Most impressive
Looming death
(Spoiler-free!)
Growing up, Star Wars was a film I constantly saw on TV before I came across a used VHS copy of it at a swap meet and bought it. Being a kid and witnessing the saga of Skywalker and company taking on the Empire and the revelations that followed is the stuff of childhood memories; sadly I can't say the same for the prequel trilogy that followed and it's "riveting" writing. Luckily, last year's The Force Awakens broke off from that bad streak and put the series on the right track, however [and this is very minor] it was missing that familiar spark from the original films. What J.J. Abrams' seventh chapter lacked, luckily director Gareth Edwards' prequel Rogue One does the impossible of capturing that familiar feeling that it almost feels authentically like we're witnessing the very beginning of the Star Wars saga. Set years after Revenge of the Sith but before the events of A New Hope, the Rebel Alliance concocts a dangerous mission to capture the schematics of the Empire's Death Star which has been completed and could turn the tide of the ongoing war. The Alliance seeks the help of Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones) and a ragtag bunch of allies to sneak past enemy lines and seize the plans to give the Rebel Alliance hope for victory. The plot isn't all that new but the execution of how its' done is absolutely stupendous. Rogue One feels like more than just a prequel but a fan-service film to satisfy veteran fans of the original trilogy, from several easter eggs to the unique throwbacks (which I won't spoil) from previous entries. The other reason why the film works, and is by the far the most important element to every Star Wars film, is due to a strong, diverse cast of supporting characters; from watching Donnie Yen dispatch several stormtroopers with nothing but a staff as the blind Chirrut Imwe to Alan Tudyk cracking witful sarcasm as the suprisingly funny K-S20 is just one of the many highlights of the film, and that's not even including the final battle at the end which ranks among the most impressively done action set pieces in the franchise. Bringing a true feel of war to the name while paying tribute to the classic films and brilliantly setting the stage of the saga makes Rogue One the prequel that fans didn't know they wanted. The force is definitely strong with Rogue One, and stands in the high echelons of the original films making it one of the best films of the year and comes highly recommended.
-Reviewed by Razor
Growing up, Star Wars was a film I constantly saw on TV before I came across a used VHS copy of it at a swap meet and bought it. Being a kid and witnessing the saga of Skywalker and company taking on the Empire and the revelations that followed is the stuff of childhood memories; sadly I can't say the same for the prequel trilogy that followed and it's "riveting" writing. Luckily, last year's The Force Awakens broke off from that bad streak and put the series on the right track, however [and this is very minor] it was missing that familiar spark from the original films. What J.J. Abrams' seventh chapter lacked, luckily director Gareth Edwards' prequel Rogue One does the impossible of capturing that familiar feeling that it almost feels authentically like we're witnessing the very beginning of the Star Wars saga. Set years after Revenge of the Sith but before the events of A New Hope, the Rebel Alliance concocts a dangerous mission to capture the schematics of the Empire's Death Star which has been completed and could turn the tide of the ongoing war. The Alliance seeks the help of Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones) and a ragtag bunch of allies to sneak past enemy lines and seize the plans to give the Rebel Alliance hope for victory. The plot isn't all that new but the execution of how its' done is absolutely stupendous. Rogue One feels like more than just a prequel but a fan-service film to satisfy veteran fans of the original trilogy, from several easter eggs to the unique throwbacks (which I won't spoil) from previous entries. The other reason why the film works, and is by the far the most important element to every Star Wars film, is due to a strong, diverse cast of supporting characters; from watching Donnie Yen dispatch several stormtroopers with nothing but a staff as the blind Chirrut Imwe to Alan Tudyk cracking witful sarcasm as the suprisingly funny K-S20 is just one of the many highlights of the film, and that's not even including the final battle at the end which ranks among the most impressively done action set pieces in the franchise. Bringing a true feel of war to the name while paying tribute to the classic films and brilliantly setting the stage of the saga makes Rogue One the prequel that fans didn't know they wanted. The force is definitely strong with Rogue One, and stands in the high echelons of the original films making it one of the best films of the year and comes highly recommended.
-Reviewed by Razor