Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

Merry Christmas everybody. I'm sure that you've all had plenty to drink and are still working your way through the leftovers. I've just got back from seeing the first of Disney's Star Wars spin-off films, Rogue One.

Taking place not long before A New Hope, we follow Felicity Jones as Jyn Erso, an independent-minded rogue hastily recruited by the Rebel Alliance. Jyn is the daughter of Galen Erso, played by Mads Mikkelson, a scientist who works for an Imperial weapons development team. Working with a Rebel Intellegence officer Cassian Andor, played by Diego Luna, she has to find plans for the superweapon her father is working on.

I have to say that the beginning of the film seems rather rushed, but it does pick up to deliver a long but exciting climax. I also think that Jyn and Cassian aren't very interesting characters. It's a shame, because I found the opening scene with her backstory to be very gripping. Her father had resigned from weapons development until he is forced out of retirement by his old boss Orson Krennic, played by Ben Mendelsohn.

While our two main heroes aren't interesting, it's the supporting characters who steal the show. My favourite is the droid K-S20, played by Alan Tudyk. He kicks a lot more arse than C-3P0, and delivers a lot of snarky lines, like a cross between HK-47 from Knights of the Old Republic and Wash from Firefly (even though he is Wash from Firefly). There's also a blind monk played by Donnie Yen, who is a really good fighter. Mads Mikkelson is also pretty good, as he's repentant despite working on a secret weapon. His boss is suitably ruthless too, but there's not much to him.

One thing that did seem to stand out was the number of times the film panders to the fans. This includes a CGI Peter Cushing. He gets a lot of screen time and looks...off. But I can''t really fault that. And it was great to see Darth Vader again, with his special retreat for suitably dramatic entrances.

They've certainly tried to make the film darker than the rest, and they do end up succeeding. You'll have to see it for yourself to see where though.

Overall, it's no Empire Strikes Back, but it certainly is worth it for the blazing action.

Oh, advance warning; there's no opening crawl. But that shouldn't dissuade you.