A Star Wars movie without a Skywalker focus was a rather risky move but holy crap, the people behind Rogue One pulled it off! The main impetus to the film’s success was pursuing a different style. While Star Wars tends to be a space opera. Rogue has more in common with the WWII genre Hollywood cranked out for a generation.
Fear not, there are no spoilers coming.
The story takes place some time before Star Wars (the original) yet there were plenty of surprises to offset how we all know it will end. Things gets rolling with the Rebels springing troublemaker Jyn from an Imperial prison. Rebel intelligence knows that Jyn’s father (Galen) is the primary engineer behind a secret weapon the Empire is developing. The plan is to have Jyn get Galen to assist, confess, whatever. We the audience obviously know the Empire is about to complete the Death Star so Jyn’s team will become the heroes behind the Rebel’s success at stealing the plans for Princess Leia.
Plot aside, it was a fantastic tour through the Star Wars universe by the way I’ve always loved the first movie. A galaxy filled with used equipment, nothing is clean or new, there’s just a “used” vibe when you see starships, clothes and weapons. Fans like myself were rewarded via the numerous cameos, not just characters but places and ships! Disney’s synchronicity continues too if you recognize those appearances.
Rogue was a huge thrill because as much as I liked The Force Awakens, Abrams’ take still didn’t do anything terribly original: a third Death Star, a secret smuggled by a droid and a reluctant hero/heroine taking on the Empire’s successor. Force could be a reboot of the 1977 classic. Rogue fills in the continuity/history gap for me and my peers while providing a kick-ass action movie for those who aren’t as fanatical like my friends Helen or Cindy. As an RPG fan, Rogue resembled a game session brought to life!
Alamo Extras: Kenner commercials; Asian kids re-enacting The Force Awakens; weird European guy singing about Yoda; Lucas japandering for a camera; Funny or Die’s “Droid Day” special; Burger Chef commercial for posters; comical mashup of the prequels psychically communicating to Rey in that scene in Force; guy on a unicycle dressed as Darth Vader playing the bagpipes; Sith cat; Robot Chicken bit involving the Emperor trying to get his contractors to keep it down; “All By Myself” gag with Force‘s final scene; Bad Lip Reading’s hilarious “Seagulls” song.