Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016) – Encore Review 12

“I’ve never had the luxury of political opinions” – Jyn Erso

Number of Times Seen – 13 (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, 26 May 2020 and 1 Nov 2021)

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

Brief Synopsis – A small force in the Rebel Alliance are sent on a mission to try and find an Imperial deserter with a secret message from an Imperial Scientist.

My Take on it – This is my favorite Star Wars film outside of the original trilogy and it is so enjoyable to watch over and over.

The characters are all developed really well and they seem both familiar and foreign in the way that they act which adds so much to the kind of world that these stories are trying to create.

The idea that a film’s plot could come from a line in a text scrawl in another movie is unbelievable and they do such an amazing job giving such a profound and entertaining story in a Galaxy Far Far Away that doesn’t even include any Skywalkers in it.

This movie actually shows the full potential of this universe because it doesn’t need to rely 100% on the same characters or even on mystical ones with special powers.

The story unfolds at a great pace and is constantly on the move which helps keep it so engaging throughout.

The characters are developed well and the fact that they no longer deal with the absolutes of good and evil here also helps because it raises the stakes and the understanding of what sometimes needs to be done in order to gain freedom from tyranny which can sometimes mean getting one’s hands a bit dirty or even bloody.

The action scenes are among the very best in the whole series because it isn’t done in a very campy way but instead tries to show the very serious nature of this galaxy far far away.

Love the fact that this is a completely stand along story that has some connections to the other one sin the series, yet most of the characters are new and unique for this kind of story.

The heroic nature of these character is also shown in a very ambiguous light which adds so much to the psychological aspects and repercussions of the actions of these characters.

Can’t wait to watch this again soon!

Highly Highly Recommended!

MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – When Vader is first seen, he is in a Bacta tank like the one that Luke uses in Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (1980) after being wounded by the Wampa. This is a nod to his (Vader’s) history in the extended universe, where it’s known that he repeatedly spends extended periods of time in a Bacta tank in hopes that it will repair the damage done to his lungs from the lava on Mustafar, as he despises having to rely on the mask to breathe. (From IMDB)

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