Even though I would be perfectly fine with just having six Star Wars films at time, in this day and age it only makes that we are getting more films to the Star Wars universe. Nothing nowadays seems safe or secure. You have two more Star Wars films that connect to the new trilogy, a Han Solo film in 2018 and a Boba Fett film which has run into pre-production problems. You have to wonder what’s next for the Star Wars universe. Anything in my mind seems possible with this universe and the future looks bright. The future now is Rouge One, a prequel to the 1977 New Hope. This film is surely a question mark because it’s seems too much of a hassle but it is still a fun ride nonetheless.

I have always more faith in prequels. Unlike a remake which is just redoing material, prequels add new material to the original story. Rouge One is adding material to the famous weapon Death Star which was the main plot point of the 1977 film. Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones), a girl with her own troubled past along with a Rebel Officer Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) are on a mission to stop the plan of the new and powerful Empire’s new weapon, the Death Star.

Like what was a concern to the original Star Wars from 1999-2002, adding new characters is always a question mark (we know how Jar Jar Binks turned out). I really like Star Wars: Force Awakens new characters though. It’s hard to not like the Rouge One characters. Erso has a back-story that could be explored more and Felicity Jones does what she needs to do after a questionable performance in Inferno later year. Cassion Andor has a hero feel to him from the start and like Erso, he could be more explored more. Maybe even the biggest role and very important to the is plot Galen Erso (Mads Mikkelsen ) who is involved in the Death Star plans. He is a character you could have seen more of and it adds to the big year Mads Mikkelsen has had. Along the way, you have Bodhi Rook (Riz Ahmed) who is basically the Hans Solo of this, the pilot of the gang.  You have K-2SO (voiced by Alan Tudyk) who is the spunky little droid who gives a lot of inspiration to the original C-3p0. New to frame with a new spin to him is Chirrut Imwe (Donnie Yen), a blind and fun warrior. Maybe the most ridiculous character is Saw Gerrera (Forrest Whitaker) with very silly acting by Whitaker. Rogue One offers new characters while still showing respect for what came before all in a well-done script.

Yes, the first two acts do what it needs to but really it is the third act where everything comes together and the film’s main highlights come. From the last action scenes dealing with a tropical setting, the last act is big on visuals. Even with a budget of $200 million, it never gets old to learn of the lands of this universe or the large space battles we see. These scenes from space really do feel like something out of New Hope or the original films. And yes, the easter eggs are in place here to show what came before that made the people in my theater applaud for a reason.

 

I don’t think anything will ever beat the original Star Wars that spanned from 1977 to 1983. Still, like another famous prequel Indiana Jones and the Temple Of Doom, Rogue One adds a great new layer to the series and offers something completely different at the same time. With it getting so little press compared to last year’s film, Rouge One will get overshadowed. That said, it is a film that the average ten-year-old Star Wars fan will love and original fans of the series will enjoy and make you feel like a kid again. I can question how Disney wants to keep churning out new Star Wars films but I am starting to question it less based on the first two films released so far.

More Star Wars films, please and thank you, Disney!

4/5