Movie Review: Rogue One

Spoilers ahead

Yesterday I was finally able to see the latest Star Wars movie, Rogue One. I’ll go into more detail below, but it would be dishonest to start with anything other than this advice: If you haven’t seen it, go now. You’re missing out.

The movie is the first standalone in the Star Wars universe, not connected with the core, episodic storyline or the Skywalker story, and there are a number of differences that make it feel unlike any other movie in the franchise. There is no opening crawl. The music was not composed by John Williams, and therefore was oddly forgettable for a franchise that has some of the most iconic music in cinema history. And, most importantly, this was the first movie in which a Skywalker was not among the main characters (though more than one make appearances over the course of the movie).

The movie is, in a sense, one about the forgotten men and women of the Star Wars universe, ironic coming so close coming after an election season that was all about the “forgotten man” in the end. The Jedi and the Force are mentioned often, but this movie is about the soldiers, the ordinary people who struggle against the Empire.

It is also darker and more gritty than the average Star Wars movie, and more adult oriented (though not a gore-fest by any means). Death is constant, even more than in regular Star Wars movies—if you’ve seen it already, you know what I mean. And even seemingly clear-cut sides—the good Rebels versus the evil Empire—become less fairy-tale, more real life. A good example comes early in the movie. In the scene which first introduces one of the main Rebel characters, we see him shoot a Rebel informant in the back, in order to allow the main character to more easily escape pursuing stormtroopers. With seemingly no remorse. The action serves to make the character’s later evolution more compelling, but again, this is supposed to be one of the good guys.

As far as the plot, I largely agreed with many of the other reviews around the Internet. The movie starts out slowly but begins to hit its stride about midway through, and the last twenty minutes…wow. There’s plenty for casual viewers and Star Wars fans alike to enjoy, and for all of the cameos sprinkled throughout the film, it rarely feels forced. This is the bridge between the prequels and the original trilogy that has been desperately needed.

Overall, the tone and theme are welcome additions to a universe that might often seem narrow and familiar, making it richer and more layered. If Disney is going to stick to their plan of making one Star Wars movie a year, it will have to try different things. And if Rogue One—and The Force Awakens before it—are signs of things to come, then the future of Star Wars has never looked brighter.