Rogue One

2016  PG-13  SCIENCE FICTION  2h 13min

CAST— Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, Ben Mendelsohn, Donnie Yen, Mads Mikkelsen, Alan Tudyk, Jiang Wen, Forest Whitaker

MUSIC— Michael Giacchino  DIRECTOR— Gareth Edwards

     A somewhat darker tale than most of those from a galaxy far, far away, but one well worth the drama. Years ago an engineer rebelled against the Empire, seeking to live a life of peace with his beloved family. His wife killed, his daughter in hiding, he unwillingly returned to designing what could spell doom for uncounted star systems. Now his daughter Jyn, who was raised by Rebel extremists, has been freed from Imperial captivity in hopes that the fledgling Rebel Alliance might gain the upper hand. Jyn leads the Rebels into the maw of danger in hopes of reuniting with her father, who has built the Empire’s ultimate weapon, the dreaded Death Star. But he’s purposely added a glitch in the space station’s defense system that makes its destruction possible. The Rebels plot to steal the plans to the Death Star… but will their suicide mission be impossible? A fun throwback to the original Star Wars trilogy (taking place directly before Episode IV— A New Hope, actually) that die-hards are sure to lap up, newcomers maybe not so much. Definitely the most tragic, harrowing film of the saga, culling inspiration not only from science fiction epics, but also from heroic war films of yesteryear. Features new characters and fan favorites, for better or worse (better being Darth Vader’s brutal final scene, worse being the CG rendering of Grand Moff Tarkin). All in all, a pretty satisfying entry. AKA Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.

OUR RATING— ***

PRECEDED BY— Star Wars: Episode I—  The Phantom Menace (1999), Star Wars: Episode II—  Attack of the Clones (2002), Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008), Star Wars: Episode III— Revenge of the Sith (2005), Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018)

FOLLOWED BY— Star Wars: Episode IV—  A New Hope (1977), Star Wars: Episode V — The Empire Strikes Back (1980), Star Wars: Episode VI—  Return of the Jedi (1983), Star Wars: Episode VII—  The Force Awakens (2015), Star Wars: Episode VIII—  The Last Jedi (2017)