The Force Is Pleased With This Story

Before I start, let’s forget the notion of Star Wars being nothing more than a popcorn series. Something to fill theaters during the summer months.

It’s a phenomenon. Something so grand and so much bigger than anything else, that words simply cannot describe.

Overdramatic? Yes, just a bit. But fans of the series and film historians can argue the same point. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story buries that notion. Buries it like a Star Destroyer in the ruins of Jakku.

Off the bat, the film owes more to the likes of Saving Private Ryan or Apocalypse Now than it would to say Flash Gordon or any Akira Kurosawa film. This is not the Star Wars original fans had wanted, it’s the one that justifies the word “war.”

The story revolves around a group of rebels and their mission to obtain plans for the infamous Death Star. It’s a timeless tale, one that longtime fans should be familiar with, but it’s told in greater detail.

The characters, though underdeveloped, do a good job of bringing audiences into this conflict. Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones) is the daughter of a Death Star technician who is roped into a rebellion plot to steal the planet destroyer’s plans.

Joining her is Cassian Andor (Diego Luna), a rugged Rebel Alliance Intelligence officer (who I called Non Solo throughout the movie) and K-2SO, a wise cracking former Imperial Droid (voiced by Alan Tudyk).

The ensemble is very likeable, though they have no chance to develop. Jyn’s backstory is interrupted by too many jumps to different planets and frustratingly unnecessary cuts to different time periods.

Thankfully the other members, including Donnie Yen playing an incredibly cool force-sensitive warrior, do a better job of making the humans feel human.

Despite the overall dark atmosphere, the humor is better than ever. K-2SO is funny and never overstays his welcome.  

Characters may be flat at times, but the action never lets up. Firefights break out in small villages on distant planets, Imperial Walkers fall down and cause explosions and the vast emptiness of space is replaced with ship battles that fans in 1977 would have never imagined.

The fan service is unavoidable. Yes at times it is forced, cheesy and groan inducing. The times where it works, including answering a nearly 40 year old plot hole, it works so effortlessly. Gareth Edwards shows that a fan can easily take the helm of an important film series.

It’s nostalgic filmmaking at its best, and even though it doesn’t have the same impact as The Force Awakens had on me last year, it is still an amazing experience, one that builds on the hope that not all prequels in this film series need to be awful.