“Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” lived up to its expectations. It presented a different side of Star Wars, focusing on the struggle of the Rebels. Episodes I through VI focus on the glorified life of Jedi like Yoda, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Qui-Gon Jin, Anakin Skywalker and Luke Skywalker, which were great. However, it was cool to see the battle of the common people waging war against the Empire.
In “Rogue One,” the main characters are Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones) and Cassian Andor (Diego Luna). Their goal throughout the movie, along with the help of other Rebels including Chirrut Îmwe (Donnie Yen) and Blaze Mallibus (Wen Jiang), is to take down the Empire. The movie also introduces a new villain in Orson Krennic (Ben Mendelsohn). Many times, the movie did not feel like a Star Wars movie because it did not have the usual epic lightsaber battles. The movie gives more of a view from the battlegrounds, which made it intriguing and unique.
Erso can be described as someone who likes being the underdog and is full of hope. Throughout the movie, hope is all she feels she needs to be successful in a mission. At first, Andor comes off as being a guy who only follows orders – even if they are not ethical. As we learn more about him, he and Erso make a great team, leading the Rebels against the very powerful Empire.
We know Star Wars for having a unique way of releasing its movies. The original trilogy came out in the late 1970s to the mid-1980s. Then, in 1999, Star Wars came out with the first of three prequels, detailing the story before the events of the original trilogy. These focus on the life of a young Jedi, Anakin Skywalker, who eventually turns to the dark side and becomes Darth Vader, setting up the original trilogy.
In comes “Rogue One,” which takes place in between “Episode III – Revenge of the Sith” (2005), and “Episode IV – A New Hope” (1977). “Rogue One” appears to be just days before the events that take place in “A New Hope.” The Rebels are attempting to steal the plans of the Death Star, which is being constructed by Erso’s father Galen Erso, played by Mads Mikkelsen. The Death Star is a space ship that is used by the Empire to cause mass destruction to planets around the galaxy.
In “Rogue One,” we see some familiar characters from past films including Storm Troopers, Mon Mothma (Genevieve O’Reilly) and Darth Vader. Darth Vader, who is arguably the most iconic villain in movie history, has a few awesome scenes that Star Wars enthusiasts will greatly appreciate. What adds to his character in this film is that James Earl Jones does his voice-over, just like he did in the original trilogy and prequels. Seeing Darth Vader in this movie could bring chills to many fans, who will be seeing him in his prime. While he is in just a few scenes, one could argue that his presence makes the movie.
One thing that was quite surprising was the role of Saw Gerrera (Forest Whitaker). He had a much smaller role in the movie than some might have expected.
One aspect of the movie that was disappointing was the soundtrack. Star Wars has a very popular soundtrack, but some of the tracks in this film seemed to be modified and a little different. However, the Binary Sunset and the Imperial March were still heard, truly making it a Star Wars movie.
Overall, “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” was one of the most unique Star Wars movies ever created. Star Wars movies continue to improve due to better written scripts as well as the improvement of technology, especially computer-generated imagery (CGI). If you haven’t seen any Star Wars movies yet, it’s a good time to start. It might be fair to say one only needs to see the original trilogy in order to see Rogue One and understand the plot.
However, by seeing every Star Wars movie, the plot will be more powerful to the fan and give them chills. It looks like there are going to be many more Star Wars movies made in the 21st century. This movie was amazing and very much worth seeing in theaters.