The Star Wars Anthology Series was announced in February 2013, and now, almost 4 years later, ‘Rogue One’ has been released.
Earlier in the year, we wrote about the official film poster that had been released, and how it was both bizarre and underwhelming.
Well, the good news is that the movie isn’t.
Lets get straight to it then. This time we’re going all the way; the full pineapple pizza – a spoilerless Rogue One review.
Chronologically, when is the movie set?
Rouge One is a sequel to the Prequels, and a prequel to the Original Trilogy, which are sequels to the Prequels and prequels to the Sequels.
Basically, it’s set between Episode III (Revenge of the Sith) and Episode IV (A New Hope).
Does Darth Vader really make an appearance?
Like we saw in the trailers, yes he does, and what a performance it turns out to be. (Not a spoiler.)
Is it filled with Easter eggs?
Just like The Force Awakens (could they really not think of a better name for that one?), Rogue One has multiple references to the Original Trilogy that we’re not going to discuss (spoiler free review, remember?), but they won’t go unnoticed by a Star Wars fan.
So, what else?
In short, the entire cast of the movie delivered extremely commendable jobs, but the real standout performances were those given by Ben Mendelsohn and Diego Luna.
Ben Mendelsohn as Krennic
Unlike The Force Awakens, we already knew the basic plot of Rogue One, not only because it was pretty evident through the trailers (totally unlike Episode VII), but also because Disney told us (how nice of them). ‘Steal the plans for the Empire’s super weapon’ (try to guess which one).
HINT: IT’S THIS
Rogue One is not like a Star Wars film that we’re used to. There are no Jedi, and the only sarcasm and banter (which a lot of people are used to because of Obi-Wan, Han, and Leia) is provided by one character, a droid (although it is pretty good). It’s more of an outright action film than an epic space opera. Like Episode VII, the special effects are, to put it simply, amazing. Once you get through the possible initial confusion of who is killing who, the movie goes on to deliver a solid story line.
Through the story, Rogue One goes on to answer multiple questions we might have had after watching ‘A New Hope’. More importantly, at no point does this movie threaten to ruin the entire series (Episode II was pushing that line a bit), nor does it spoil the story of the Original Trilogy.