Rogue One: A Star Wars story
Director: Gareth Edwards
Cast: Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, Alan
Tudyk, Mads Mikkelsen, Ben Mendelsohn, Donnie Yen, Forest Whitaker, Riz Ahmed,
Wen Jiang
Genre: Sci-fi, Action, Adventure
Released: 15th December 3016
Rogue
by name; rogue by nature the first standalone Star Wars film to venture away
the Skywalker Saga. Godzilla's Gareth
Edwards brings to life a story based on one sentence from the opening crawl of Epsiode IV: A New Hope 'Rebel spies
managed to steal secret plans to the Empire's ultimate weapon, the DEATH STAR,
an armored space station with enough power to destroy an entire planet'. What a
better tale for the studio Lucasfilm to explore than one that does not need all
the knowledge of the previous movies to get but can introduce new fans to the
Star Wars Universe.
In the
midst of a war between The Empire and The Rebellion, The Rebellion recruits
criminal Jyn Erso
(FELICITY JONES) and together with Intelligence officer Cassian Andor (DIEGO
LUNA) they must retrieve a mysterious message sent by Jyn's father Galen Erso BEN MENDELSOHN
Rogue one's story whilst is one that is
self-contained yet because it flows on onto the events of Episode IV, there is involvement of a couple of characters from Episode IV (to help with the
continuality of these events). Since it has been decades since Episode IV was released (1977), there is
the problem of how do you have characters show up in a film years later when
those who have played them are either haven't drunk from the fountain of youth
or no longer alive. The wizards at Industrial Light & Magic (who has done
the special effects of every Star Wars film) have pushed the envelope once more
with their use of CGI; they have been able to replicate the appearance of these
faces with such realistic quality that you would think Episode IV was made this decade not 40 years ago.
Having a predominantly fresh set of
characters in Rogue one, the cast all
bring interesting qualities to the table. As Jyn, Felicity inserts her with a
Strong Steely presence with a touch of vulnerability that slowly seeps through
as the film progresses. Diego has a palpable intensity as Cassian, presenting a
man hardened by years of being a rebel, but his newest mission that tests his
morality. As great, as Diego, Felicity and the rest of the cast are there is a
standout performance in Donnie Yen as blind monk like warrior Chirrut Imwe Donnie steals scenes with snappy
memorable dialog and puts his martial arts prowess to good use, knocking back
stormtroopers as if they are pins in a bowling alley.
Whilst Rogue
One feels more like a war like heist film than the more traditional Star Wars
film, there is still elements of classic Star Wars: the humour, epic aerial
fights, that one line that appears in every film and of course Darth Vader.
That one epic fight scene involving Vader is one for the books as one of the
best Vader scenes in Star Wars history. For those who have not drunk from the
Star Wars kool aid, get ready to quench that thirst you never knew you had with
a heart wenching adventure across worlds that will make you want to explore
more of that galaxy far far away.
4 stars