Rogue One -- A review

A little to the left...no, your other left....

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story really shouldn’t have been this good. It’s one of those “fan service” movies that purports to fill in the blanks of the overall Star Wars saga by explaining just how the Rebellion got the plans to destroy the Death Star, which sounds like the sort of details that only rabid Star Wars fans (like me) would be interested in. But I knew it was going to be something special when they hired Gareth Edwards (Monsters, and the 2014 Godzilla) to direct, and then they cast the marvelous actress Felicity Jones to play the lead role of Jyn Erso. Like last year’s The Force Awakens, which focused on Daisy Ridley’s Rey, Rogue One also has a strong female in its lead in Jyn, which was an important plus in its favor right out of the gate.

Growing up on a desolate planet, young Jyn finds herself on the run when her mother is killed and her father (Mads Mikkelsen) is arrested by Imperial troops under the command of Orson Krennic (the always great Ben Mendelsohn). Raised by Saw Gerrera (Forest Whitaker, another great actor), a radical old war veteran from the early days of the Rebellion, Jyn becomes a soldier for the cause as early as sixteen. Presently languishing in an Imperial jail, the adult Jyn is rescued by the rebellion, for the purpose of asking her if she has recently been in touch with her father.

It turns out that Jyn’s father, Galen, has been working on the Death Star--specifically, he’s been working on the main planet-killer laser. With the Death Star reported to be nearing completion, the still-nascent Rebellion sends Jyn on a desperate quest to find her father, along with everything he knows about this dreaded super weapon before it can be used on them. The overall tone of Rogue One is much different than the usual Star Wars flick. It becomes clear, very early on, that Rogue One is not primarily geared at children--particularly when we see a sympathetic character, a member of the Rebellion, shoot his informant in the back, lest the anxious informant gets captured by the Empire and is made to talk.

Now, remember, everybody just act normal....

Granted, the Star Wars production design always historically had a lived-in look--with machines and buildings that looked used--but the saga was also strictly black and white, with clear good guys, and very clear bad guys. Yet Rogue One dares to show our heroes making some very hard and questionable decisions, without diminishing them. And at the same time, we see Director Krennic warily navigating the backstabbing perils of Imperial interoffice politics--he’s got just as much to worry about from the people on his own side as he does with the Rebels.

This ’low-to-the-ground’ gritty take on the Star Wars universe, which humanizes its heroes and villains, is both refreshing and welcome. This was Edwards’ contribution to the film, as he created this same superb ‘low-to-the-ground’, ‘we’re-a-part-of-something-bigger-than-us’ feeling first with Monsters, and then used it again in 2014‘s Godzilla. The maturity that Rogue One treats the Star Wars universe elevates it way above the lesser Star Wars films, like the prequels. And it manages to elevate A New Hope even further by showing deeper meanings to events in that film that resonate profoundly  for the viewer.

Add to that the fact that Rogue One is also visually stunning, ending with a supremely spectacular battle sequence that takes place both planet-side and in space (not to mention a spectacular massacre scene aboard a spaceship) and you have an immensely satisfying Star Wars film for the ages, one that’s in the same league with The Empire Strikes Back. Rogue One is the prequel that Uncle George should have made--instead of his lame space soap operas--a movie that ties in directly with the original trilogy, making it a must-watch on a double bill with A New Hope. Don’t miss it.    --SF