Star Wars: Rogue One

A Star Wars movie that hit hard before, but after seeing Andor, it hits even harder.

Rogue One is a masterpiece of cinematography, acting, visual effects, and writing (even though it takes a while to get going at first).

This movie is about the story of how ordinary people risk everything to get the plans to the Death Star, and they must endure hardships, even if it costs them their lives.

Jyn Erso is the main character, the daughter of a Death Star engineer who was against the Empire and designed a weak spot in the Death Star. The movie is about her being recruited by the rebels, and they must get the plans to the star, along with Andor and other characters.

The movie takes a while to get going, with all those points of view and jumps from character to character, planet to planet.

It's only halfway through the film, when they leave Jedha and go looking for Galen Erso (The Engineer), that the film really takes off. And what more can we say about the ending? It's a masterpiece. It's tragic and realistic because it shows that rebellions aren't easy and cost lives, and it doesn't reveal all the suffering the characters must endure.

The script is well-crafted; it could have been refined to remove some minor inconsistencies, but it was still quite good.

After watching the Andor series, this film definitely hits harder, especially seeing everything Andor suffered, what he had to abandon to reach this point to serve with the rebels. Some of his lines carry more weight after what we saw in the series, and his connection with Jyn Erso makes it even more tragic because he has someone who understands him, someone who also lost everything, and until the end, they are connected in their purpose. The final shot of them embracing as the planet is destroyed definitely hits home after Andor.

Rogue One is definitely an intense, emotional, and phenomenally constructed film, especially after seeing Andor. It has its minor script flaws, but otherwise, I can say it's a masterpiece.

9.0 Stars.

This is almost perfect Star Wars. By far the best Star Wars of the new era (including the prequels). Hard to find any fault with it. If only Abrams, Johnson and other took more note of this it might have saved us from some of the faults in those other movies.

It is crazy how well the beginning of this movie lines up and ties in with the ending of Andor. It's like I'm watching the new 3-episode arc of Andor, or season 3 of Andor. The feel is the same, albeit a bit more light-hearted than the show, and Andor and every other character act the same (well, maybe except Organa).

But first, I have to say what I have always felt about this movie. So my original rating for this film, the two times I watched it, was 7/10. The reason? I found the movie somewhat boring both times.

The characters are all new here, even considering Andor, you still don't really care that much about the blind guy and his friend, because they don't get much characterization, and also Jyn, who is the main character, isn't really that memorable for me, even though I've watched this movie 3 times now. The only thing making this movie good was focusing on Cassian Andor the whole time. Because we now have so much backstory and character development from him that he feels like the main character. Since all the other characters are kinda bland.

Now the thing I noticed is that the movie is so rushed. Like we jump from plot point to plot point so fast, and even though there are breathers in between, it still feels like everything is moving way too fast, and the characters don't get much characterization for the audience to care about them.

Now all that aside, now having finished Andor literally hours ago, this movie and especially its ending have changed significantly for me. The two previous times I watched this movie's ending, I was like "Yeah, this is kinda sad", but this time, I was a blubbering mess watching that ending knowing what happened in Andor.

I feel like if this movie came out after Andor and as a continuation of its story, and everybody had the knowledge of the events and character developments of Andor before watching it, it would be so much more highly rated, and my first watch would've been completely different. But on the other hand, you obviously could not have Andor if Rogue One didn't exist. It's kinda the chicken and egg situation (not really, but I couldn't think of another analogy). I still think Rogue One should be watched first, and then Andor, and then a rewatch. But this movie works so well if you watch it immediately after Andor and think of it as a really rushed Andor season 3.

So overall, even though I have changed my rating after all these years from 7/10 to 8/10, I still think this movie isn't that good as a standalone in terms of characterization and pacing. But I'm still on the high of Andor's finale, and this movie is significantly improved by the existence of that show. I'm just biased now, I always found it weird how people called this movie a masterpiece or "underrated" and how they adored it, because it's really not that great if Andor didn't exist. But now, I kinda didn't find it that boring this time around, and I actually enjoyed how each event of Andor from the beginning to the end leads to this movie and continues perfectly in here, and how this film's events also directly lead to A New Hope.

It's pretty cool. Devastating ending when you watch Andor before it.

Rogue One stands head and shoulders above every other Disney-era Star Wars film. While The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi, The Rise of Skywalker, and Solo struggled to find a fresh identity or narrative weight, Rogue One succeeds by doing exactly that, grounding the saga in the grit and gray of war.

The film boldly shifts perspective, focusing not on Jedi or chosen heroes, but on ordinary people caught in extraordinary circumstances. It masterfully fills a major plot gap: the Death Star's fatal weakness; while telling the gripping story of the Rebel Alliance's first true victory. With morally complex characters like Cassian Andor and Galen Erso, Rogue One paints a world where good and evil aren't so easily defined. Diego Luna brings depth and ambiguity to Cassian, while Mads Mikkelsen's Galen shows how even those within the Empire can resist in subtle, powerful ways.

Visually, the film is stunning, with rich, immersive worlds and breathtaking battle sequences. Michael Giacchino steps up to score the first Star Wars film without John Williams, and while the maestro is missed, Giacchino delivers a memorable soundtrack that captures the emotional core of the story.

Though the pace occasionally feels rushed, leaving some character arcs a bit underdeveloped, the film's grounded tone, compelling narrative, and bold, tragic ending elevate it far above its peers.

Rogue One dares to be different, and in doing so, it succeeds brilliantly. It's dark, emotional, smart, and unforgettable. A must-watch that proves Star Wars can evolve without losing its soul.

Without exaggeration, this is easily the best offering in the franchise since 'Return of the Jedi'. Yes, it is a spin-off of a simple set-up line from the original film, but it manages to really craft it's own story around the demands of where the plot has to go by the end. While it's definitely not a character driven movie, I was surprised with the amount of time given to our key protagonists and the effort to at least make them intriguing.

The idea of another prequel movie was a hard sell; but unlike the prequel (and for that matter, the sequel) trilogy, this manages to tell it's own story within the structure of a lead-up to an event to which we already know the outcome. Felicity Jones and Diego Luna are especially effective along with secondary characters like those played by Riz Ahmed and Donnie Yen becoming easy fan favorites. Ben Mendelsohn is great as always as Krennic despite not being given much dimension as a main villain.

The character of Saw Guerrera (Forest Whitaker) seems a little cut-up and while I understand the character is better informed by one of the animated series, what we have in the film seems like it may have been a little more beefed up in earlier edits of the movie.

One thing I hear from people who don't care for this movie is the amount of fan-service moments. Random appearances of old characters or species, call-backs to famous lines and some easter-egg visuals can be a little distracting and if you don't care for that self-indulgent stuff, you'll definitely notice it here. Personally, it never really bothered me apart from one instance that lasts 5 seconds.

On a final note, while the decision to include Darth Vader was inevitable for this movie, I was so glad to see they did a little more than give him a short cameo appearance and actually give him a moment or two without leaning on him too much as a crutch to distract the audience.

If you love old Star Wars and couldn't care less about the two superfluous trilogies that followed, consider giving this a try.