The movie starts off as something of an affectionate parody of the original series- it follows our quintet of girls as they fight together (that's right, together) against creatures known as Nightmares, with their daily lives coming down to going to school in the day and fighting monsters at night. Making things even crazier is that Kyubey has suddenly become the group's team pet. However, it's not long before Homura starts to think that there's something suspicious about the whole situation and she takes matters into her own hands to find out what's really going on.
Unlike the series, "Rebellion" is largely Homura-centric. While Madoka was the protagonist of the original series, with Homura acting as the deuteragonist, Homura is now the centre of attention, with the movie essentially being one big character study about how much of a self-loathing, mentally and emotionally unstable mess she is. It's really hard to describe anything about the plot without at least giving something away. The movie certainly takes its time in order for you to figure things out as time goes on. The animation, music and voice acting are also every bit as good as in the original series, with Yuki Kajiura giving us just enough new tracks to keep things fresh.
All five girls from the original series return, some of whom have become considerably more badass, most notably Sayaka and Mami. The movie also introduces a new magical girl, Nagisa Momoe. Her screentime is quite limited compared to the others and she doesn't get much development considering the movie is just under 2 hours long, but she is still a welcome addition and provides some well-executed comic relief that manages to add to the film rather than detract from it. I understand I'm being a bit vague, but to say anything else about her would be a big spoiler.
All in all, while "Rebellion" is a very good movie, it ultimately feels like little more than an expansion rather than a true sequel. Some people may want to think twice before watching it as it could very well change your opinion of Homura, which is tough considering she's the series' most popular character (for good reason). That said, if you just want some extra time with the characters you grew to love when watching the anime, then I would say you should definitely give this movie a try.
