100 Movie Challenge 2016 - # 165: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

Director: Gareth Edwards
Genre: Action/ Adventure/ Science Fiction
Runtime: 133 minutes
Year: 2016
Starring: Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, Alan Tudyk, Donnie Yen, Ben Mendelsohn, Forest Whitaker, Riz Ahmed, Mads Mikkelson, Jimmy Smits, James Earl Jones

Description: The Rebel Alliance makes a risky move to steal the plans for the Death Star, setting up the epic saga to follow.

Review: Hollywood loves nostalgia and uses it to please movie fans. And off course “Star Wars”, mother of all fan franchises, couldn’t be left behind. With “The Force Awakens” the series got a new life and it’s ready to fascinate a new generation. But we go back in time, before the Death Star was destroyed. And if you want to know how this plan was born, you have to see “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story”.
We all know what happens to the Death Star, but we never knew how much trouble the Rebellion had to go through to reach that goal. Leading character is Jyn Erso, a troubled young woman who is asked to help the rebels to find her father, Galen Erso. Galen was taken by the empire when she was very young, to help Krennic build his ‘dream of death’. Galen does manage to inform the people on the outside and that’s where Jyn comes in. Together with rebel captain Andor she is trying to find the truth behind the Death Star.
Gareth Edwards directs this movie and it looks like he was the right choice, after he reinvented the success of “Godzilla”. He gave it a darker look and he does the same with “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story”. The heroes aren’t as heroic as the characters in the original films. The rebellion still has to finds its way. The film has moral depth and the characters have dimension as well. And the movie doesn’t have a dull moment.
Off course there is some nostalgia present. A cameo from R2D2 and C3PO and the seamless transition to “Star Wars: A New Hope”. But most of all Darth Vader. What a joy to see him on the big screen again.
Not knowing what to expect from this film, I was very happy to see how good “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” actually is. A must for every “Star Wars” fan.

Rating: 4,5/ 5