EDIT: Ok, maybe this is a Spoiler-ish Free Review.
Needless to say, I was quite skeptical that this movie would be any good. Especially after The Force Awakens. I could go on an endless rant but I will save that for another time.
The start of my grievances started with the title–Rogue One. To me “Rogue One” is Luke Skywalker’s call sign (later passed on to Wedge Antilles) in the famed Rogue Squadron. The idea that someone was going to form the Rogue Squadron without Luke and Wedge frustrated me beyond belief. I was relieved to discover that Rogue One wasn’t referring to the squadron but rather the act of someone “going rogue.”
Let me get “the bad” out of the way first. At first, I had a hard time connecting with any of these characters and because of this, I didn’t know any of the character’s names. There were obvious stars like the droid, K-2SO, voiced by Firefly alum Alan Tudyk. Ok, so Alan has been in a number of things like A Knight’s Tale and Dodgeball as Steve the Pirate but anytime Firefly could be mentioned–it should be mentioned.
EDIT: I’ve seen this twice now and I still only retained maybe half of the new character’s names.
I may be alone in this one because Saw Gerrera is apparently a fan favorite from The Clone Wars and Rebels cartoons but I didn’t really like his character. I’m not really sure what it is yet. Maybe it’s because his part was so hyped up and yet he had very little impact to the film. Sorta like, oh, I don’t know… Captain Phasma? To be honest it reminded me of one of those horror flicks where they spend the whole movie teasing and hyping the monster and then you finally get a glimpse of it at the end and it’s the lamest possible thing in the history of lame things. Ah, even better reference–The Smoke Monster on LOST.
I could go on but I don’t want to nitpick for fear of it seeming like I hate the movie.
Let’s touch on “the good.” Have I mentioned K-2SO? Doesn’t matter because he is worth mentioning again. K-2SO has some of the best lines in the whole movie. The blind guy with the bo staff was also good. Turns out that character’s name is Chirrut Imwe, played by Donnie Yen. This goes back to what I said before, I had to look up this character’s name. He was a lot of fun and there were some subtle things he says or does that made him really stand out. I think the best part about the movie may have been the fact that the main character Jyn doesn’t say the cheese line that cycled on all of the trailers. If you don’t know what line I am talking about, I’d be shocked because honestly, it’s cringe worthy. Ok, fine, I’ll refresh your memory, “this is a rebellion isn’t it? I rebel.”
The main things that really put this movie over the top are all spoilers. If you’ve seen the trailer, you’ll know that Darth Vader makes an appearance. He had more parts than I was expecting and they were probably some of the best Darth Vader moments in cinematic history. There were two other surprise characters and the ending that really punched the movie home for me.
Overall, this is a really good movie. It gives me confidence in Disney’s direction of Star Wars –it may be a modicum of confidence but it counts nonetheless.
Until next time.
-Dustin
Dustin Schyler Yoak 
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