Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is a 2016 action sci-fi film that goes back in time before the start of the original film, giving some backstory to events that shaped the franchise.
THE STORY: Following the adventures of a young woman named Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones), the daughter of an engineer on the Empire’s Death Star, she joins the rebel alliance to help steal the plans that make it operational. Along the way, she meets friends and allies in an epic struggle for survival as the Death Star’s director (Ben Mendelsohn) seeks to shut her down.
Director: Gareth Edwards
Writers: Chris Weitz , Tony Gilroy
Stars: Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, Alan Tudyk, Ben Mendelsohn, Donnie Yen, Forest Whitaker, Mads Mikkelsen
THE RUNDOWN: Taking a darker tone from most of the films in the series, avoiding many of the standards, including an opening crawl, this is a terrific stand alone tale from director Gareth Edwards that features sweeping action moments and a host of highly memorable characters. Taking itself almost always seriously, which actually works very well, this is a decidedly heavier turn than most expected, with real consequences costing lives of those on the good side, something the films to this point have been able to side step repeatedly. With a jaw-dropping finale and some great performances, this one-off Star Wars movie is one heck of a good time, well worth watching more than once.
Easily the best thing going for Rogue One is its fresh take on the mythology, keeping things well aligned with the franchise while steering it into new directions. Great stuff.
Some criticize the CGI likenesses of actors Peter Cushing and Carrie Fisher, and admittedly, especially the latter, they sort of pull the viewer out of the experience.
THAT MOMENT: After an emotional opening that sees Erso as a child become separated from her family, she is taken into the protective, secret hideaway of rebel extremist Saw Gerrera (Forrest Whitaker), a fighter of the Empire who uses brutal tactics that have cost him greatly, including limbs and health … and some issue with the Rebel Alliance who are on the same side but oppose his tactics.
READ MORE: Review of Gareth Edwards Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
Years later, after Saw seemingly abandoned Erso when she was sixteen, she is rescued from an Imperial prison by Rebel Alliance intelligence officer Cassian Andor (Diego Luna), though she fights him as well, not having any allegiances. She is eventually secured by Andor who takes her to the Rebel base where there is talk of a mission to save her father Galen (Mads Mikkelsen), a scientist forced to help with completion of the Death Star. The Rebels have learned that an Imperialist pilot (Riz Ahmed) has defected and has a message from Galen but is currently being held by Saw. They offer Jyn a deal: find Gerrera and she can go free.
Jyn joins Andor (who has been given his own set of secret orders) and head to the planet Jedha along with K-2SO (voiced by Alan Tudyk), an Imperial enforcer droid who’s been re-purposed to work for the rebellion (and like most androids in the series, is comic relief). While there, searching for a way to get close to Gerrera, they get into some trouble with stormtroopers, getting some help from a blind spiritual warrior named Chirrut Îmwe (Donnie Yen) and his mercenary friend Baze Malbus (Wen Jiang), who prove to be more than capable of some Storm Trooper kick assery. Seriously.
Much action later, Jyn is finally reunited with the elusive Gerrara, who looks a lot different from when she saw him last. However, she’s not thrilled by the encounter, still bitter at what she thinks was his betrayal, leaving her while she was still young. Gerrara, barely able to walk and using an aspirator to breath (shades of his nemesis Darth Vader), defends his actions, saying that she was ready, the best fighter in his collection of rebels, but more so, dangerous, as there were those who were beginning to suspect she was the daughter of Galen, and therefore, worthy of capture and ransom. He didn’t abandon her. He left her to protect her. It’s a shattering moment, but there is more about this meeting that will have lasting effect.
WHY IT MATTERS: Gerrara is no fool, and starts to put the pieces together, adding up the curious mission of the Imperial pilot, a cryptic message from Galen, and the arrival of Jyn and her team … he thinks it a trap, suspecting that in fact, Jyn is here to kill him, sent by the Rebels to weed him out and dispatch him, ending his reign of extreme militant methods against the enemy.
When he looks at her with this thought, asking her if they sent her to kill him, it’s a devastating moment, the idea that the girl he spent years saving might be standing before him as his executioner, almost paralyzing him.
Jyn though is still without allegiance, wanting only her freedom and to find her father. As far as she is concerned, she’s here only as a messenger herself, still not taken by any side of the battle. This distresses Gerrera further as Jyn explains that the Rebellion and its fight with the Empire have done nothing but ruined her family and caused her pain. She wants nothing to do with it, and it’s right here when we get a sensational back and forth with a terrific one-liner from Jyn.
Saw asks: “You can stand to see the Imperial flag reign across the galaxy?”
Jyn replies: “It’s not a problem if you don’t look up.”
I love this exchange, the way it’s written and delivered, the subtext incredibly deep as Jyn realizes exactly what her words mean, that those who bow their heads, oblivious to unchecked power, become lost forever to it. Gerrera looks upon her with great sadness, even as it’s clear this is a young woman fueled by a bitter passion, of which he is partly responsible.
On top of this, two important things are happening. One is the actual message from Galen sent to Gerrera that I won’t spoil, but is greatly impactful. Second is the Death Star, which has also come into orbit over Jedha City, the Empire looking to make a statement with its new weapon, charging up and eventually firing upon the people below, its blast wave heading for Gerrera’s hideout.
I love how this moment slows everything down, with old friends facing each other with far different motivations than when they last met. Whitaker does some of his best work here, nearly unrecognizable in the Gerrera getup, but his performance so rich and layered, it almost aches to watch. Look at him carefully as he lets every word land with incredible weight, using his garish costume and breathing tube to great effect as he unspools the meaning behind it all.
This entire sequence is a spectacular combination of dialogue-driven storytelling and astonishing visual effects, creating some of the best tension in the film, the results of which ultimately shift the direction of Jyn’s fate. Rogue One goes on to feature some epic battles and acts of highly emotional sacrifice, taking Star Wars into a whole new playing field of drama. However, this quiet little scene in the dusty pits of Jedha City where a traumatized young woman faces her long lost savior is truly one that strikes the most. This is a great movie moment.