Around this time last year, the long awaited "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" premiered in theatres for audiences of all ages to fall in love again with the franchise. While the film left us with many questions, it was clear we would have to wait a couple years for the answers. As of now, Episode VIII is scheduled to be released December 2017. In the meantime, Star Wars fans have another film to watch to fill the void until the next installment. "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story," which is out in theatres now, takes place in the same universe at the original story and has kept many fans happy during the gap between Episodes VII and VIII. Although this story was unlike the other Star Wars films, its elements directly tie to the other movies. There are three elements in particular that I wanted to review. This is a spoiler-free review of "Rogue One."
Characters
Much like "The Force Awakens," the film follows a young woman, Jyn (Felicity Jones), who finds herself helping Rebel forces. Along the way, she teams up with Cassian (Diego Luna) and a couple more unlikely friends, including a new droid, K-2SO (Alan Tudyk), who adds a sarcastic comedy relief to the film. Although there isn't much character development in any of them, it's understandable once you've seen the film. Still, the movie did an excellent job giving believable/likable characters for the audience to follow throughout their adventure. Another element of this film I appreciated was the diversity of the cast, not only was there a female lead, but many of the actors were different races. It was clear the movie made an effort to be more diverse in its actors and--I would say--it paid off.
Plot
I would suggest watching "Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope" before going to the movie theatres to see "Rogue One." That by no means ruins anything in the plot, it just simply helps you remember/ pick certain things out when you watch the newest movie. The plot drives the film, however "Rogue One" also continues the development of the Star Wars formula, in which it's difficult to be a stand-alone film. It clearly belongs to a big picture franchise. I'd say for anyone who doesn't know much about Star Wars already, this film may be more difficult to follow or, at the very least, not as enjoyable; however, if you are a Star Wars fan there are plenty of awesome references and exciting moments.
Setting
The major problem I had with this film is the many setting changes. Yes, the multiple planets are a pivotal part of the Star Wars universe, but within the first 15 minutes there are a considerable amount of setting changes that just didn't seem necessary. It was a noticeable change, because they announce the name of the planet every time the setting switched, but not enough to ruin the movie. On top of that, it was cool to see all the planet that Star Wars fans will recognize from previous films. Rogue One did a nice job of taking the audience to the universe we love within minutes of the film.
I would definitely recommend seeing the film in theaters, especially if you're already a Star Wars fan. This movie will help keep your mind off the fact that we have another year until Episode VIII. Even if you're not a fan of the original movies, I would still go see it for the actions and science-fiction story that makes Star Wars so enjoyable to watch. So, this holiday season go see "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" and may the Force be with you!
