"Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" Movie Review

I must admit, when I first heard about the plot for Rogue One, I wasn't too excited for it. I figured what we needed to know was explained during the title crawl of A New Hope and that this film would be pointless. Well, I'm here to tell you I was wrong. Rogue One had so much more depth and meaning to it than I ever thought it would. It's safe to say I severely misjudged it.

The story begins with Galen Erso nudging his family out the door, telling them to hide. Orson Krennic and a few stormtroopers are arriving to take Galen back to their ship so he can help finish constructing the Death Star. Years later, we see Jyn has grown up and has been getting into a bit of trouble on her own. She is rescued by the Rebels and soon finds out her father is still alive. The Rebels assume him to be an enemy and want Jyn to help them find him.

If you've seen the other Star Wars films, then you pretty much tell what's coming, especially toward the end. If you are new to the series and know nothing about Star Wars, then you'll find the film shocking and emotional. For the true fans, it's hard to get emotional during this film because the ultimate outcome is obvious. That's not to say the film is bad in any way because it's extraordinary. You still cared about the characters and the film was still remarkably well done, especially the battle sequences.

Tony Gilroy was one of the main writers of the film, which was a huge help. If you don't know, Mr. Gilroy wrote the first four Bourne films. If that's not reason enough to see Rogue One, I don't know what is.

The acting was wonderful. Felicity Jones, Alan Tudyk, and Donnie Yen were the shining stars of the film. The actors worked so well together and had such a great chemistry with one another that it's almost a shame this is a "one shot" film, meaning it will not have its own sequel seeing as how A New Hope picks up immediately where this one leaves off.

Overall, I was thoroughly impressed and entertained. I recommend this to all fans, new and old alike. I give the film a 4 out of 4. I didn't like the fact that the iconic title crawl with the Main Theme in the background was not included. That may be because this was not an official "Episode" like the other films, but honestly that's what makes Star Wars special and unique to its fans. I'm not going to count off for it though because in the grand scheme of things, it's a small flaw. Other than that, the film was perfect.