Review of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016) by Calumrhys — 10 Jan 2017

Whilst most had stated this to be one of the highest anticipated films of 2016, I actually approached the film with quite low expectations. Maybe it was due to the fact that Gareth Edwards under-performed on his previous anticipated picture 'Godzilla', or maybe it was down to the entirety of the film veering away from the characters and style we know and love so much. Well, I'll say it outright, I was very wrong. 'Rogue One' was a surprisingly fantastic movie with new relatable characters, stunning visuals and a storyline on almost epic proportions.

From the outset we are launched into a "very different" Star Wars universe, the beautiful and colourful imagery that made the originals (and 'The Force Awakens') so stunning had been completely washed away and replaced with a washed out, gritty tone. Is that a bad thing? Not at all, to be honest I completely love the new look, taking away from the Hollywood-esque look of the originals and bringing in a grimmer, darker tone that represents it as more of a war film. Accompanying the visuals we have the score, and no, unfortunately John Williams won't be returning this time round. The first Star Wars film, to not see Williams return, this time featuring Michael Giacchino who's done his best to recreate Williams' fantastic sound. Once again, 'Rogue One' has done its utmost best to focus on practical effects over the overuse of CGI, and has done so well, but that aside the CGI is nonetheless stunning.

The technical aspects aside, let's look at the characters. With a host of new faces on the silver screen, 'Rogue One' presents us with the characters that would've been around prior to the events in 'A New Hope'. Fronting this is newcomer Jyn Erso, played brilliantly by the sensational Felicity Jones, supported by the likes of Riz Ahmed, Forest Whitaker, Mads Mikkelsen, Diego Luna and Alan Tudyk, the latter as the comedy value, playing the robot K-2S0 with a Sheldon Cooper-esque outlook on life. Oh and there's also Peter Cushing back from the dead, whilst I don't usually agree with the use of CGI to bring actors back to life (especially ones who passed away nearly 2 decades ago), his small appearances definitely add to the movie.

All-in-all, 'Rogue One' is a fantastic chapter in the Star Wars saga, giving fans everything they want - including Darth Vader (once again voiced by the fantastic James Earl Jones). With 'The Force Awakens' becoming a huge success, it was going to be tough for Edwards to live up to the hype created, and whilst it may fall short in minor places, it is nonetheless a fantastic science fiction action romp. A great way to end 2016.