Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
Directed by Gareth Edwards
Starring Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, Ben Mendelsohn, Donnie Yen, Mads Mikkelsen, Alan Tudyk, Riz Ahmend, Jiang Wen, and Forest Whitaker.
Backstory
So, when Disney bought Lucasfilm and started pumping out their new Star Wars films, they also promised a series of standalone films set outside the main saga. As Lucasfilm boss Kathleen Kennedy said, “It’s about thinking of the Star Wars universe as a setting, rather than a saga.” And here we are now with the first of that series, Rogue One. We all know that events of Star Wars (A New Hope) kick off when the Rebels get their hands on the Death Star plans, but did you ever wonder how they got them? That’s the story Rogue One sets out to tell.
Plot
Jyn Erso has been living on her own, ever since her father Galen was abducted by the Empire. But now, Erso has been brought in by Rebel forces in need of her help. A defector from the Empire has word of a terrible new weapon that the Empire is developing, and Galen was one of its creators. The defector, Bodhi, has a message from Galen for Jyn about this weapon. With Jyn now a reluctant rebel, our team is off to find Galen and find out more about this weapon. Meanwhile, Director Krennic, the one in charge of the project, is desperate to find the leak on his team, as it looks like the Empire is about to wrest control from him and give the weapon project to <spoiler redacted>. Will Jyn and the rebels find her father? Will they uncover the secret of this new weapon…this Death Star?
What I Liked
The humour. A lot of the characters have a dry sense of humour, no doubt the gallows humour that comes from being in the trenches. I really liked Donny Yen’s character, Chirrut Imwe, who was a Jedi temple guard back in the day. While he’s not a Jedi and cannot use the Force, he believes in the Force and is a fierce hand-to-hand combatant. There’s a lot of fun cameos, some amazing special effects, and much like the Force Awakens, the last 10 minutes are one gigantic nostalgia-fest that had me in tears.
What I Didn’t Like
Would have been nice if we got to get to know our new characters a little more. Even though she was our lead, I never really got to know Jyn as a character.
Final Verdict
A very enjoyable addition to the Star Wars canon. Loved it quite a bit.