Rogue One: A Star Wars Story: Movie Review

"Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" is a spin-off that is not only outstandingly great but more importantly, it adds much more narrative depth to the original trilogy. The grounded feel, the raw approach, and its darker themes are elements that gave "Rogue One" its own unique character that definitely helps it stand out against the other films in the series.

With rumors abound of the Empire's new planet destroying weapon, the Rebel Alliance turns to Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones) to find her father's, Galen Erso (Mads Mikkelsen), location. The Rebels believe that Galen is the brains behind the "Death Star" and their only hope to find a way to defeat the seemingly impenetrable super weapon. Together with Cassian Andor (Diego Luna), the two go on an adventure that proves ordinary people can perform extraordinary things becoming part of something greater than themselves.

"Rogue One" starts off wobbly especially with its first few minutes after the opening title pops up. We actually got worried but the film eventually settled down and that's when things started to kick in and the eventual result is something simply spectacular. The narrative itself is nothing new. You could say its typical at this point. But what's really different for "Rogue One" is its rawness. Very rarely do you get to see lightsabers used or even the force shown as we know it. It's all about being in the trenches, on the ground, with the regular folks that do not have special abilities but just their bravery pushing them further and further into greatness. You could also say that with this approach, the film had more freedom to play with its characters and that in itself, without spoiling anything, just results to a stunner near the finale. This is the darkest Star Wars film yet and we extremely love it because it was. The characters themselves are extremely likable with Felicity Jones doing a stupendously awesome job portraying our feminine heroine but our favorite was K-2SO which was a huge comic relief to a rather serious film. As for the battle scenes, "Rogue One" won't leave you disappointed. Every battle was epic and well done.The final battle was the best of course presenting a mix of space and tropical setting down below. Storm Troopers on a beach? Sign us up please! What we could easily conclude is that this is the "prequel" that the franchise deserves and one that has the most freedom that makes it a different beast altogether.

Rating: 4 and a half reels





Why you should watch it:
- it's a unique film with a whole new level of freedom in terms of narrative
- grittier and more grounded, this is a Star Wars film that focuses on the regular folks

Why you shouldn't watch it:
- the film had a hard time introducing the narrative and characters in the first few scenes
Photos care of LUCASFILM.