DISCLAIMER: CONTAINS SPOILERS!  

Finally, we Star Wars fans got our filler movie between episodes three and four! It lacked that certain non-stop action aspect like most of the other Star Wars movies and was by far the most confusing one yet, but overall it did a great job in filling in the blanks of the birth of the Death Star. The ending firefight, without a doubt, showcased the hope that the rebellion was built upon. That nerve-wracking scene brought me right to the edge of my seat, and sent a few chills down my spine.  

As many of you may or may not know, this movie took place between “Revenge of The Sith” and “A New Hope,” as an explanation of the origins of the Death Star and how the rebellion learned of its existence and how to blow it up. The movie starts out a little confusing, but here is the overall plotline: the Galactic Empire needs engineers to build their super weapon and their top prospect is Galen Erso, the creator of the technology to power their weapon. When found by the Empire’s Admiral Orson Krennic, Galen sends his daughter Jyn to his trusted friend Saw Gerrera. She was forced to leave him once it was discovered by his band of radicals that she was Galen Erso’s daughter and she began a life of petty crime. Once the rebellion heard of this and discovered that an imperial pilot was defecting (giving them information on the superweapon), they abducted Jyn hoping she would help them get the information they needed.

Jyn Erso did agree to help, despite her bitterness toward the rebellion, and eventually wound up discovering her purpose in life. Through Jyn’s help the rebellion was able to uncover that there was a minor flaw in the death star that Galen Erso purposefully left in the plans. Their only hope to save the galaxy was to infiltrate Scarif (the Empire’s planet containing all their data) and steal the plans for the Death Star, but the delegates in the rebellion’s counsel declared it too risky. After a passionate speech from Jyn, a girl who went from having no hope to becoming a preacher, and a small group of volunteer brave soldiers pledged their loyalty, these rebels of the Alliance stole a ship and headed straight toward Scarif. They faced many struggles on the surface but with help from the rebel army, much sacrifice and fighting on the surface, they transmitted the plans from Scarif and to a rebel ship, just narrowly escaping the clutches of Darth Vader.

I just have to say right off the bat that I am disappointed in Lucasfilm; what happened to starting every Star Wars movie with the rolling credits? I was looking forward to that impossible-to-read paragraph setting the scene. At least they put “A long time ago in a galaxy far far away.” This was the beginning of a confusing start to the movie. There is no doubt in my mind that there needed to be some clarity as to where we are and what is happening in the first hour of film. To start, it was weird to be introduced into a family we knew nothing about. Then there was some random Admiral saying that Galen Erso needed to finish his work on the Death Star; and Galen sent his daughter to a literal hole in the ground where some random guy “rescued” her. All that was going through my head was, “what just happened?!” Also, the hyper-jumping around from some forsaken planet where the Ersos lived, to some random asteroid, and then to the rebel base where Jyn somehow showed up boggled my mind even more. It felt as if every explanation (if there was one) was skimmed over or casually mentioned. There was no closure.

Yet I do have to say that the plot itself did a great job in identifying where the Death Star came from, why Princess Leia had the plans in her message to Obi-Wan in Episode IV. It was also pretty cool that the leader of the rebellion fleet was a Mon Calamari just like Admiral Ackbar. I did enjoy the fact that Lando Calrissian was helping the rebellion in their plot and played a silent, but crucial role in getting the plans to safety. He was the one who entrusted Leia Organa with the task and also helped convince the rebellion’s council the cause was worth fighting for.

Despite the first hour of confusing introductions, the final scenes of the movie were real nail biters. There were several points where I thought the rebels were going to fail in their quest; like the scene when Chirrut Imwe (a worshipper of the force and guardian of the Kaiburr crystal temple) made that long, methodical walk out into the blaster shots and explosions to flip the switch to tell the rebel fleet they needed to blow open the planet’s gateway I just froze. Also when Admiral Krennic ambushed Jyn on top of the tower right when she was about to upload the plans I was in mid-shock when Cassian (Jyn’s friend and fighter pilot) climbed the tower after being shot and killed Krennic. However, the rebellion really showed some top-notch multitasking skills in that scene. They are definitely top ranked in the galaxy in the game of telephone. The ending of the movie also cleared up why Darth Vader was boarding Leia Organa’s ship in A New Hope. The assumption can be made that Vader followed them in hyperspace because they escaped just before he could board the ship.

The humor throughout the movie was what kept me interested during the pure story parts. Especially K2-SO and Jyn’s passive aggressive banter. I remember Jyn saying, “I’m afraid they’ll miss you and shoot me,” and K2-SO replying, “I wouldn’t mind that,” as he drops the bag he gave to her on the ground. Also when Chirrut Imwe had a bag put over his head and said, “Are you kidding me, I’m blind!” That scene when Darth Vader force choked Admiral Krennic after he asked to have control over the Death Star and said “don’t choke on your aspirations, admiral,” had me disrupting the whole theatre with laughter.

There is no doubt in my mind that there were some good acting choices in Rogue One. Donnie  Yen did a great job portraying a blind, devoted, monk-like guardian. He and Jiang Wen (as Baze Malbus) playing best friends, one being a crazy monk and the other his protector. Riz Ahmed as the defecting imperial pilot made it clear he was a man on a mission. He was also great at being brain-dead after being interrogated for information. It was a little confusing when he suddenly went from barely functional to full health in a few scenes. Overall, I am happy with the casting choices, even though it was implied going in that many of the new characters would die (because none of them were in A New Hope), it was still sad to see them go one by one.

Rating: 6.5/10

I do believe this was a good movie despite the faults it had. There was still action and great special effects. Specifically the explosion of planets by the Death Star. Also, Kudos to Lucasfilm for using CGI to create Grand Moff Tarkin in the movie.