Revisiting Star Wars: Rogue One


Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker opens on December 20. It is meant to be an end to the saga we've known for more than 40 years, and that includes 10 previous movies (eight in series and two stand alone tales in the world). In the run up to that release, I'll be revisiting all 10 of the released Star Wars films and sharing thoughts as we prepare for the final chapter.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)
Starring: Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, Ben Mendelsohn, Mads Mikkelsen, Riz Ahmed, and Alan Tudyk
About: This was the first of the standalone films, and was released shortly after "The Force Awakens" had brought "Star Wars" back to the public. There was a lot of pressure here to sort of prove the concept, and what we got is one of the best "Star Wars" films. It's about the early days of the resistance and, quite literally, takes place just before the events of "A New Hope," the original "Star Wars" tale. It answers the question—how did Princess Leia get those plans. So this one features Darth Vader, Princess Leia and Gov. Tarkin, which makes it kind of a fun lead into the original film and trilogy. And it's done really well. There's a number of cool new worlds, some great set pieces and some great action pieces. But it's really the story, and the lead performance from Jones, that helps make this work. I remember how excited I was for this when it came out and how much I was taken with what I saw. This was one of the best "Star Wars" tales, and probably one of the more overlooked and forgotten since it doesn't fit in any of the trilogies.
Rating: PG-13 for extended sequences of sci-fi violence and action.

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