Ranking The First 30 Minutes Of EVERY Star Wars Movie From Worst To Best

It didn't take 30-minutes for fans to realise they were watching something special during a first viewing of Garth Edwards' Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.

That much was clear after the very first scene.

Crashing down into the peaceful life Galen Erso had built for himself and his family on Lah'mu, Director Orson Krennic - brought to irresistible life by the superb Ben Mendelsohn - and his Death Troopers forcefully convince him to help complete the Empire's precious Death Star.

Watching Galen's wife Lyra be viciously murdered so early on was just the first of many reminders of the cruel reality of life under the Empire at this point in the timeline.

Elsewhere, the Rebels are pushed to their limits, too. And this is highlighted in particularly brutal and inspired fashion as apparent hero Cassian Andor shockingly murders his fellow freedom fighter Tivik in order to ensure their intel didn't fall into the hands of Imperial forces.

If it wasn't clear from these opening moments, this wasn't your typical Star Wars space opera.

This was a war drama with some truly astonishing cinematography - courtesy of the great Greig Fraser - one that also contained morally grey figures all over the galaxy and a Rebel Alliance being left with no choice but to depend on Galen's daughter Jyn to help them learn more about the aforementioned superweapon.

Now sure, it's not all perfect. A digitally revived Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin and Forrest Whittaker's wheezing Saw Gerrera are more distracting than mesmerising early on. But for the most part, Rogue One's first 30-minutes are as fascinating as the subsequent 104.