As the first stand alone Star Wars movie to hit screens since the Walt Disney Company purchased Lucasfilm, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story arrives in theaters with just a wee bit of pressure to deliver the goods. In short, it does. To put it more specifically, it is the best Star Wars movie since The Empire Strikes Back.
It begins unlike any other Star Wars movie prior and sets a pretty good standard for the non “Episode” films that will exist in this universe — there is no iconic scroll. Director Gareth Edwards just dives right in to his story and that is the first sign that all involved are keenly aware that those witnessing this tale know all there is to know and that there is no need for a pre-film verbal lay of the land.
An empire ship lands in a farming community with one goal: To bring back a scientist who is the key to finishing the Death Star. Galen Erso (Mads Mikkelsen) is leading a quiet life with his wife and young daughter and has left his life of being a tool of the militaristic Empire behind. Things get heated. Erso winds up back in the Empire’s hands, and his daughter Jyn is left to fend for herself. Lucky for her, she is rescued by a family friend, Saw Gerrera (Forest Whitaker).
Fast forward 15 years and we meet Jyn (Felicity Jones), who is a prisoner of the Empire busted out of a transport unit and taken to rebel headquarters. Rebel leaders have learned of the Death Star and believe that she is the key to reconnecting with her father and somehow learning about the “planet killer” and perhaps a way to stop it, and even destroy it.
Rogue One is the title given to the crew she assembles to go on this potentially suicidal mission. Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) is a ruthless rebel who does what he has to do to secure freedom for the galaxy from the Empire’s wrath. His android partner is K-2SO (voiced brilliantly by Alan Tudyk), who provides much of the film’s humor in the most deadpan of ways. Chirrut Îmwe (Donnie Yen) is a blind, Force praying believer in the power that there is a string of faith that unifies the universe that when used for good, is no match for any kind of evil. His partner in raising hell for the good of all that is good is Baze Malbus (Wen Jiang), a fighter who is all too good with a rapid-fire blaster which comes in quite handy on many an occasion. Rounding out the group is an Empire pilot who defected named Bodhi Rook (Riz Ahmed).
As anyone knows who has seen and devoured Star Wars: A New Hope, this Death Star contraption is something serious and the key to the rebels having any hope at all of winning this battle against tyranny lies in destroying it. On the Empire side, Orson Krennic (Ben Mendelsohn) is the rule with an iron fist man in charge of seeing that this weapon brings “peace” to the universe… or he will have to deal with that pure definition of evil boss of his, Lord Vader (voiced again by the legendary James Earl Jones).
Like so many good versus evil stories that stand the test of the time, the sides are firmly drawn and Rogue One is no different. We know that it is a race against time and we also know that these plans for the Death Star will be stolen and eventually land in the hands of Princess Leia. How we get there is the entire thrilling crux of Rogue One and it’s a journey that is action packed, emotionally powerful and chilling at times in its effectiveness of bringing to life this universe that George Lucas created and Disney has picked up the baton and ran with since purchasing the iconic film production house.
The set pieces are vast and epic, with more planets and locales than any Star Wars film we can remember. Yet with Edwards at the helm, working from a tightly wound script by Chris Weitz and Tony Gilroy, the pace sizzles, yet still leaves enough breathing room for some serious emotion that has us caring (albeit a bit rushed) for our Rogue One crew that is the key between the Empire ruling the galaxy and the rebels having a chance at turning the tide for true believers in peace.
Although John Williams provided the score for Star Wars: The Force Awakens, his familiar themes are integrated brilliantly by new-to-the-series composer Michael Giacchino in Rogue One. The iconic note progressions we all know and love are seamlessly melded into original score melodies that fit impeccably into the entire universe that many fans know better than their own family trees!
The cast delivers the perfect punch and panache, with just enough emotional fortitude sprinkled throughout to carry the heart with the heavy handed war imagery. See, that’s a huge difference from our expectations for Rogue One and what we actually witnessed. Going in, it appeared that Rogue One was a heist movie. In fact, Rogue One is a war movie, through and through. The imagery, the themes and its scene progression are right out of the classic war movie playbook — in that way, Edwards has surprised us and in the best of ways. It is also very much a race against the clock, pulse-pounding thriller that must be seen repeatedly.
No spoilers here, but there are also a slew of surprises for longtime fans strewn throughout the picture. It is a combination of Easter Eggs, cameos, blasts from the past and jaw-dropping salutes to a film series that is among the most beloved in the history of the medium.
Will Rogue One be as successful as The Force Awakens? The latter made it almost to a billion dollars in revenue in the United States alone. Given that Edwards’ film has delivered in all ways it could, and that it is indeed the third best Star Wars film, behind Empire Strikes Back and A New Hope, those repeat viewings could easily happen as they did for The Force Awakens. It might not get to a billion domestically, but it will come awfully close… and deservedly so. Heck, we want to head right out the door right now and see it again, and again… and again.
Grade: A