Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

This review may contain spoilers!

While The Force Awakens was an amazing return to the Star Wars universe this is the film that has captured the magic that made the original trilogy so special. I would give Rogue One: A Star Wars Story a 9.5/10.

Rogue One brings a depth and darkness to the Star Wars universe that hasn't really been seen since The Empire Strikes Back, the rules seem to shift in this film and even the heroic Rebels no longer seem so noble. The world building is incredible; we finally get more insight into the development of the Death Star, the politics within the Rebel Alliance and finally meet those who secured the plans for the Death Star. The protagonist for this film is very compelling, Jyn isn't much of a rebel when first we meet her but as the action progresses and she becomes more of a figurehead for the cause it's hard not to grow passionate alongside her. It's a heist film, it's a war film, it's a blockbuster and without a doubt it's one of the greatest science-fiction films out there. The special effects are such an accomplishment; throughout the film we're treated to giant ground battles with detailed AT-ATs. Dogfights in space that look stunningly vivid and even the CGI characters such as Grand Moff Tarkin, Red Leader and Princess Leia look good. The cinematography is probably the nicest I've ever seen within a Star Wars film, the way scale is captured really shows the immensity of the spaceships, planets and battles within the film.It's clear Michael Giacchino was only warming up with Doctor Strange, his score for this film is not only a brilliant homage to John Williams but a moving original sound new to the Star Wars films - and very welcome by my standards.

Felicity Jones, who played Jyn Erso, is an exceptional protagonist in this film; Jones does some great work at growing her character's passion and commitment towards becoming a champion for the Rebellion. Donnie Yen, who played Chirrut Imwe, is a very insightful yet fun character in this film; I liked Yen's relationship with The Force and how we never really know if he is a fallen Jedi or a fledgling Force-Sensitive. Wen Jiang, who played Baze Malbus, has a passing indifference and a fierce loyalty to Yen that makes him an interesting role; it's really fascinating to see a Mandalorian chracter who isn't depicted as a minor antagonist so I enjoyed that a great deal. Ben Mendelsohn, who played Orson Krennic, is the standout antagonist in a line-up of some pretty amazing antagonists in this film; Mendelsohn bring a wild rage to his role and a blind ambitious drive to gain power. James Earl Jones, who voiced Darth Vader, really brings back that antagonist who made movie history perfectly; his firm delivery and commanding presence is really great in this film. Anthony Daniels, who played C-3PO, is a really fun cameo to witness in this film; his line being a whining complaint to R2 just shows that this film is classic Star Wars. Ingvild Deila, who played Princess Leia, really helped bring forth a character who is classic to these films; while admittedly an incredibly small appearance it's a cameo that really ties this film flawlessly to the original trilogy.

However the best performance came from Alan Tudyk, who played K-2SO. This is such a fun, sarcastic and witty character who often steals every scene he's in. The unique delivery provided by Tudyk makes this droid unlike anything we've ever seen in Star Wars before, an instant classic in the making. I really enjoyed watching K-2 as he came to care much for Jyn and her cause as the film progressed.

The start of this film has a couple of problems with how it sets events up, there is a rush to introduce the characters and key plot elements early which makes things quite rushed and hard to focus upon. Eventually the film does sort itself out and moves on track but the first fifteen to twenty minutes didn't exactly gel together smoothly. I also find that this film is pretty reliant on the fact that you would have a lot of prior Star Wars knowledge (which is fair enough) but to relative newcomers it's going to be confusing and is very lore-heavy.

Diego Luna, who played Cassian Andor, was given a lot of moral ambiguity in this film that made him hard to like as a character; furthermore despite being a main role they never really touch on the role's backstory enough to make him interesting. Forest Whitaker, who played Saw Gerrera, was absolutely wasted in this film; Whitaker's delivery was horrible and his character all over the place to the point that you struggle to understand his place in the film. Riz Ahmed, who played Bodhi Rook, was one of the more forgettable characters in the main cast; Ahmed often fell into the background and didn't have much dynamic when it came to his personality.Mads Mikkelsen, who played Galen Erso, has been completely screwed over by Disney this year; first that horrible antagonist in Doctor Strange and now he is completely miscast as a kindly father figure in Rogue One. Jimmy Smits, Alistair Petrie, Genevieve O'Reilly, Ben Daniels, Stephen Stanton, Ian McElhinney, Fares Fares, Jonathan Aris and Sharon Duncan-Brewster, who played Bail Organa, General Draven, Mon Mothma, General Merrick, the voice of Admiral Raddus, General Dodonna, Senator Vaspar, Senator Jebel and Senator Pamlo respectively, are all political figures within the Rebellion who never stand out or do much in this film; each of these roles provides a lot of exposition but has no major impact on the events of the film. Valene Kane and Beau Gadsdon, who played Lyra Erso and Young Jyn respectively, give quite dry performances; I feel that these two characters are supposed to move you a little at the start of the film but they never really make the impact to do so.