“Rebellions are built on hope!” Jyn Erso exclaims in “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.” Hope, however, seems hard to come by in this latest installment of the Star Wars franchise. Much of the movie feels darker and more intense than others in the series, though there is plenty of excitement and adventure to entertain fans of the original Star Wars movies.
“Rogue One,” which bridges the gap between Episodes III and IV, returns to the familiar Rebel Alliance’s fight against the Empire. The cast and characters, though, are all new. Led by Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones) and Cassian Andor (Diego Luna), a ragtag band of rebels must obtain the plans for the Empire’s new weapon of mass destruction, the Death Star. To complicate matters further, Erso’s father Galen, one of the key engineers behind the plans for the Death Star, is held captive by the Empire.
The plot, by the sound of it, sets up a classic Star Wars adventure — against all odds, the rebels must fight off the powerful forces of the Empire to prevent their evil plan from succeeding. However, the final product has a distinctly different tone from the originals, even from last year’s “The Force Awakens.”
In the first half of “Rogue One,” the conflict is less an exciting space battle with laser cannons and blasters, and more a gritty battlefront occupied by tanks and grenades. In one of the first scenes, extremist rebel Saw Gerrera (Forest Whitaker) uses an alien creature to extract the truth from a captive pilot at the risk of the pilot’s sanity. At one point Jyn is forced to rescue an innocent child from the crossfire between stormtroopers and rebel fighters, and the Death Star’s destruction is shown not as a bright, distant explosion but a close-up tidal wave of destruction, annihilating characters in its path.
That’s not to say these grim scenes aren’t compelling or exciting. But they seem to be a departure from the days of Han Solo and Luke Skywalker narrowly escaping peril at every turn — the drama paired with a witty quip for good measure.
“Rogue One,” however, seems to find its way back to that universe in its second half, as Jyn and Cassian embark on a risky and unsanctioned mission to retrieve the Death Star plans from an Empire base. In a pulse-pounding second act of nearly constant action, fans get to see the classic Star Wars action they love, complete with X-wing fighters and disposable stormtroopers. There’s even a vertiginous shootout at the top of a precariously balanced tower that looks intentionally similar to the setting of the iconic lightsaber battle in “The Empire Strikes Back.”
The cast also adds some humor and characteristic Star Wars magic to the movie. The group’s droid companion, K-2SO (voiced by Alan Tudyk) is reminiscent of C-3PO, right down to his amusing tendency to remind the heroes of the unfavorable odds stacked against them. Jyn and Cassian make an interesting duo — first at odds but slowly bonding over a common goal.
“Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” is a bit of a rogue itself as it fits into the Star Wars franchise. Though some may be disappointed by the departures from the classic Star Wars blueprint, the movie does an excellent job of introducing a fresh take on the franchise with new characters, but it continues much of the same spirit that made Star Wars a fan favorite.
Read More
“The Show” sees Niall Horan delve into his most introspective self and his most confident sound
By Siona Pathak | July 2, 2023Ever since his days on X-Factor with former band One Direction, Niall Horan has been known for his wholesome charm and jovial attitude. While his charm and sunny disposition has come through in his solo ventures as well, Horan explores more moodier sentiments and nostalgic sounds through his most recent record, “The Show.”
‘who told you to think??!!?!?!’ reimagines rap as pure art
By Adam Beddawi | August 20, 2017“who told you to think??!!?!?!?!” is in many respects a continuation of milo’s previous artistic form on previous LP, “So The Flies Don’t Come."
Workin' for a livin'
By Ellie Hanson | August 16, 2017I quickly set out in search of summer work, determined to go out in the world and make the big bucks — or, you know, minimum wage.
