"Pure Star Wars Magic"

Rating: 10/10 (16 December 2016)

Just when you thought Episode IV was always the right film to start if you wanna properly feel the Star Wars experience. Rogue One draws you in with something new, dark, epic and fulfilling, that truly makes the 3 paragraphs in the opening crawl of Episode IV feel like a film we should've seen first.
The film soars in it being appropriately being titled "A Star Wars Story". Although some might see that the "Star Wars" franchise name it carries will obviously hold the film back and limit it to just setting up for sequels and pausing moments for nostalgia. The film does this naturally and it does not hold back at all with a tone that differs from the usual hopeful text book heroes' journey space opera of the previous films in the franchise. It does not need to set up for an even greater sequel because it merely needs to set up an already beloved franchise that has already had its high and low points. The film also doesn't stop to boast a nostalgic reference, they're there with subtle hints, nods and blends in with the over arching story. Simple nods like showing familiar faces appearing by having them blend in the crowd or be part of the rebel fleet, people playing Dejarik, and even fixing plot holes that have haunted the franchise for years. The film also does even better what "Force Awakens" did best, which was the introduction of the new characters, but what Rogue One does special was to not have the sequel do its job for them which is to develop each individual in the same movie. (because obviously the sequel already exists). Jyn Erso played by Felicity Jones works perfectly well in a film that aims for a darker tone and with her story directly contrasting Luke's humble beginnings of eventual greatness. Along with Cassian played by Diego Luna, Chirrut (Donnie Yen), Baze (Wen Jiang), Saw Gerrera (Forest Whitaker) and Bodhi (Riz Ahmed), they bring a whole new perspective and layer to the rebel alliance which we previously just usually saw from the eyes of our protagonists like Luke, Leia, and Hans. The film does a great job capturing themes of extremism, internal struggle within the alliance and how under powered they felt during the creation of the Death Star. They also capture a whole lot more context with what goes on within the Empire with Orson Krennic, Ben Mendhelson's character. Starting off as sort of a "Hans Landa" esque type of villain, his character highlights the flaws of the Empire and their eventual downfall. Also who could forget K-2SO voiced by Alan Tudyk who carries the comic relief and probably the best jokes along with Donnie Yen's character. But probably one of the strongest part about the film is how much it strayed away from usual Star Wars clichés and generating a feel like no other. Sure, probably the biggest flaw of this film is the first few parts which starts off slow and sort of inorganically introduces and sets up each character, but as the film progresses, it evolves the characters through emotional and dramatic moments delivered astoundingly by its lead actors. Every time the film delivers a climax, they are filled with strong emotions that were properly set up and developed before hand and this pays off incredibly well in the last 15 minutes of the film (more on that later). The cinematography and scale this film delivers is also off the charts and is probably THE strongest part of the film if not the latter. Gareth Edwards who also directed Godzilla (2014), is an absolute genius in creating massive set pieces and making your jaw drop in each establishing shot. Each shot drips of the epicness Star Wars created a legacy on, each shot feels like a film that definitely comes before a 1977 film, each shot has subtle nuances that make it even richer in detail. Along with the beautiful cinematography also came the fluid action scenes that were well paced and directed. The last 15 minutes of this film will absolutely leave you in awe, bring you to the edge of your seat and even make you cry because of euphoria. Gareth Edwards absolutely needs to direct every action scene, whether in space, on the ground or hand to hand combat, his style is what Star Wars needs to elevate their game.
In the end, the pay offs that this film will give you both as a Star Wars fan or even a casual fan are complete pure movie magic. Having not been born during the original trilogy or experiencing them in the theaters in the 70s-80s, I think this film is the closest I can have to having that inexplicable feeling of joy, wonder, excitement and refreshment this franchise has YET to offer.
Verdict: 9.7/10