Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)

Genre

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi

Director

Gareth Edwards

Country

USA

Cast

Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, Ben Mendelsohn, Donnie Yen, Mads Mikkelsen, Alan Tudyk, Riz Ahmed, Jiang Wen, Forest Whitaker, Jonathan Aris, Genevieve O'Reilly, Jimmy Smits, James Earl Jones

Storyline

After the formation of the Galactic Empire, the Rebel Alliance recruits Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones) to work with a team including Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) to steal the design schematics of the Empire's new superweapon, the Death Star.

Opinion

While I still was very excited about it, I didn't have any expectations for this film. Maybe I was afraid it was going to be a disappointment, like pretty much the whole prequels trilogy, I don't know. But last night I returned home with a big smile on my face. Why? Because "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" is simply a spectacular addition to the saga.

First of all, kudos to the writers. Basing an entire film on a single quote from "A New Hope" certainly wasn't an easy task, but they did a wonderful job. In fact, this story about how the Rebel Alliance acquired the plans for the Death Star is engaging, gripping and refreshing, which is surprising since we already know the outcome.

I'm sure many will not enjoy it because of the film they'll find themselves watching. This film is more of a war drama than a science fiction adventure. Basically something one would not expect from Star Wars, and definitely something people are going to complain about it.

However, that doesn't mean the film isn't exciting. It indeed has plenty of action, and it's also spectacular. Not to mention the final climatic fight, just wonderful.

But let's move onto the thing I was excited the most about, the characters, in particular Jyn Erso, and I was happy with the result. Even though there isn't enough time - literally - to properly develop each one of them and maybe the writers should have focused on just a few instead of doing so many all together, overall they are good. Still I really wish they developed Chirrut more. But I loved what they did with Jyn. She is such a tough and reckless woman, exactly what the film needed. And unlike the others, she has a great backstory that provides her motivations.

Felicity Jones gives an incredible performance as Jyn Erso, bringing to life another memorable hero. The rest of the cast also does a good job, from Diego Luna as Cassian Andor, to Mads Mikkelsen as Galen Erso - I would have loved to see more of his character though -, to Alan Tudyk - he pulls off the role with some good comedic relief -, to Donnie Yen who easily steals the show as Chirrut, one of the best characters created in the new films.