Rogue One: An Awesome Star Wars Story

Rating: 9/10 (17 December 2016)

Despite the film's slow paced beginning, Rogue One, the eighth motion picture set in a galaxy far, far away, inflicts a great sense of nostalgia for the original trilogy and instills in fans an anxious excitement for the franchise moving forward. The familiar elements of the Star Wars universe, overlaid with realistic warfare that has never been so front and center in a Star Wars movie, lays the groundwork for a truly astounding story and action packed movie experience. Indeed there are a few drawn out scenes and mundane monologues building up to larger story arcs as there is with any movie at over 120 minutes in length. After all, how else would Hollywood make our $20 IMAX 3D tickets worth the price tag. But what viewers gets in return for their patience as the story tellers lay the necessary ground work in Act 1 and 2 is an astounding Act 3 that lands blows the audience may not have been expecting. The ending battle sequence is fantastic visually and does wonders with respect to proper pace, relevant content, and of course X-Wings, lots and lots of X-Wings. The creators of this movie from day one declared this movie a spin-off film, making it very clear that they would be slightly veering from the normal Star Wars form of story telling while still respecting the universe in which it exists. This remained consistent when the title logo was released without the ever so recognizable franchise insignia, the introduction of the "A Star Wars Story" tag line, and a promise of no opening crawl. And that's exactly what we got. A story set within the Star Wars universe that contained a perfect addition of brand new elements, purposeful hints of old elements, and a climax that forces the crimson red blood in viewers hearts to pump with vigor until the closing credits roll. What does this mean for future Star Wars films? This means there is hope. Hope for the future spin-offs, hope for future episodes, and hope for the successful continuation of the Star Wars franchise for years and years to come.