Rogue One: A Star Wars Story Review – Release Date: 16th December 2016

After a string of rather disappointing Star Wars titles of old, Rogue One delivers a surprisingly good film. Despite some questionable narrative decisions, Rogue One embraces the practical effects of old to deliver a bombastic, well-written action flick.

After a brief glimpse into Jyn Erso’s (Felicity Jones) childhood, the film picks up with our protagonist trapped in a prison before following her journey to becoming a member of a ragtag group of rebels tasked with stealing the plans to the Death Star from the tyrannous Empire and bringing hope to the rebellion.

Those who know their Star Wars lore are unlikely to find many surprises here, and the film certainly takes its sweet time to get to the good stuff.

The first hour or so is unnecessarily bloated, with a laborious pace and a lot of the scenes could easily have been cut or even shortened with snappier editing. Adding to that, some of the characters don’t feel as fleshed out as they could be, serving as simple archetypes to keep the narrative flowing forward.

Thankfully the last hour or so remedies any concerns with some brilliant action scenes and a quickened pace. The action in particular is well choreographed and some familiar sights of old (AT-ATs for the win!) make this feel like it’s taking part within the Star Wars universe.

Aesthetically, ‘Rogue One’ is absolutely gorgeous. The love and respect for the source material is evident from the first shot to the final one as the art style, locations, surprise cameos and the homage to practical effects make this feel gritty and well-realized. It’s certainly a welcome change from the glossy facade of the prequels.

Overall, Rogue One is a decent Star Wars film that pays homage to the original Trilogy and leads very nicely into A New Hope, that mammoth first film that released all those years ago.

Jyn’s character and the band of rebels she operates with are serviceable enough to keep the plot going but they’re unlikely to be remembered for years to come. However, it’s fair to say Star Wars fans will likely look back at this one fondly, knowing that the Star Wars magic is still a force to be reckoned with.