making it stand out as the rebels are seen struggling. (Speaking of rebels, the film hints at the Star Wars Rebels cartoon series on Disney channel. A classic ship makes an appearance.)

Darth Vader also makes an appearance in the film, showing just how strong of a villain he is in the Star Wars universe.

Besides the plot line, the work of the actual film is exquisite. Exotic choices were chosen as locations for planets, like Scarif, that give the film a beautiful look, even with some of its darker themes.

The movie is well paced; there are no parts that seem to drag on or speed by too fast. The film gets it just right.

Overall, the cinematography and precise attention to detail are outstanding. Hidden things – like the fallen statue on Jedha or how detailed each ship is – are easy to miss when watching for the storyline, but give so much more life to the film when noticed. Hidden ‘Easter eggs’ (as some would call them), attention to detail, and amazing camera work add to the film’s strength.

However, this is not a movie for many children as younger fans of the series will find it dark and, at times, possibly scary.

However, making up for the darkness is the character K-2so (Alan Tudyk) who provides a nice level of comic relief without going over the top.

All around, it is a powerful film with an important message: hope. Rogue One is surely not one to disappoint and ‘has the force’ just like the rest of the beloved Star Wars movies.