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Plot Summary: The Rebellion makes a risky move to steal the plans for the Death Star, setting up the epic saga to follow.

Director: Gareth Edwards

Writers: Chris Weitz (screenplay), Tony Gilroy (screenplay)

Runtime: 133 min

• Felicity Jones as Jyn Erso
• Diego Luna as Cassian Andor
• Alan Tudyk as K-2SO
• Donnie Yen as Chirrut Imwe
• Ben Mendelsohn as Orson Krennic
• Forest Whitaker as Saw Gerrera
• Mads Mikkelsen as Galen Erso
• Jimmy Smits as Bail Organa

Review: by Anthony

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story tells the story of a group of rebels clinging onto hope and their mission to steal the plans for the Galactic Empire’s ultimate weapon, the Death Star.

What I Liked:

“It is a period of civil war. Rebel spaceships, striking from a hidden base, have won their first victory against the evil Galactic Empire.

During the battle, Rebel spies managed to steal secret plans to the Empire’s ultimate weapon, the DEATH STAR, an armored space station with enough power to destroy an entire planet.

Pursued by the Empire’s sinister agents, Princess Leia races home aboard her starship, custodian of the stolen plans that can save her people and restore freedom to the galaxy…

That’s the opening crawl from Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope and basically all I knew about the plot of Rogue One. Even with knowing how this basic McGuffin story will end, Chris Weitz and Tony Gilroy still build a beautiful, dark, funny, terrifying, action-packed story, all directed by Gareth Edwards.

For a movie where it’s assumed nobody survives, a pretty dark tale to tell, there’s a good amount of funny and comedy here.

Alan Tudyk as K-2SO and Donnie Yen as Chirrut Imwe have a bunch of hilarious lines. K-2SO is a reprogrammed Imperial Droid who reminded me of a mix of C-3PO and Lying Cat from the comic Saga. Chirrut Imwe, the blink monk, is an instant fan favorite. From his first appearance on screen, it’s obvious there’s more to him than meets the eye.

The action in Rogue One is just what you’d expect and hope it to be. This being a movie set during the war between the Empire and the Rebels there are plenty of firefights and space battles including X-Wings, TIE Fighters, Destroyers, and everything in between.

One thing I really enjoyed was the way the battles were shown on multiple levels. There were gun battles between rebels forces and various types of Storm Troopers, Death Troopers, Shore Troopers and more, times explosives and frag grenades exploding on the ground, machine gun blasters, then out of the trees come AT-AT Walkers, then here come the X-Wing flying in, there were turrets firing on troops and the air support, and above it all are the Imperial Destroyers and Rebel Fleet. It was death and destruction left and right. Never for a second did it feel safe for anyone. To cap it all off as the Big Joker there’s the deadly Death Star, and seeing it charge and fire and the destruction it creates looked like a huge nuclear bomb being detonated.

Much like in Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens we have a female lead in Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones), and she kicks ass. She’s not a damsel; she doesn’t need saving; she’s smart, resourceful, and knows her way around a blaster.

I really enjoyed Diego Luna as Cassian Andor, he really showed how his character, along with many other characters in this movie, is a gray character. Just because you’re a part of the rebel cause that doesn’t necessarily make you a hero. There’s a good look inside the Rebel Alliance and how not everyone agrees on how to fight back. Guerilla warfare tactics, attacking supply routes, undercover spies, testifying in the senate, and the extremist. Attacking enemies in public spaces, civilian casualties be damned, capturing enemies and obtaining information by any means necessary.

There’s a powerful speech delivered by Cassian which really unites the splintering factions of the Rebel Alliance to come together for this far-fetched mission. If you’ve done terrible things in the name of the rebellion in hopes of one day defeating the enemy and that rebellion doesn’t come, where does that leave you? If you do bad things for the right reasons, are you still a good person?

Not only is the concept of doing the wrong thing for the right reasons explored within the Rebel Alliance, it’s even touched upon inside in the Galactic Empire. Mads Mikkelsen as Galen Erso, a key piece in the construction of the Death Star, did everything he did in order to protect his daughter Jyn, which at first glance makes no sense at all.

Something that’s a point of contention is whether there’s a love interest in Rogue One. I didn’t see one. Maybe upon additional viewings, I might find it; but, right away it wasn’t visible to me, and honestly I’m glad for it. There’s so much already going on that a love story really isn’t needed.

I really liked some of the many planets we got to see in Rogue One, especially the tropical resort like planet Scarif.

The score of Rogue One also needs mentioning because it’s really good, Michael Giacchino really brought his A game. I think John Williams would be impressed.

There are several nods to the other movies in the Star Wars universe from cameos to locations being name dropped, so pay attention and you’ll pick up on several easter eggs.

The last thing I need to talk about is Darth Vader. When Rogue One was initially announced a lot of speculation was had about whether Darth Vader would appear or not. If he did show up, would it be in any action scenes or would there just be some dialog with some classic Vader lines addressing some no name lack of faith. The first trailer and second trailers answered a few questions and all I will say is Darth Vader is terrifying. During this time, Darth Vader is at his peak of power. Most just remember the looming figure and the red lightsaber. He’s a battle-hardened warrior, fighting in multiple wars and conflicts, he’s a strategic commander, formidable pilot, and then there’s the force powers, his mastery with a lightsaber, and cybernetic limbs. He’s a walking tank. Darth Vader shows up in Rogue One and he is completely terrifying, and I mean that with every sense of the word.

What I Didn’t Like:

There wasn’t much I found off-putting or that I didn’t like in Rogue One.

Some of the special effects for some characters were rough to start and improved as the movie continued. It wasn’t terrible and didn’t take me out of the scene, but it was definitely noticeable.

A lot of the scenes with Saw Gerrera (Forest Whitaker) left me a little confused. I just didn’t care for his character at all. I don’t mean that in the sense of his role in relations to the story, I mean I just didn’t care for Whitaker’s interpretation of Gerrera. Some of his lines were rushed in a weird, whispered high pitched voice and I just didn’t care at all for him.

Images Courtesy of IMDB