REVIEW: Rogue One’s massive success marks a new chapter in the Star Wars franchise.
By Brandon Byrne, Staff Writer
Finally, the grueling anticipation for the first Star Wars spin-off has been relieved with a movie that met all expectations. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is not an episode of the Star Wars series, but actually a spin-off that takes place just before the events of Star Wars: A New Hope. The movie is centered on the acquisition of the Death Star plans that the famous rebels possess in the beginning of the first movie. While it may have had a predictable ending, the film was a complete nail-biter because the three main characters brought a completely new element to the Star Wars franchise.
The film stars Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones), Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) and Director Orson Krennic (Ben Mendelsohn). Jyn’s father was an imperial scientist responsible for designing the Death Star, but his true allegiance was to the Rebel Alliance. He sabotaged the Death Star by building a purposeful weakness that he wanted the Rebels to expose. He then sent a message to Jyn detailing how to find the weakness. After being separated from her parents as a child, Jyn was fighting to continue her father’s legacy by destroying the Death Star. Cassian is a hardened rebel who was determined to destroy the Empire to avenge his family’s murder. Finally, Krennic was the director of the Death Star’s 20-year contruction. He is distinctly different from other imperial officers because he is not an aristocrat, and he had great ambitions to work his way up the imperial hierarchy through the display of his ability to Lord Vader. The Death Star is his legacy and life work, yet Grand Moff Tarkin takes his position away. This fuels Krennic to stop the rebels at all cost because he so desperately desires to reap his much deserved rewards after decades of work for the Empire. This creates a ruthless, bone-chilling villain who adds a lot to the movie.
The most impressive part of the movie was how it cast the nature of the fight between the Rebel Alliance and the Galactic Empire in an entirely new light. The movie showed a much gloomier aspect of the war between the Alliance and the Empire. One can recognize this from the scenes at the temple on Jedha. The Empire swindled the sacred temple on Jedha of its entire reserve of treasured kyber crystals to power the Death Star. The people of Jedha are helpless to stop the Empire yet they rebel against the Empire anyways. However, Their effort is futile because they are squashed like bugs by the awesome might of the Death Star. The Jedha rebels and the entire city itself are tragically destroyed in an eye-dazzling explosion. As Krennic watches complete annihilation of an entire city and the loss of thousands of lives, he has only one word for the sight: “Beautiful.” The movie only continues to grow darker as the rebellion’s falling moral is exhibited. The pessimistic side of the rebellion was revealed when Jyn presents the Rebels with the opportunity to expose the Death Star’s weakness. While Jyn uses every fiber of her being to convince the rebel leaders to fight, they all cower in fear against the dreaded Death Star and contemplate surrendering to the Empire. They feel hopeless against the seemingly indestructible Death Star so they choose to abandon the mission to steal the plans. This was an unusually hopeless scene that showed an unseen side of the Rebellion. This movie adds, not only a new dynamic to the rebellion, but also a new dynamic to the Force as well.
My biggest concern about Rogue One before I watched the movie was the absence of a jedi. I thought that it wouldn’t feel like an authentic Star Wars movie if the Force wasn’t involved; however, the movie did include a very interesting character that had a connection to the Force that was unique from a Sith’s or a Jedi’s connection to the force. He was a guardian of the Whills and known as Chirrut Îmwe (Donnie Yen). He wasn’t a Sith or a Jedi, but the force was still his religion. He didn’t use the Force like a power to accomplish his will, unlike other force wielders; his philosophy was not to use the Force but to let the force use him. His actions reflected this as he fought with calmness and control. He did not seem nervous at all even though his only weapon was a dull staff. This new concept of the Force, embodied by a fascinating character, was captivating because it reignited fans’ wonder and interest in the mysteries of the Force.
Rogue One is a worthwhile movie that I strongly encourage everyone to see. I cannot wait to see what Disney has in store for episode VIII and beyond.