10 Reasons Rogue One Is The Smartest Star Wars Movie Ever

4. Darth Vader Takes On A Truly Terrifying Persona

Good. Lord. Darth Vader. Where do I even begin?

Speaking as a twenty-something adult millennial, his final appearance properly messed me up. Genuinely, I've not been this scared of old bucket-head since watching A New Hope way back when I was three; Vader's malice, at least then, was only ever implicit. Of course, he force choked his way to victory on many an occasion, but you got the sense that this was Darth restrained, that an evil hidden behind the suit had the potential to be unleashed, but never was. Rogue One, in all its darkness, finally offers a window into this unbridled horror, and it's, well, horrific.

From the very first moment we encounter Vader in Rogue One he is made to look like a thing of horror, locked in a bacta tank with a Frankensteinien tinge that imbues Star Wars' fantastical strain of sci-fi with a ferocious shot of Gothic nightmare-fuel. It only gets worse from there however, as Vader leaves his Mustafar fortress to confront the rebels themselves above Scarif. What follows is an indescribably brutal massacre against a group of rebels desperately trying to abscond with the Death Star plans in tow. Vader makes short work of the rebels, trapping them in an air lock before brutalising them with an array of swings, jabs, and force slams.

It is, to say the least, slightly terrifying. But I guess that's kind of the point; Vader is meant to be a symbol of terror for the Rebellion, not a fierce critic of sand, lovelorn at the loss of a childhood sweetheart. In correcting that mistake, Rogue One's contribution to the saga is invaluable.