Rogue One: A Star Wars Story – Film Review

A nostalgic trip for fans of Star Wars, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is set after the events of Revenge of the Sith (2005), but before A New Hope (1977). This film follows a female rebel soldier, Jyn Erso, and her group of fellow rebels “Rogue One” as they attempt to steal the plans to the catastrophic Death Star, that is said to be used to destroy and wreak havoc to entire planets.

I am a big fan of almost every Star Wars movie, and one of my favorites has to be the movie that started it all, Star Wars: A New Hope, released in 1977. The film industry has never been the same ever since the release of Star Wars, and has went on to become the cultural phenomenon it is today. I thought Revenge of the Sith was good, and A New Hope was almost perfect, which was one of the many reasons why I was excited to see this new adventure in the saga directed by Gareth Edwards.

Rogue One introduces us to a whole plethora of new characters and it has issues exploring their backstories, except for our main protagonist, Jyn Erso. She has a very intriguing storyline that always makes you care for her character, but the rest of the rebel team; not so much. This could be because at times Edwards may have been too focused on planning out too many scenes at once and not thinking about the characters involved in the movie has was creating for fans.

But despite the film’s lack of character development, the overall story was gritty and intense from scene one. Every time Jyn and the team were attempting to steal the Death Star’s plans, I was always on the edge of my seat, hoping that they would succeed in their endeavours. Plus, the action was perfect, and always was stunning to look at and had fantastic set pieces. This is by far the only Star Wars film we have had thus far that genuinely shows us the titular “wars” in Star Wars.

In-Summary: Rogue One is another epic installment in the saga adored by many generations since the 1970s and a promising start to the Star Wars spinoff films.