"Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" was released on Blu-ray and DVD just two weeks ago and I am loving it. This past week we witnessed (this article doesn't go up until Monday so I'm just speculating here) Star Wars Celebration in Orlando, a "Star Wars" convention that featured many characters, actors, directors, animators, cosplayers, and special guests. We were also blown away (I hope) by the reveal trailer for "Star Wars: The Last Jedi". With all of this happening, you can expect more discussions about "Star Wars" media. Today, I focus on the film "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story". So far, this is the only film I have given a proper review for. The film has some noticeable flaws (The uncanny C.G.I. faces and too many cameos are the main problems I have), but it is a film that I still feel very positive about; similar to my feelings toward "Return of the Jedi". However, one criticism I hear constantly about the film is one that I don't entirely agree with and it has to do with the characters.

I often hear people say that the main characters were not as engaging or not as likable as the characters from the "Original Trilogy" of even "Star Wars: The Force Awakens". Many say that they aren't written well enough or unique enough to leave an impression. While I feel that some of the characters were more underwritten than others, I did feel for most of them and I understood their motivations. While they are not the most multidimensional characters, they served the story well and gave us some interesting character dynamics to explore. This article will basically be me explaining why I enjoyed the characters the way I did and why I feel like they do not deserve the treatment they received. Let's start with what I expect is the main reason this criticism came about; the lack of clearly defined archetypes.

Throughout the "Star Wars" saga, some of the most memorable and beloved characters are based around simple and easily recognizable character archetypes. Han Solo (Harrison Ford) is the sarcastic, dashing, and somewhat selfish rogue with a secret heart of gold. Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) is a strong, independently willed woman who is both royalty and a free spirited rebel leader. Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) was a simple and naive farm boy who grew throughout the series to become the powerful and emotionally mature jedi warrior we all know and love. These are all very straight forward and distinguishable personalities that fit the format of a straight forward adventure series like most of the "Star Wars" films. However, "Rogue One" purposefully set itself apart from the other films by establishing itself as a "war film" rather than a "sci-fi fantasy adventure". The film downplayed things such as the Jedi, a lightsaber is only used once at the end, and the film put more of a focus on the average every-men/women who had to do the footwork of actually fighting a rebellion rather than larger-than-life personalities moving the warlike generals would. The characters of "Rogue One" do have personalities, but they are a lot more subtle and subdued compared to other "Star Wars" characters.

For example, Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones) comes of, to some, as bland and wooden due to her lack of clear characteristics. However, I see a character that is a reserved survivalist who has lost her family and has been betrayed by those she cared about entirely due to the war. As a result, she has become reserved and emotionally closed off by those around her. Years of war and loss have led her to become apathetic toward the Rebellion's cause. This ties in well to her character arc, which is about gaining hope and actually learning to care about something enough that you are willing to fight for it. Similar complaints were levied at the character of Cassian Andor (Diego Luna). Some said he was too mean and was willing to kill people in cold blood. However, this is what actually made him interesting to me. While Cassian is ultimately on the side of good, he has to commit terrible acts to win the fight for freedom, similar to what real soldiers in the real world have to do. His willingness to kill almost anyone shows how desperate he and the Rebellion are and ads moral shades of gray to a film universe that usually has clear-cut good guys and bad guys. Cassian has spent years fighting for the Rebellion and, like Jyn, he has purposefully avoided personal connection. However, there is one person Cassian seems to care about.

K2SO (Alan Tudyk), the team's massive droid, is a character that most people seem to like. Like traditional "Star Wars" characters K2 has a very distinct and entertaining personality (he's like C-3PO, if C-3PO was a large, super strong fighter who is also extremely passive aggressive and sarcastic). However, his relationship to Cassian is what interested me throughout the film. K2 seems to be the only person Cassian seems to care for. This is evident when (spoiler alert) K2 sacrifices himself to protect Cassian. We see genuine concern come out of Cassian for the first time as he calls to his friend in his final moments. There is a subtle friendship apparent between the two that feels like it has history behind it. These subtleties extend to other characters, such as Bodhi Rook (Riz Ahmed). Bodhi is an every-man who works as a transport pilot for the Empire to make a small living. When you watch his behavior and body movements he appears skittish and scared almost all the time. Despite his obvious fear, Bodhi soldiers on in the face of certain death. Similar to Jyn, his character arc involves learning to care for a cause. While Jyn's arc was about turning away from apathy to care, however, Bodhi's arc is about overcoming fear of death to fight for what you feel is right. His character had the least amount of screen time, but his struggle is what made him extremely relatable to someone like me.

The last two characters in this lineup are the ones that I found myself caring for the most; Chirrut Imwe (Donnie Yen) and Baze Malbus (Jiang Wen). Out of all the characters, these two display the best sense of a tight bond with each other. They feel like long time friends, close brothers, or (if you look at the fan art) almost like lovers. They both share an interesting dynamic, with Chirrut believing in the force and constantly acting on his belief while Baze is a cynic who constantly pokes fun at Chirrut and his beliefs. Despite this, the two have created an inseparable bond (I guess what they say is true; opposites attract). The back and forth banter between the two was both entertaining and helped establish their relationship. This dynamic (spoiler alert) eventually leads to a satisfying, yet sad conclusion when Chirrut dies in Baze's arms and Baze proclaims his belief in the force before he too is killed in battle. It really felt like these two characters represented the heart of the film. They show what the power of hope and belief can accomplish.

I hope this article has shown some of you out their why I don't agree with the common criticism on the characters of "Rogue One". While I see where some of the character criticisms are coming from (while enjoyable, these characters do feel slightly underwritten so the film can focus more on the plot), I still felt that these characters got the job done by moving the plot in a satisfying manner. They also explore certain character dynamics rarely seen in the "main saga" films in the franchise. This is what has most excited for with the "Star Wars" Anthology films. They have the freedom and ability to explore unique stories within the universe through different genres. "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" gave us a gritty war movie. "Han Solo: A Star Wars Story" will give us a western-styled heist movie. Who knows what the next Anthology film will bring, but I hope it has the courage to explore this universe through a unique genre and explore certain character dynamics never explored in "Star Wars" before.