4.5 Out of 5 Stars
As we wait patiently for next year’s release of Episode 8, this year we are introduced to the first in a series of standalone films that will break the focus from the Skywalker clan as Disney is looking to build yet another cinematic universe in a galaxy far, far away. Starting off the series, which will be released in between ‘Saga Films’, is Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, which is essentially Episode 3.5.  The film is a break not only in characters, but in tone as it tackles one of the most debatable plot points in A New Hope while showing just how the Rebels managed to get their hands on the plans to the Death Star.

Rogue One focuses on the story of Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones); whose father Galen Erso (Mads Mikkelsen) was the scientist primarily responsible for the creation of the Death Star. When the film begins we catch up with Jyn who is busted out of an Imperial prison by the Rebellion for the sole purpose of leading them to her father. A defected Imperial pilot has alerted the Rebels to the existence of the super weapon in progress and unbeknownst to Jyn the rebellion hopes to assassinate her father before he can complete his work. When the Rebels finally track down the pilot to confirm the weapon exists, we find out that Galen has embedded a secret weakness into the structure. But in order to exploit it they must steal the plans that just happen to be stored in a maximum-security Imperial base on the tropical planet of Scarif.

Jyn must convince the Rebels that her father was on their side; in order to recover the plans as the Empire begins show just what kind of destruction the new weapon is capable of.


The film is first and foremost a war film as Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) Jyn’s Rebel chaperone and the man tasked with killing her father begins to question his role in the mission as two race against Director Krennic (Ben Mendelsohn) who is trying to track down the source of the leak to redeem himself to the Empire. Tonally the film is so much different from anything we have seen come from Star Wars in the cinema, and while you can tell the gritty violence has been dialed back a bit, it’s definitely there along with its repercussions on the world and its characters. It’s indeed the darkest of the Star Wars films to date as we see the seedier underbelly of the Rebellion and the toll the war has begun to take those fighting in its ranks.

The ensemble of misfits that rally behind Jyn in her attempt to take on the Empire is what made the film for me. Along with a scene stealing, pessimistic, reprogrammed Imperial Droid K-2SO (Alan Tudyk), we have the ex-Imperial pilot and a pair of warriors from Jedha; one of which is a blind martial artist who is strong with the force (Donnie Yen). This is the core team behind Rogue One who are responsible for what will be the turning point for the war against the Empire. While their motivations may all be different, it’s how this diverse group who have all known loss at the hands of this war come together under Jyn’s leadership that is at the core of this [wo]man on a mission film.


My only qualm with Rogue One would have to be some of the pacing and character development early on in the film. Sometimes it works in the films favor, but in the first few frantic acts the pacing and motivations of characters tend to feel a bit all over the place as the pieces are hurriedly put into place for a final battle that is everything a Star Wars fan could ever want. It’s getting there that maybe the films only weakness. Once we get there the film begins to hum like a finely tuned machine as the epic battle unfolds that is simply breathtaking to behold. But sometimes it feels like there is an even darker film Gareth Edwards was looking to make resting just below the surface as the characters attempt to put their most family friendly selves forward.

Rogue One is a great start as Disney shows they are not afraid to tell more complicated stories with characters that may not fall into the easy categorization of heroes or villains. The film also looks to restore one Sith lord in particular to his former glory as one of the best villains in cinema. Disney proving they learned a thing or two from their Marvel ventures and the prequels have finally heard the fans who are looking from something a bit more mature from the Star Wars universe.  Rogue one plays with some weighty political themes to deliver a story from the Star Wars universe we didn’t know we needed and one we will not soon forget.