Star Wars: Rogue “One” of the Best of 2016

★★★½ out of 4 stars

Star Wars: Rogue One of the Best of 2016

If you haven’t already seen it, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story will surely please any fan of the Star Wars franchise. It offers something new to those who have yet to find enjoyment from this hugely popular film series. It also offers cameos with past starts to the nerds among us, myself included, without shoving it too hard in the face of the audience. The film takes on a new, darker tone from its companion films creating new interest. 

Within the series, Rogue One takes place between Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith and Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. The film fits perfectly within the series filling in details that would make a rewatch of the 1977 original even better.

The story follows a tough and gritty female lead, Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones), as she joins forces with a galaxy-wide rebellion. She and her fellow companions are entrusted with the task to rescue her father, who, having been kidnapped years before, had been forced to develop a super weapon for the corrupt Empire.

The film gets somewhat bogged down by a muddled beginning as it tries to introduce the new cast of characters. This forced and speedy beginning causes holes in character development within the film, especially with Diego Luna’s character, Cassian Andor.

But what the film lacks in the first third is made up for, and more, in the final two-thirds of the film. Accompanied by a welcome comic relief, K-2SO (Alan Tudyk), the final two thirds take the audience on an adventure to through a war in space unlike anything we have seen yet in a Star Wars film (think “Saving Private Ryan’ but in space). The characters we have learned to love throughout the film fight their way through hordes of Stormtroopers, evil military commanders, and a lightsaber-wielding Darth Vader.

Rogue One’s director, Gareth Edwards, takes fans on a new and different adventure they haven’t been on with a Star Wars film. The grittier tone is a welcome change and one we hope to see again in the franchise. If Rogue One is a sign of things to come for the franchise, we can expect an exciting few years with the release of the newly-named Star Wars: The Last Jedi set to open in December of 2017.