This is How you Star Wars

Rating: 9/10 (16 December 2016)

Rogue One primarily follows a band of Rebels as they learn of and attempt to steal the plans of the infamous Death Star. Narratively, it could be argued that Rogue One's primary directive was to answer the unanswered questions of A New Hope and fill in the biggest plot hole in the entire saga, but the end product plays out more like a bridge than a prequel or a sequel one way or the other. Either way, it marks the first Star Wars movie not to feature a Skywalker; not to follow the main Jedi v Sith saga, and focus instead on the story around them; the Rebels vs the Empire. This is a movie about the little guys who won't be remembered in the history books of the Star Wars universe, rather than the legends who would form the myths and change the universe around them for centuries.
One thing Rogue One is rife with is references to other movies and cameos from various characters. Crucially though, none of it feels unnatural. Every reference and every cameo feels necessary. Well, apart from maybe 3PO and R2D2 making a brief appearance. If nothing else, Rogue One proves that nostalgia in tentpole blockbusters can really work both narratively as well as financially. In truth, a lot of scenes would feel odd without them. As chronology places Rogue One a matter of days, or even hours before A New Hope, the absence of certain characters would've been jarring.
Chief among them being Grand Moff Tarkin, who I didn't expect to see at all. Thing is though, Peter Cushing, the actor who played him originally, has been dead for over twenty years. If I hadn't known that, I wouldn't have noticed his recreation for the movie at all, and for the sake of continuity it was a risky yet fantastic choice. Sure, they could've recast him like they did Mon Mothma, but let's be honest, it would've been a harder sell. Instead they've brought in Guy Henry, who manages to capture Cushing's authority over the screen masterfully, and given him a CGI facemask that is almost uncanny in it's representation of the late actor. There have been many attempts over the years to bring back dead actors, or at least make them look younger, but Rogue One is the first to truly surpass the 'uncanny valley'. Visual Effects contender at the awards? Almost certainly.
Acting was pretty great by all. I won't repeat what I said about Guy Henry's part in the resurrection of Peter Cushing, but it was arguably the most convincing and impressive performance of the movie. Felicity Jones proves that she is absolutely on the up-and-up and will only earn more recognition from Rogue One. Diego Luna was maybe a bit of a weak link, but certainly not movie-breaking (cough Christensen cough). Ben Mendelsohn does what he does best in creating a threatening and engaging villain who isn't without flawed personality traits of his own (a confrontation with Darth Vader is one of the movie's high points). Alan Tudyk steals the show as K-2SO, a sarcastic, deadpan Imperial droid who provides the most comic relief, while Donnie Yen and Wen Jiang make a great double team of believer and sceptic respectively. Mads Mikkelson frankly doesn't get enough to work with, and Jimmy Smits (as Senator Bail Organa) and Genevieve O'Reilly (as Mon Mothma) reprise their Episode III roles as little more than frequent cameos.
While character development may arguably be a little lacking in Rogue One, there's enough for the viewer to get a sense of who each of them are amidst the snowballing plot, that doesn't particularly allow for a lot of downtime. Rogue One's real strength with it's characters, especially in contrast to the main saga, is that there is no good or bad, just various shades of grey. It's a world of doing what's necessary, no matter what. Cassian kills an informant early on with little emotion, maybe to save him from the torture of the Empire, or maybe just to save his own skin. Galen Erso metaphorically sleeps with the enemy in order to keep a daughter he hasn't seen in fifteen years relatively safe. Saw Gerrera's disruption of the Empire borders on terrorism. Jyn is, herself, a criminal for reasons unknown, and initially uninterested in the political conflict she's found herself thrust into. Of course Director Krennic is villainous to the core, and Chirrut is righteously heroic, proving that there's still room in the muddle of greys for some black and white.
If I have one disappointment, it's the music. Michael Giacchino's score is great, don't get me wrong, but the most memorable beats in the movie were definitely the original themes written by John Williams. Giacchino's score reworks some of them, and attempts to create some new, but they pale in comparison. Not only that, but the main trailer for Rogue One had solid scoring that I'm disappointed didn't make it into the final cut (it's like Age of Ultron all over again). Overall though, this is just a minor niggle.
Rogue One is, for me, quintessential Star Wars. Not only that, it builds on and improves it's surrounding movies in the saga. I'm not quite sure it's better than Revenge of the Sith in my personal ranking, but it's definitely up there alongside Empire Strikes Back as one of the best Star Wars movies ever made. It is consciously more Original Trilogy than it is Prequel, without completely ignoring what came before it. It taps into what made Star Wars beloved by many for decades without feeling like a retread like Force Awakens did. For this, I'm going to go with my gut rather than try and keep my feelings reserved, and give Rogue One a fantastic 9/10. I thoroughly enjoyed it from beginning to end, and it's all I ever wanted from a new Star Wars movie.