Plain and simple, Rogue One, the first stand-alone Star Wars movie in the ever-expanding galaxy far, far away, is pretty much everything hardcore fans could want. From Easter eggs galore to an embrace of the grittier side of war, fan boys and girls will not be disappointed.
This being said, Rogue One clearly is the darkest movie in the series yet, more violent than any of its predecessors by a long-shot. Whilst battles has been ever-present in the saga (Wars is in the name, after all), never before has the story of what it takes to make a rebellion successful been so bluntly told. Suffice to say, the movie earns its PG-13 rating. You might want to think twice before taking any younglings under the age of at least 10.
So why am I gushing so giddily about this movie? I will stay spoiler-free, but here are some of the things that almost made me feel like I was 4 years old again (the age I was when I saw the original in theatres).
- Personally, I love the dark, battlefront feel. I’ve heard a few folks categorise the movie as “Band of Brothers in the Star Wars universe,” and this is not an incorrect summation. The battles are brutal, people die and harsh decisions are made, injecting as much realism as one can into a movie about robots and aliens. One imagines this is the same tone that was hinted at in the shelved Star Wars live-action TV series that never was, which just makes me sadder that one didn’t see the light of day.
- If you thought Rey was a bad ass, Jyn Erso is going to rock your world. Quite possibly the toughest female character yet in the Star Wars universe.
- K-2S0 (Alan Tudyk) and Chirrut Îmwe (Donnie Yen) come pretty close to stealing the movie, but this really is an ensemble cast of the highest order. Each character is thoughtfully detailed, which can be problematic when you’ve got a half dozen folks vying for attention. Not here.
- The geography photographed is spectacular. This is literal world building at its finest.
- Speaking of visuals, they nailed the lived-in feel that separates Star Wars from so many other, lesser attempts at galactic operas.
- The final act has quite probably the greatest battle scene from any Star Wars movie. The aerial dogfight alone is worth the price of admission.
- In as much as a movie where the end is very clearly known before you even sit down (the movie is said to conclude approximately 10 minutes before Episode IV begins), the writers did a spectacular job of keeping the pacing crisp and the action suspenseful.
- As heavy as the movie can be, there is enough levity and heart-tugging emotion to keep things moving along nicely.
- Regarding all the hub bub about the re-shoots, the movie never feels disjointed or the victim of too many cooks (I’m looking at you, Ant-Man, and pretty much anything out of the DC Universe). Regardless of who pulled what strings behind the scenes, the end result is a damn fine movie for space nerds such as myself.
- Personally, I’ve always wondered why anyone would care about Star Wars without the Jedi. Sure, I have friends who love the scoundrels or the pilots or the aliens or what have you, but they seemed to be missing the bigger picture to me. I hereby retract any such admonishments. Consider me sold on the proposition.
Say what you will about The Force Awakens, but I was a bit underwhelmed. Stop me if you’ve heard this one before—scrappy kid on a desert planet finds a robot with hidden information who goes onto help destroy a planet destroying weapon. While Abrams promised fans new stories, TFA was a simple rehashing of the originals. Rogue One more than succeeds in telling a new story and breathing new life into a franchise that many hardcore nerds feared would be over-Disney-fied. Worry no more. The House of Mouse has proven that it can and will make movies that appeal to the many different fan pockets that make up Star Wars.
Sure, I’ll say it—Rogue One IS the droid you’re looking for.
Since you’ve been good enough to read this far in my rambling, gushing review, I will share just this one spoiler with you. Turns out, that’s no moon.
