Renewed Hope

Rating: 10/10 (16 December 2016)

I wanted to wait a bit to review Rogue One: A Star Wars Story so as not to spoil anything (this review is largely spoiler free). There are so many thinks I loved about this movie, and as much as I liked The Force Awakens, that film played it safe. This one did not. Rogue One essentially corrects many of the complaints people have about the prequel trilogy, from the sappy dialogue, bogged down politics, tame action, moody Anakin, and Jar Jar Binks. While this film fits within the Star Wars canon chronology (think of Rogue One as Episode 3.5), a Star Wars initiate can easily view this as their first film and understand what is going on. As I mentioned earlier, Force Awakens fits the traditional Star Wars formula, so much so that it is essentially a reboot of A New Hope. Rogue One is a whole different animal. The female lead, compared to Force Awakens, seems to be less of a Mary Sue with a bit more depth. As good as Kylo Res may end up being in the sequel trilogy, Darth Vader is, well, Darth Vader. While the Force is strong with this film, it relies more on it's brute depiction of intergalactic war (it is called Star WARS after all). For those of you who appreciate the original film, Rogue One does an excellent job of referring to that film with subtle references and throwbacks that Star Wars nuts will love. A few other highlights include the droid K-2SO who along with The Force Awakens's BB-8 will sure to become a fan favorite. The film makes effective use of Darth Vader in true terrifying form, and sure made me want to pop in A New Hope when it ended. Rogue One sure exceeded my expectations and is the best Star Wars film since Empire Strikes Back.