rogueone_onesheetaStarring Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, Alan Tudyk, Ben Mendelsohn and Mads Mikkelsen

Directed by Gareth Edwards

Disney, out now

Long, long ago…

Against all the odds, given the troubled production and tales of fraught reshoots, Rogue One proves to be one of the most worthwhile additions to the growing Star Wars canon. While touching (mostly) lightly on the Skywalker saga – the backbone of Star Wars movies to this point – Rogue One ploughs its own furrow, putting enough that’s new into the Star Wars mix to make the film an endeavour of value.

It is surprising just how much drama has been wrung out of those few words in the opening crawl to Star Wars: ‘During the battle, Rebel spies managed to steal secret plans to the Empire’s ultimate weapon, the DEATH STAR…’ That’s the tale at the heart of Rogue One, but this ‘Star Wars Story’ fleshes out the characters that make up those nameless ‘Rebel spies’, and to whom back in 1977 we probably gave no thought whatsoever.

Gareth Edwards’ film is a love letter to ‘original vintage’ fans, while providing a thrilling narrative for those not as heavily invested in ‘the Force’. The appropriate iconography is present and precisely correct (down to an abundance of sideburns and 1970s-era moustaches on Rebels and Imperials alike), yet none of it is pastiche. This is the real deal, in a way that perhaps the Prequels and (whisper it) The Force Awakens weren’t. Like that much lauded film, there is a certain sense of ‘Star Wars’ greatest hits’ in chunks of Rogue One (especially from Return of the Jedi), but it simply feels far more authentic than those other movies (even those made by creator George Lucas, who quite clearly wanted to make something quite different, as was his right).

This is the almost perfect Star Wars prequel. Felicity Jones’ Jyn Erso is somewhat in the shade of The Force Awakens’ Rey, but she makes her own mark well enough, and while she has her own share of family drama, there is none of the ‘mythic mystery’ that has been built around Rey. Diego Luna provides able support as the Han Solo-type, but he’s someone who has more of the murky shades of grey in him than Solo eventually ended up with (although they were always intended to be there).

The rest of the ‘rogues’ have their moments, but they are almost all eclipsed by new droid K-2SO (Alan Tudyk), who can’t help but speak his mind however inappropriately (it’s a glitch in his programming), and who turns out to be just as much of a hero as the rest of them.

rogue-one-poster-405x600As for the Imperials, Ben Mendelsohn has the cowardly snarling over-confident Empire act down pat (and he provides some great cloak action, too) as Director Krennic. Mads Mikkelsen is conflicted Imperial scientist Galen Erso who is key to the Death Star’s weakness, while a certain Sith Lord makes an indelible appearance (the first time amid an environment based on some fantastic unused Ralph McQuarrie concept art original 1977-era fans have been waiting to see realized on screen for almost 40 years!). Other faces from the past appear, and here there is a slight hint of the uncanny valley in some of them that thankfully quickly disappears given repeated and effective exposure. It’s a brave move, and more positive than negative in outcome.

There are more than enough space battles, including at the climax, to make up for their respective lack in The Force Awakens, and Easter Eggs galore from virtually all eras of Star Wars (including the animated TV series Clone Wars and Rebels). The whole thing builds to an almost seamless (and downright thrilling) segue into the original Star Wars, putting a daring new spin on the ‘A New Hope’ subtitle at the same time. Star Wars fans that have been there from the beginning will likely have a big grin on their faces throughout (and could even get a little, em, emotional). When the credits roll, you’ll either want to see it again immediately, or pop the 1977 original into the DVD player when you get home to continue a story that now has an excellent opening prologue.

Both Lucasfilm boss Kathleen Kennedy and Disney chairman Bob Iger recently voiced the opinion that Rogue One is ‘not a political movie’. There is no way it could be anything else – the Human supremacist Empire is opposed by a multi-species alliance led by several indomitable women, as original Rogue One screenwriter Gary Whitta has noted. Rogue One is, perhaps, the anti-Trump movie the US needs right now, and everyone involved in making it should be proud of the finished film.

Could George Lucas have made Rogue One? It is doubtful that he’d have been imaginative enough to have seen the possibilities that John Knoll (the long term ILM effects master whose initial idea this movie was) recognized in those simple opening lines to Star Wars. It also probably took someone of that original Star Wars generation, in the form of Gareth Edwards, to do it justice.

Verdict: If Star Wars were made today as a blockbuster, it would be Rogue One. 8/10

Brian J. Robb