Rogue One
In short, it's fantastic. Go see it immediately. The last 5 mins of the movie worth the price of admission alone.
I'm a lifelong Star Wars fan and must have watched A New Hope 70+ times as a kid. Like most of my generation, I was excited beyond belief when The Phantom Menace was announced. Yeah, about that. Disappointed doesn't even begin to cover how we all felt about those.
With a "fool me once…" mindset I was cautiously optimistic going to see The Force Awakens. And I loved it. Similarities to A New Hope aside, it completely restored my faith in the SW universe. That same optimism carried over to Rogue One yesterday. I was blown away. A darker, more war movie like story that just worked on every level.
How does it rate in the canon?
A New Hope
Rogue One
Rebels
The Force Awakens
Empire Strikes Back
Return Of The Jedi
Clone Wars
Revenge Of The Sith
Attack Of The Clones
Phantom Menace
Update: now with 100% more Force Awakens.
Where's The Force Awakens in your ranking? And Empire that far down?? Wow. Just wow.
Heh, fixed. Could have sworn TFA was there in an earlier draft. I think Empire Strikes Back is slightly overrated to be honest. Heresy I know.
I agree with your assessment on Rogue One. Really enjoyed it. And while my SW canon order is different than yours, I really like how high up Rogue One is on the list.
I suspect you have Empire Strikes Back much higher on your list?