Review of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016) by Mrmoviebuff — 17 Dec 2016

The last time the "Star Wars" franchise decided it wanted to make prequels... we got outraged fans who lost faith in the iconic franchise. Luckily, Gareth Edwards directs 'Rogue One: A Star Wars Story', a title that might put-off some fans, but the movie itself is definitely worth a watch. We meet a young girl named Jyn (Felicity Jones) who had to escape after her father, Galen (Mads Mikkelsen) is informed by Director Orson Krennic (Ben Mendelsohn) forces Galen to work on the crafting of the Death Star. After some decade and a half, Jyn meets Rebel Officer Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) and she is informed about the Death Star.

She also meets a droid named K-2SO (a very funny Alan Tudyk) whose mannerisms and personality seem unusual, but helpful. They travel from planet to planet to find more clues on how to get the plans to destroy the Death Star, and they also find more characters to come and help. There is so much of this movie to talk about, but a "Star Wars" review can be easily spoiled, so I'm just going to summarize my thoughts on the movie. This is a really steady paced, dark and thrilling movie. The third act is one of the best third acts in any "Star Wars" movie, ever. The war battle that rages reminded me of the opening battle scene in 'Saving Private Ryan' (1998), obviously not that violent, but for this franchise's standards, it is. There are many familiar faces that return in this movie, most notably, Darth Vader (reprising the voice of James Earl Jones), who only makes two small appearances in this movie. But, they are so great, I cannot elaborate further without spoiling it, so I'll leave it there. This movie, which takes place before the events of 'Star Wars: A New Hope' (1977), really relies mostly on story as opposed to character. You get to know a lot about Jyn, a little bit about Cassian and K-2SO... but the rest are kind of glossed over as far as development goes. Director Gareth Edwards did a capable job of actually making this feel like a "War" movie, whereas the other movies were a space-opera spectacle. The first two acts are a little pacey here and there... but that third act is truly one of the best highlights for this entire franchise.