This electrifying installment in the Star Wars saga delivers one of the best in its acclaimed franchise

Rating: 8/10 (16 December 2016)

When J.J Abrams suited the director's chair for the widely anticipated 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' last year, he proved to be an obliging hand to drive the acclaimed franchise in a worthy, if slightly flawed direction. Though it fell short of expectations for some hardcore fans with many painting it's overwhelming similarities to 'Episode IV: New Hope', he managed to open light on a bright path for the series. This year, Hollywood brings us something new to the series in favor of the first stand-alone entry since the franchise's debut. Directed by Gareth Edwards, the man behind 2014's 'Godzilla'; this pins a spectacular installment that mounts a bridge between the chronology of 'Episode III: Revenge of The Sith' and 'New Hope'. Instead of revolving around the story of the family of Luke Skywalker, it tackles on the trajectory of the demise of the Death Star we witnessed in the fourth episode, with a focus on a whole new set of characters. This film follows Jyn Erso (played by Felicity Jones), a rebellion soldier with a grim past who must team with an Alliance Intelligence officer Cassian Andor (played by Diego Luna) and his wise-cracking robot K-2SO (voiced by Alan Tudyk) to steal plans from the Death Star from the possession of former Republic leader Orson Krennic (played by Ben Mendleston). Joining along their side is a blind swordsman (played by Donnie Yen) and his faithful sidekick (played by Wen Jiang) in an epic showdown.
A stand-alone to the Star Wars universe is an idea fans everywhere have speculated for quite some time, and the final product Gareth Edwards delivers of this concept works surprisingly well if a few blemishes. Like in the previous entries, the story is biggest hallmark that defines the film as it focuses on a part-heist, part-action plot set to connect the events of Darth Vader's origins in George Lucas's often loathed prequel trilogy and the classic trilogy that started it all. Following the story of rebellion warrior Jyn, this film focuses on her journey to save the galaxy an anticipated doom conducted by the Death Star. When she eventually joins with some unfamiliar allies that, that is when we are introduced the plot along with a string of new characters that sadly do not carry the same heart and interest as the cast of characters from the first trilogy. Cassian Andor and his robotic sidekick K-2SO make a fine duo, especially with the latter cracking some comedic one-liners every chance he's on screen. But they definitely don't fall in line with Hans Solo and Chewbacca. Though the plot kicks on a rather meandering start during the first half, Edwards manages to serve justice in the second half once the big action combat scenes kick in and we witness our heroes engage in a tense, climatic showdown complete with stellar special effects and CGI. The space battles stir some fun too but perhaps nothing special beyond what we seen the last installments. And if you expecting good cinematography expand upon the beauty of the action, these scenes include that as well with Greig Fraser providing hefty camera work capture the heat of the bombastic mayhem.
Felicity Jones makes a likable appeal as our main hero Jyn Erso but the manner in which her character doesn't quite boost near on the levels of our more memorable protagonists like Luke Skywalker. Diego Luna, often known for more dramatic work in the Mexican film industry, delivers a charismatic appeal as Cassian Andor; and his chemistry with the wise-cracking robot K-2SO provides charm almost every minute they hit the screen. But like Jyn Erso, he falls of a memorable character. Working along their side is Donnie Yen who shows off an adrenaline-fueled testosterone as a blind swordsman in a few extravagant fighting sequences, and Jiang Wen who shares a close companionship with Yen but nothing remarkable beyond few catchy one-liners. Forest Whitaker as Saw Generra (based on the character from the animated series) makes the best of his rather short screen time, though his sore-throat like voice can get little pesky. Arguably the most stand-out figure aside from the lead character Jyn is the villain Orson Krennic who is played by Ben Mendleston with a fairly solid performance. But the arresting spirit of the franchise's previous antagonists such as the culturally iconic Darth Vader and last year's Kylo Ren is sadly abandoned in this villain. Lucky for us, Gareth Edwards manages the squeeze Darth Vader into the story in which furnishes him just a few minutes of screen time including one exhilarating quick-time action sequence during the final twenty minutes. Beyond this, it is Orson Krennic who mostly steals the villain's throne.
Rogue One: A Star Wars story is a fantastic entry of stand-alone anthology film of the Star Wars cinematic universe. It marks a fine achievement for director Gareth Edwards who successfully ties a string connecting the conclusion of George Lucas's prequel trilogy and the more acclaimed trilogy, and opens the door for an enormous (and predictable) success at the box office. At best, it keeps the franchise gearing for a bright future.