Darker and Grittier, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story Succeeds Completely as a Standalone and Connects Easily to the Original Trilogy

Rating: 10/10 (16 December 2016)

So we get our second dose of Star Wars done by Disney. We already had The Force Awakens but Rogue One is a different story. It connect almost directly to Star Wars: Episode IV, taking place just a few days before A New Hope. I was hooked going into this movie just from hearing about the plot premise, let alone the awesome trailers. It centres on the Rebellion, with a squadron of rebel fighters trying to steal the plans for the original Death Star. The reviews were good and with a vibe more like the first trilogy, it wasn't hard to figure out that this was going to be a big hit. Did I love it? Absolutely and I'll be happy to tell you why.
*Minor Spoilers Ahead* Forgoing the opening crawl, we join Galen Erso (Mads Mikkelsen) and his family on a remote planet. An Imperial transport shuttle starts to land. Young Jyn Erso (later played in the present by Felicity Jones) runs back home and the family begins an evacuation protocol. The ranking Imperial officer that steps out of the shuttle is Orson Krennic (Ben Mendelsohn). He's a no nonsense type who's come to recruit Galen to come work on the Death Star because production has stalled and Krennic's commanding officers are growing impatient. To stall for time so his family can get away, Galen tries to make excuses on why he can't come but Orson isn't taking no for an answer. Jyn is able to get to safety but her mother goes back with a blaster. Galen begs for his wife to stop but she shoots Krennic and is fatally shot in turn. Galen is led away and Jyn escapes to a nearby cave. She waits until Saw Gerrera (Forest Whitaker) a freedom fighter and friend of the Erso family is able to pick her up and transport her to safety.
This movie is decidedly different from The Force Awakens, both in tone and subject matter. What I loved most about Rogue One is that it focuses on a different side of the rebellion. The movie is more about espionage and the movements of ground level troops instead of focusing on Jedi or the larger political fight. I really dug that, considering where the Rebellion is according to the original time line, things ought to be bleak and dark. I think Rogue One resembles the original trilogy and it was nice to see. I want more movies like this, focusing on smaller parts of a larger picture and telling a more grounded and emotional story.
Another note about Rogue One is that it is a decidedly less family-friendly story. The story is more visceral, the lines of morality are more blurry and some of the violence is more brutal. The characters aren't Captain America heroes, they do selfish things and aren't always looking out for the common good until the end. Rogue One represents more of an adult scope of the new Star Wars universe.
I really like movies about a team of anti-heroes coming together to execute an operation/heist and Rogue One represents one of those movies done to almost perfection. I liked so many of the new characters they introduced, some of them are unique warriors like Chirrut Îmwe (Donnie Yen, some of them were heroes that had to find their courage like Bodhi Rook (Riz Ahmed), and others were sarcastic robots that put the mission ahead of forming bonds with humans like K-2SO (Alan Tudyk in a scene stealing role). They came together pretty seamlessly and even though the development of the individual characters was uneven, by the time the final battle came around I was having so much fun watching them work together to take down the Empire. The villains were very well done too. I really liked Orson Krennic and the bringing back of both Darth Vader and Grand Moff Tarken. They hit the perfect harmony between threatening, menacing and intimidating.
I think that Rogue One made some bold casting choices. Felicity Jones seemed like an odd pick for an action movie star when I heard about it but she brought her A game to this movie, she sold her character very well. I didn't like Diego Luna as much but I think that was more of a problem with his character. So many of the smaller parts were played by recognizable actors and they nailed their parts. It was nice to see Mads Mikkelson play a good guy and he gave a good performance. I'm a big fan of Riz Ahmed and he was strong as Bodhi, he mixed the vulnerability with courage that the character needed. I actually wanted more of Donnie Yen, he was great and his character was interesting. Forest Whitaker was also solid in his part, he had a pretty dramatic role but he's an excellent actor. Alan Tudyk was funny and unique as K-S20, he might be the most memorable. Ben Mendelsohn showed me why he's one of the more underrated actors out there. I was expecting him to be hammy but his balance between quiet strength and repressed anger/nervousness was spot on.
I only had one real minor complaint with the movie. Almost all of the individual characters are great but their development as a group seemed to require some big leaps in plot. They go from an angry group of misfits to an unbeatable team a little too quickly for my taste. Especially with Cassian and Jyn who flirt with becoming a couple when they were about to rip each other to shreds just a half hour earlier.
Boasting excellent CGI, action and a kick-ass story I loved Rogue One. It represents a great continuation of the Star Wars universe, providing the requisite fun, thrills and adventure you want at the theatre. Keep knocking them out of the park and I'll continue to show up opening day.