Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (Lucasfilms – 2016) Review

Galen Erso is cruelly taken from his family a retired engineering designer of the Death Star is taken to finish the weapon that can destroy entire planets in the blink of an eye.

His daughter; Jyn Erso, seeing her father taken and her mother killed sets herself on a path of vengeance against the Empire, guided by Saw Gerrera a rebel himself who raises her from childhood.

After being captured herself by the Empire – then rescued by Rebels, Jyn allies (by force) with Rebel Officer Cassian Andor and his dry humored droid K-2SO after receiving a holographic message from her father about a weakness in the Death Star’s build, from a defected Imperial pilot; Bodhi Rook. This can be exploited and bring down the weapon of mass destruction for good.

Jyn wants to find her father while Cassian is assigned to find Jyns father aswell, but not for any form of a reunion – he must take Galen down to prevent him from finishing the Death Star.

Finding herself on the planet Jedha amongst an armed uprising she comes in to contact with a blind warrior Chirrut Îmwe and his friend and mercenary Baze Malbus who join the duo with her and Cassian.

However Saw Gerrera himself has gone rogue, and is not allied with the Rebels, but on his own quest with a band of rough and rag tag fighters, so much so that the Rebel Alliance are worried about him and his activities. Yet, Jyn must get the message out to whoever may be listening out there… and all eyes are on her as only she can get the schematics for the Death Star transmitted out to the Universe.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story bumps itself in to the timeline before Return of the Jedi and is the first standalone Star Wars film.

There are many moments where it hearkens back to the Star Wars of yore, the originals, with the AT and Tie Fighter battles, along with memorable environments. There are also a few cameos of beloved characters from the original Star Wars films set in this ones timeline.

Darth Vader is a major feature in Rogue One, and he alone makes this chapter what it is, with a very epic battle scene that I will say no more about for those that have not watched it yet.

Being a singular story slotted in to the franchises timeline, it follows it’s own formula whilst remaining true to the Star Wars flavour.

Unlike last years The Force Awakens, there is the franchises flow on but no episodic history as such to the characters, other than this is their shining moment in the Star Wars story (and being referenced to throughout the entire saga). In short, this is their film. Their story.

I also felt that not having J. J. Abrams and Kathleen Kennedy in the production crew also filtered through.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is an absolute must for any Star Wars fan. That’s a no brainer… but it is also an excellent place to get yourself started into the franchise if you are a newbie. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, is essentially, a war film and an almost sole entity.

Still, Rogue One is an epic film, slightly different from previous iterations, but it has been done absolutely right.

Keep StG Independent and (mostly) Advertising Free with a Donation