Another space spectacular

Rating: 10/10 (19 December 2016)

19 December 2016 Film of Choice at The Plaza Dorchester Tonight - Rogue One. All hail the marvellous minds that come together to bring us films like this. This is not Star Wars, this is setting the scene for an epic saga, full of characters we have never heard of, yet are strangely familiar. This is a tale of good guys and bad guys and grand battles, narrow escapes and people fighting for the causes they believe in. We are invited to join the story before it begins and along the way we are teased with seconds of familiar noises, cameos of familiar faces and moments of mirth which were totally unexpected. We are introduced to a different generation of droid, who not only enthralled us like C3P0 but also very much reminded me of Sheldon from The Big Bang Theory (bizarre I know). Some very clever film techniques brought us unexpected characters and re-introduced us to weaponry and battle strategies of old (or new depending on which film you are watching). This film has provided an excellent stop gap whilst we wait for Episode 7, whilst at the same time negating the need to waste time watching Episodes 1-3. Excellent filming, a wonderful array of characters, a mixture of human, tentacle clad, masked, and downright squishy which is brought together in bars and streets from distant ends of the galaxy. There is also a splendid mix of spaceships, old favourites and new designs which given the timeline actually work together and you accept them as already existing. Brilliant film, well done to all involved.