Rogue One: A Star Wars Story - Review

‘Rogue One: A Star Wars Story’ takes place before the events of the first ‘Star Wars’ film. A group of rebel spies, led by Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones), hunt the secret plans of a secret weapon known as “Death Star” from the Imperial forces, which has the capability to destroy planets in a matter of minutes.

Clearly enough, a lot of you know would probably know where these events are heading next. It is as close as one could get to a perfect companion piece to the 1977 ‘Star Wars’ film, tying itself smoothly to the events of the aforementioned film while expanding its mythology even more. Amidst the familiarity and predictability of the whole resolution given the existing film, that everyone is well fund of revealing just that, ‘Rogue One’ manages to build tension from one scene to the next. It might not be the best ‘Star Wars’ film, but it’s a damn good one.

Director Gareth Edwards has a great eye on crafting small, contained moments into larger scale sequences. The war scenes in this film, specifically the entire third act, were captured to feel like an actual battle between opposing military forces. Edwards revealed that he took a lot of inspiration making it from World War II photographs, and it sometimes shows throughout the film. It is gritty, dramatic and intense.

This movie assembles quite a terrific set of actors. Felicity Jones is a wonder here as the heroine Jyn Erso. For a film that consists of new characters mostly, Jones made the biggest impression to the audience with her raw and heartfelt performance. Donnie Yen is also a stand-out here as a blind Jedi, and brought out a few laughs in the movie.

But given the huge ensemble this film has, it unfortunately struggles to give each character sufficient screen-time or a more-rounded characterization. The first act has a difficult time establishing all of them in different scenes, and drags the movie down, which is a disappointment considering all of them are very promising.

‘Rogue One: A Star Wars Story’ is still a fascinating watch, and a worthy addition to the ‘Star Wars’ lore. There are few downfalls here and there, but the movie redeems itself with an eye-opener ending, which will have fans drool over.

The geek rates it 7/10!

'Rogue One: A Star Wars Story' opens December 15, 2016 in cinemas and IMAX theaters nationwide from Walt Disney Pictures Philippines. Rated PG by the MTRCB.