Genre Grandeur – Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016) – Encore Review 11 – MovieRob

For this month’s next review for Genre Grandeur – Reluctant Hero Movies, here’s a review of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016) by me.

Thanks again to DJ Valentine of Simplistic Reviews for choosing this month’s genre.

Next month’s genre has been chosen by Paul of Silver Screen Classics and we will be reviewing our favorite New York Films of the 70’s.

Please get me your submissions by the 25th of Jun by sending them to NYC70spaul@movierob.net

Try to think out of the box! Great choice Paul!

Let’s see what I thought of this movie:

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“You can stand to see the Imperial flag reign across the galaxy?” –Saw Gerrera

“It’s not a problem if you don’t look up.” – Jyn Erso

Number of Times Seen – 12 (15 Dec 2016, 26 Dec 2016, 18 Apr 2017, 4 Sep 2017, 25 Dec 2017, 14 Mar 2018, 26 Jul 2018, 20 Mar 2019, 20 May 2019, 9 Sep 2019, 13 Jan 2020 and 26 May 2020)

Link to original review – Here, Here, Here, Here, Here, Here, Here, Here, Here, Here and Here

Brief Synopsis – A band of rebels are sent on a mission to try and recover the plans of the Empire’s new destructive weapon.

My Take on it – This is my favorite Star Wars film outside of the original trilogy an that has much to do with the fact that they hep add so much to what we already know about the architects of the Rebel Alliance in their quest to bring down the Empire.

They give us some very diverse characters who are all pretty much thrust into events and situations that they didn’t necessary wish to be in, yet they still find a way to pick up the mantle and act heroically even if they are not joining the cause for pure reasons.

They don’t necessarily wish to always take side,s yet they understand the importance of underlying reasons for the struggle against the Empire.

The diverse nature of these characters helps establish this film so well because we acn see the conflict and ebate between them as things move along.

This works so well within the very context of the overall Star Wars story.

The main character of Jyn Erso is perfect as the leader of this motley crew because she herself is conflicted about her loyalties.

Her history contrasts with that of Cassian who is trying to help her complete her mission and the two together form a unique kind of team of reluctant heroes.

This film’s plot is in direction connection to that of the original film in the series – Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (1977) and that enhances the story here so much since we know what ripple effects this story will have on the entirety of the story.

This is one of the darkest films in the series, yet they help establish that when dealing with a rebellion against a dictatorship, one sometimes has to do dark things in order to accomplish the goal of freedom for the galaxy

Bottom Line – Amazing addition to the series that works so well in establishing the kind of characters who helps build the Rebellion. The movie gives us a group of warriors who have been thrust into the conflict and help the Rebellion not necessarily because they believe in taking sides, but because they believe in the underlying reasons for the struggle. The Characters are all quite diverse yet they all fit so well into the context of this series. Jyn Erso is perfect as the leader of this band of reluctant heroes and we can see the contrast with her history and with Cassian who helps her complete her mission. The fact that this story is a direct connection to the original Star Wars movie – Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (1977), makes certain aspects of the story even more powerful because we now the effects of the events of this film.  This is a very dark themed addition to the canon of the series yet helps make things so much more realistic because nothing is ever black and white in these kind of stories. Highly Highly Recommended!

MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – The first appearance of Darth Vader in his Bacta Tank is accompanied by an ascending four-note leitmotif last used in the original Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977). It was originally composed by John Williams as an imperial theme and was replaced by the Imperial March, aka Darth Vader’s Theme for Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and subsequent Star Wars productions. (From IMDB)

Rating – Oscar Worthy (10/10) (no change from original review)

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