Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

Table of Contents

rogue one

A group of rebels sets out to acquire the plans for the Death Star in . Jyn Erso () is a rebellious young woman, who is recruited by the Rebel Alliance to intercept a message from her father Galen (), which was delivered by defected Imperial pilot Bodhi Rook () to the extremist Saw Gerrera (), the latter of whom raised Jyn as a child.

Travelling with Intelligence officer Cassian Andor () and his reprogrammed Imperial droid K-2SO (), Jyn discovers that her father secretly built a weakness into the Empire’s new weapon the Death Star, the construction of which is being overseen by Imperial Director of Advanced Weapons Research 
Orson Krennic ( Mendelsohn). With the Rebel Alliance reluctant to authorize a strike, Jyn and Cassian go rogue and travel with Bodhi, Chirrut Îmwe (), and Baze Malbus () on a mission to acquire the plans for the Death Star.

In the decades since their release, the Star Wars films were supplemented by the Expanded Universe, which told new stories through novels, video games, and other media. While a lot of these stories were designated non-canon after Disney acquired LucasFilm, an effort is now underway to produce new films set in the Star Wars universe that takes place outside of the central Skywalker saga. The first of these films is Rogue One, which details the events that happen directly before the start of the original Star Wars film.

While technically a spin-off, Rogue One fits nicely within the continuity of the series, filling in some of the gaps between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope. The film even has Genevieve O’Reilly and Jimmy Smits returning from the prequel trilogy as Rebel Alliance leaders Mon Mothma and Bail Organa. The film also has a small, but poignant role for Darth Vader, once again voiced by James Earl Jones. However, probably the most jarring connective tissue with the original film is the inclusion of Death Star commander Grand Moff Tarkin, with new actor Guy Henry being digitally manipulated to appear as the long-dead . While this technology has improved greatly over the years, it is still hard to avoid the uncanny valley when these effects are used.

If there is one really positive thing to say about Rogue One, it’s that it is a very noticeably different type of Star Wars film. Director Gareth Edwards (Monsters, Godzilla) has long described Rogue One as a war film and indeed the film’s epic climatic battle can pretty much be described as the Star Wars universe’s D-Day. With both X-Wings in the air and troops on the ground, the final battle is pretty much non-stop action and it quickly becomes apparent that no character is safe in this Star Wars story.

If there are issues I have with Rogue One, it’s that the road to that final battle is a bit of a bumpy one. There are a lot of detours in this film, which often seem like ways to fill out the story. Also, the less said about Saw Gerrera’s large CGI squid monster, the better. However, one thing that Rogue One absolutely got right is the casting, which is probably the most diverse cast for a Star Wars film. Not only is there a female in the lead, but you have Mexican actor Diego Luna, British/Pakistani actor Riz Ahmed, and Chinese actors Donnie Yen and Wen Jiang. However, the biggest scene stealer in the film is Alan Tudyk as K-2SO, who provides the bulk of the film’s comic relief.

Despite a few issues, Rogue One was overall a satisfying Star Wars spin-off, which fills in the gap between films in the main saga.

8 / 10 stars
8 1  LIKED IT 
This post was proofread by Grammarly 
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)
Runtime:133 minutes
Director:Gareth Edwards
Country:United States
Actors:
Cassian Andor
Chirrut Îmwe
Baze Malbus
Orson Krennic
Governor Tarkin
Bodhi Rook
Writers:
(screenplay by) and
(screenplay by)
(story by) and
(story by)
(based on characters created by)
Production companies:
(Lucasfilm Ltd.)
Plots:
In a time of conflict, a group of unlikely heroes band together on a mission to steal the plans to the Death Star, the Empire's ultimate weapon of destruction.

Leave a Tip

Become a patron at Patreon!
0 0 votes
Film Rating
Subscribe
Notify of

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

0 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x
Scroll to Top

Thanks for Reading

Support This Site

If you like what I do please support me on Ko-fi

Other Ways to Support Us

Become a patron at Patreon!
Buy Me A Coffee