Review of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016) by Dbpirate1129 — 24 Dec 2017

Rogue One definitely surprised me when I first saw it in theaters. I wasn't really thrilled by The Force Awakens, but Rogue One's originality and risk-taking helped me enjoy it!

Director Gareth Edwards does a great job of making you feel like you're back in the Original Trilogy era. The cinematography and the slightly gritty landscape of planets like Jedha and Wobani also add to that feel. Despite the little development they had, I found most of the characters in Rogue One to be extremely compelling even though we only got to see them for a brief time. My favorites were the possibly Force-sensitive Chirrut Imwe and the ambitious Imperial director and main antagonist Orson Krennic, who is played brilliantly by Ben Mendelsohn. I should also add that all of the actors in this film are great.

Rogue One does seem a little slow on the first viewing but that's mainly because the first act is built on introducing characters. Once the action starts around 30 minutes into the film (just an estimate), it really picks up. The film ends with the best space battle and perhaps the best ground battle Star Wars has seen to date. The D-Day inspired beaches of Scarif were a great pick for the final act.

Unlike The Force Awakens, which relies on nostalgic references and dramatic cameos of Original Trilogy characters, Rogue One manages to be a good film all its own. It has a strong cast of characters, interesting locations, and expands and improves the first Star Wars film in way I didn't think possible.