Rogue One: A Star Wars Story debuted this past week in what is becoming an annual event for Star Wars fans. Disney has committed to several Star Wars themed movies and this is the first to take place outside the main Skywalker storyline.

I had a chance to see the movie this week, and I’ve written a brief review. There will be some SPOILERS, so if you haven’t seen the movie you should probably see it before reading.

The Plot:

We all know this story ends with the Rebels getting the plans of the Death Star to Princess Leia’s Blockade Runner, which is the opening to Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. So moving past the broad concept for the film, the movie was a very excellent bridge between the Pre-Quell trilogy and the Original Trilogy of Star Wars movies.

The story focuses on the Empire putting the finishing touches on a semi-operational Death Star which was originally shown in its infancy toward the end of Revenge Of the Sith. The rebels on the other hand are shown as somewhat squabbling factions with some main leadership.

There is a lot of Death Star in this movie, and that’s a good thing. Edwards answers the greatest plot flaw of the Episode IV, which is why the Death Star was so easy to destroy with one lucky blast. Edwards also does a great job throughout the move of showing the Empire’s tight grip across the many planets visited in this movie. He gives a real sense of terror and subjugation. George Lucas originally based the Empire on German Nazis and everything from mass destruction, slavery, and even costuming reinforce this.

The Rebels are shown similarly to what we have already seen as organized but factional. The Rogue team is assembled out of members with differing experiences and backgrounds and each member brings their skill to the group. While the Rebel side of the movie focuses on the character of Jyn Erso, I really felt that the story gave equal time to every member of the Rogue team and satisfied their individual stories and motivations.

Now onto the real SPOILERS:

Edwards not only shoots the movie to look like a Star Wars movie, he clearly has a deep love of the series. Grand Moff Tarkin is a major feature of the movie, and his character really comes into his own here. We get three wonderful scenes of Darth Vader, the first being in a Bacta Tank similar to Luke in ESB, and then in the end fighting with his lightsaber. Other characters that make cameos are Dr. Evazan (with his nose) and Ponda Boba, Death Star Droids and mouser droids of course. Yavin 4 sees a lot of time as the lead location for the Rebels as well as Mon Mothma and even Bail Organa (both played by the same actors from ROTS). C-3PO gets a tiny cameo and speaking line alongside R2D2. A great and satisfying ending is the final scene where the Rebels finally get the Death Star plans on board the blockade runner and hand them to Princess Leia, and yes you get to see Carrie Fisher is a young Princess Leia, with CGC help for a split second…and it works!

There is a great touch of irony to the Death Star through the reveal that it is powered by Kyber Crystals (the same crystals used in lightsabers). Here the Empire is shown pillaging Jedi temples and taking these objects of good and harnessing the power for evil.

Finally, while I don’t like that Kyle Katarn’s story was erased in Star Wars continuity as well as Wedge not even getting a cameo in the story, I do love that Edwards explains how Rogue Squadron gets its namesake.

In summation, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is an excellent companion to the Episode 4: A New Hope. The two movies together can be seen as a complete story, and really sets the stage for a need of a character like Luke Skywalker to emerge and revive the Jedi.

While I was originally, skeptical of the idea of making an “in betweener” of the original trilogy. I gave it a shot, and was very impressed by the results.

4/5 STARS- A must see for all Star Wars fans