My Review of "Rogue One"

I saw Rogue One when it first came out in the theaters and bought the movie when it first came out on 3D Blu-Ray. I haven't seen it for a while and I realized I haven't seen it for a while so I checked it out again. This time I noticed a few more things about this movie that I didn't realize the first few times I saw it.

For those that don't know about Rogue One, it's a side story that fits in between Star Wars Episode 3 and Episode 4. It connects the two perfectly and it was a very slick way to make a one off movie.

It starts off with Orson Krennic, played by Ben Mendelsohn, arriving on some strange planet looking for Galen Erso, played by Mads Mikkelsen, Galen is apparently the mastermind that had created the blue prints for the original Death Star. Galen doesn't want to be part of the project anymore and has been in hiding with his wife and daughter. Unfortunately his wife is murdered and his daughter goes into hiding.

Now in adulthood, Galen's daughter Jyn, played by Felicity Jones becomes a rebel soldier. She meets up with a ragtag of unlikely rebels when she finds out that her father had actually made a fail-safe to the death star. Basically their mission is extremely important for Star Wars Episode 4 to be played out like the way we remembered it.

So people that have seen episode 4 basically know what will happen in Rogue One however we don't know what happens to the characters. This movie is also a very different change of direction from the other Star Wars movie.

It's actually a heist movie because our heroes are searching for blue prints for the Death Star. Things will be very difficult for them because the Empire protects their secrets very well. Jyn will need the help of all of her new friends to get the blue prints.

The movie feels very much like a heist movie because all of the characters have specific talents that are needed for the big job. There are also elements of war in this movie. Close to the end of the movie there is a gigantic battle that made me feel more in the battlefield of a star wars movie than any other Star Wars movie that has ever came out.

It also helps that all of the actors in this movie bring a lot of charisma and character in their portrayal of their characters. Ben Mendelsohn plays his usual bad guy schtick but he does it a little more animated in this movie. It works for this movie but a little more and it would have felt overdone. There are a few goofy scenes here and there but that's probably the Disney influence on this movie.

I have to admit that watching this movie many times over made the beginning of the movie quite long. I already know the story so the long explanations and descriptions to let the audience know what's going on is quite long. For those that have seen this movie before, you might as well just stick to the last half of the movie or at least the last quarter. That's when all the action hits the movie.

Overall, I thought this was still a very enjoyable movie but really I came back for the last quarter of the movie. This is best seen by first time viewers. I don't feel that this movie can be watched over and over again in it's entirety. I will have to give this movie a 7.5 out of 10. I have to admit I have watched this movie many times and this may have affected the score.