Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

Dir: Gareth Edwards

2016

*****

I'm a nerd. I grew up on Sci-fi and like many other millions of people, Star Wars (along with Star Trek) was everything to me. Like the rest of the world, I wanted to see what happened beyond Return of the Jedi and I like everybody else, was slightly disappointed with what George Lucas gave us in the remastering and in the origin stories. We still never knew what had happened to Luke, Han and Leia though, so there was always hope. Then, in 2015 what we all thought would never happen, happened. I then wished it had never happened and began to appreciate episodes I-III, such was my disappointment. Disney bought Star Wars, their stores moved the Mickey Mouse displays to one side and soon enough you could buy all the toys and merchandise you wanted thirty years ago. When they announced that they would be making several one-off Star Wars stories' and origin tales', I thought it would be more of the same and an extension of the cash-in - fair enough given the amount of money they had spent, I was now over it, let the kids have it, I was done. Then the trailer for Rogue One came out. I noticed it had a good few of my favourite actors in it and it looked.....authentic. After now watching Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, I can confirm that if I only had one word to describe it... it would be "authentic". If I had two... it would be "very happy". If I had six they would be "I'm so happy I could cry". Gareth Edwards achieved something here that neither George Lucas or JJ Abrams could in either Star Wars: Episode III -Revenge of the Sith or The Force Awakens. He has given us something new and has brought back all of the warm nostalgia of the originals. I liked pretty much all of the new elements of The Force Awakens but I think the film stumbles when handling older subjects and characters. Revenge of he Sith gets really exciting towards the end of the film but it doesn't quite make up for the two and half films that come before it. Edwards has clearly gone back to A New Hope and has looked at every tiny detail to get it right in this film. There are many people credited with the story but it was special effects supervisor John Knoll who stood up and said the concept stories being circulated early on were not of Star Wars standards before developing his own idea. It seems that the real Star Wars fans in the industry, or at least the ones that understood what made the originals so loved, were finally given the chance to create. The attention to detail is superb. If you're a casual Star Wars viewer then you should be satisfied but if you are a Star Wars nerd you will be in heaven. The references to the other films and characters are often slight, relatively subtle but always effective. It has everything you'd expect from a Star Wars film but just that little more refined. I loved the BB-8 droid from The Force Awakens but Rouge One's K-2SO is something a little different from him, or R2D2 and C3PO. Instead of playing it easy and going for cute, they looked at what worked best within the story. The story itself isn't something new either, it already existed in a way and events take place just days before where A New Hope begins and believably so. There are some very nice surprises along the way and just when you think you've seen them all, a few new ones pop up, each fitting the story perfectly and serving a purpose, rather than simply serving as nostalgic titillation. I imagine fans of the books, animated series and video games will be rather happy too. The cast is near perfect. Felicity Jones is great in the lead role and Diego Luna supports her well in what is the main male lead. Alan Tudyk ticks many boxes in voicing the film's droid and what film isn't made better by the presence of the mighty Donnie Yen? Forest Whitaker and Mads Mikkelsen fill in the big supporting roles nicely and the brilliant Ben Mendelsohn proves once again that he is the go-to guy if you want a villain played right. It's was great to see personal favorites Riz Ahmed and Daniel Mays too, they've come a long way from Shifty and their success is well earned. Jimmy Smits and Genevieve O'Reilly were very welcome additions to the story, both bridging the gaps between episodes I-III and A New Hope perfectly. Rouge One is very much a Star Wars film without trying too hard to be so. There is no 'waterfall' introduction (this is the waterfall story in a way) and each scene isn't cut by another sweeping in from the side. This is Edwards' film, something new and something the franchise desperately needed. The film does things it's own way while staying true to the Star Wars universe, which is ultimately the Star Wars way. There was a worry that this wouldn't quite feel like a real Star Wars film but I would argue that Rouge One is the most Star Wars film since The Empire Strike Back. I loved it. Seriously, by the end, I could have cried!