*This article contains spoilers for Rogue One*
While I could not see the movie when it first premiered back in December, I can now say that I have finally seen Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. I have been excited to see this movie since I saw the trailer for the first time in back in May. At first I was expecting that it was a trailer for Episode VIII, but I was surprised to see that this time there was an unknown female character, and the very noticeable silhouette of Darth Vader. It was then that I realized that this film must take place between the prequel trilogy and the original trilogy. This is where the spoilers start, so if you have not seen the movie yet, please stop here, if you wish to continue, then you have been warned.
Rogue One first introduces us to our main protagonist, Jyn Erso, and her father, Galen Erso, like Rey, from Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Jyn grows up without her parents, as her mother is killed by the imperials, and her father is taken away. Unlike Rey though, Jyn is raised by her mentor, Saw Gerrera, until she reaches the age of sixteen. Years later, after being held prisoner by the Empire, she is saved by the Alliance to Restore the Republic (we simply know them as the Rebellion) and brought to their headquarters on Yavin 4; which many Star Wars fans may remember from A New Hope. There she learns that her father is building a major weapon for the Empire and that the Rebellion is hoping to retrieve the plans for this weapon in order to find a way to destroy it and weaken the Empire.
Jyn reunites with Saw Gerrera, and is shown a hologram of her father, who tells her the weapon he built is called, the Death Star, and reveals to her the one major flaw he put in its design, one that could ultimately destroy it. Jyn is also told the location of its plans and tells the Rebellion they must retrieve the plans from an Imperial occupied planet. After the council votes against the actions, Jyn and a small team decide to take matters into their own hands.
While this particular Star Wars movie featured a whole new league of characters, it also brought back many familiar faces as well: Mon Mothma, Bail Organa, C3P-O, and RD-D2 on Yavin 4, Grand Moff Tarkin on the Death Star, Darth Vader on his home on Mustafar (One of my favorites), and Princess Leia at the very end of the film.
The visuals were amazing as well. When we see CGI in sci-fi films, we sometimes expect it to look fake because sci-fi films use so much of it; but the CGI really drew me in, and had me believing that I was actually looking at real planets, galaxies, and landscapes.
Overall I have to give this film a thumbs up, going in I did not know what to expect since it was meant tell a totally different story that took place between the two trilogies, but it fit well into the overall plot of Star Wars, and managed to lead us into the plot of the original trilogy. Every moment of the film had me on the edge and a lot of the scenes from the second half on film even had me on the verge of tears. If you’re a Star Wars fan and you haven’t seen Rogue One yet, I would definitely recommend seeing it. It will show you a whole new adventure in the Star Wars universe seen from a new perspective.
