About – A standalone Star Wars film, before Star Wars: New Hope (Episode 4). Jyn Esro (Felicity Jones) and a team of rebels are on a mission to find the Death Star plans, this is the daughter of Galen Erso (Mads Mikkelsen), the face and team leader that created the Death Star.
Rogue One like mentioned before is a standalone film within the Star Wars franchise. However you could watch this within the saga, it isn’t particularly necessary to watch this before the original trilogies. If you are going to watch a marathon of Star Wars films it fits perfectly to what you are wanting from this standalone film.
Every single one of the cast members played their roles perfectly; they really suited their characters and worked hard to achieve this outcome. However the characters didn’t have that on-screen relationship we are used to seeing within Star Wars. This could be due to the fact we don’t get a background story, of who they are? How they got there? This could be because there are too many new characters to develop a background story for each of them. There are seven new characters, with only one character that receives a real introduction into their life before joining the rebels.
The main protagonist is Jyn Esro, played by the wonderful Felicity Jones. She really creates that hunger of wanting to win; bringing out the best from other characters. With so many new characters she is the one that really makes other characters shine. Felicity Jones really makes this happen by her fierce emotions of dedication and leadership to get
the Death Star plans. She was brilliant on bringing that sense of drive to the rebellion, which was needed by an individual as there was no desire from other characters.
We also get a new villain, Orson Krennic the leader of the mechanics who made the plans for the Death Star. Unfortunately you don’t receive that evil feel; you have with the likes of Vader due to the lack of conviction coupled with his weak tone. Due to having all these new characters it was hard to get a real connection with Orson Krennic. However Ben Mendelsohn played this role brilliantly, every time his cape appeared and each time his voice was projected you knew something sinister was about to happen.
The use of old models were fascinating to see, it felt original and it is exactly what the trilogies needed as to a prequel. The usage of CGI within films makes them look incredible, and again within Rogue One is works superbly. You can tell the small detail in certain sequences where they have worked hard on the ideal amount of editing to capture the real originality to the film.
References to the New Hope were remarkable. Even though this is a standalone film you got the sense that this could actually be within the franchise. If you are a fan of Star Wars and you see the little references within Rogue One, you will be smiling throughout this film. You see certain characters moulded within the formation of the sands and clouds; it is the small things that really make Rogue One a brilliant piece of art for the Star Wars story.
Of course the score and cinematography were second to none; you know it is a Star Wars film when you hear that brilliant music. However even though I was impressed by this, I was hoping for a little more of the classic Star Wars scores this would have made it feel as though it was a part of the saga. Understanding that this is only a Star Wars story, the excitement that these sounds provide when someone walks into shot brings glee upon your face, this happens roughly two or three times during the film.
Finally, Rogue One has its positives and negatives. It works both ways as a standalone film and as part of the franchise, you might argue on which side it is on, personally I could argue either. The characters however don’t give us that connection or sensitivity that we get with other characters in Star Wars. This isn’t a massive issue because Rogue One is a brilliant film; it sets the tone of wanting more and leads perfectly into The New Hope, which was a massive surprise to everyone but it worked brilliantly. The performances were incredible but not perfect, many were good enough to make you feel something towards them, but due to the sheer volume of new characters it was hard to get a connection with them all. Rogue One was truly a war against two sides of the light.
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