Growing up with a nerdy dad meant I would be exposed early to the wonder of the “Star Wars” saga, and by the time I was 12 I had the DVD box set, my bedroom wall had six posters — one for each movie — and I even had a pair of plastic lightsabers.
Excited doesn’t begin to describe my feelings when I read about the plot of “Rogue One” a year ago, and with more teasers and trailers dropping along the way to its December release, my expectations were exceedingly high going into the movie theater.
I was not disappointed. It is unlike any other “Star Wars” movie released to date, by focusing on the story of a non-Jedi. It’s darker, it’s grittier – it’s like what “The Dark Knight” did for Batman.
It was the best “Star Wars” film released since the original trilogy. Let that sink in.
Sure, being better than the the prequel trilogy isn’t a difficult task, but that’s not the topic today.
For the non-enthusiasts, the very first film of the saga, “Star Wars: A New Hope” begins with Vader and imperial troops invading Princess Leia’s ship because she had apprehended Imperial plans. Later, viewers are told that a great deal of rebellion soldiers sacrificed themselves to get the information to the rebel base. The plans were, of course, Death Star blueprints that outline its only weakness, allowing for the climactic finish when Luke turns the Death Star into space dust.
“Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” is the tale told from the perspective of those who infiltrated the Empire base to get the plans, effectively setting the first ever “Star Wars” film into motion.
Right away I knew this was not your typical “Star Wars.” First of all, when the begining overture began, it wasn’t the same John Williams score we’ve grown to expect. Then no long intro of flying yellow text prefixing the story.
Audiences are just dropped in the story when Imperial Commander Orson Krennic (Ben Mendelsohn) forces scientist Galen Erso (Mads Mikkelsen) into labor after shooting his wife and attempting to kidnap his daughter.
It was at that moment I knew this would be the darkest of the “Star Wars” saga, which made me nervous considering I went in expecting little to no main characters to survive. The heaviness of the film was reassured early on when Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) — the rebel initially leading the espionage mission — kills his informant to keep himself safe.
Cassian Andor breaks Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones) out of a prison transport. Jyn, the estranged daughter of Galen Erso, has grown up living with war criminal and extremist Saw Gerrera (Forest Whitaker). She brings a new definition to the word rebel, not even wanting to align herself with the cause until her family ties draw her into leading the most desperate mission the the rebellion ever conducted — really, they would have disbanded the whole rebellion if it weren’t for Jyn. No Jyn means no Leia, no Luke and no Solo.
Though it was different, “Rogue One” has everything audiences forgot they love about “Star Wars.” Composer Michael Giacchino did a good job putting a new twist on a classic theme — because whether you realize it or not, music is crucial to a film’s emotional effect.
It had all the drama and action that gets us invested in these characters lives and makes us cling to that same sliver of hope the Rebels hold onto. Did I mention action? Let’s reiterate that, because this movie’s basically “Saving Private Ryan” in the “Star Wars” universe.
It even has the necessary comedic relief in the overly-frank, reprogrammed droid, K-2SO (Alan Tudyk).
One last crucial thing this film has that no other “Star Wars” has really had since “Return of the Jedi:” Darth Vader. Yeah, real Vader, not adolescently confused Anakin. Darth Vader is one of the most feared and tyrannical villains in film history, and for about three minutes toward the end, viewers truly understand why. I’d pay to see it again just to watch his scene.
I personally wanted about 30 more minutes of Vader kick-assery, but overall it’s amazing. It gets a rating of 5 out of 5 tears, for overwhelming goodness.