If Star Wars: The Force Awakens was made to create a new generation of junior Jedi, Rogue One is squarely aimed at long-term fans. Yes it's a war movie with a Dirty Dozen-esque suicide mission element, but chiefly it's there to have the Star Wars faithful squirming with recognition of the familiar. And this it does much better than the lamentable prequel trilogy ever did.
Rogue One is set right bang before the events of the original 1977 Star Wars movie (the one that became A New Hope when George Lucas began tinkering with his own vision). Remember that bit from the opening text about how 'Rebel spies managed to steal secret plans to the Death Star'?
This is the story of said spies.
Felicity Jones plays Jyn Erso, a loner rebel against the Empire and the daughter of the brilliant scientist, who was commandeered to lead the construction of the Empire's planet-killing mega-weapon. Her dad is the Robert Oppenheimer of the piece, appalled at the destructive nature of what he's been helping create. When Jyn is picked up by Rebel Command and made to work directly with them, she discovers that her father is trying to sabotage the operation from inside. The Death Star has a weakness and if the Rebellion can only get hold of the plans, they'll have a shot at destroying it. Literally.
Rogue One is grungy and low-tech from the start, refreshingly so, after the unwelcome gloss of the other prequels. It's an out-and-out war movie, with hardly a lightsaber to be seen. The whole look is one of industrial grime, and the various fight scenes are as gritty as it's possible to get while still retaining your PG certificate. If last Christmas's offering was joyful, it's replaced this time around with something much darker in tone.
This is a story of guerilla warfare in messy settings reminiscent of Kabul and of Vietnam-style beach landings under heavy fire. While space fighter pilots zip around doing their usual video-game thing against Empire craft, down below something much more like real conflict is going on. This is Star Wars for sure, but not entirely as we know it.
The 'rebel spies' in question turn out a satisfyingly motley band, as multi-ethnic as it should be in the Star Wars universe. Jyn is initially paired with Cassian (Diego Luna), a one-time boy soldier, who has been brutalised through his battle experience. To them add a blind martial arts expect who thinks he channels the Force, his sharp-shooting warrior buddy, an Imperial pilot who's swapped sides and a gangly reprogrammed Imperial robot - a kind of sardonic opposite to C-3PO, who calls it like he finds it (and is much funnier). It takes a while for them to band into an effective fighting unit - but when they do, it's worth it. You'll like these guys and the girl who ends up leading them.
As for the baddies, Ben Mendelsohn drips malice as Krennic, the man in charge of the Death Star project. His black-helmeted asthmatic line manager (you know the one) also makes a satisfying cameo.
Yes, and there's one more key antagonist who makes this year's (and any year's) most surprising appearance. Prepare to gasp and say 'Ehhh.... What? How the hell did he get there?' It's the biggest surprise in a film that packs quite a few.
Rogue One could easily be viewed as Disney milking the franchise for our Yuletide pennies and - well yes, of course it is. On the plus side it's superbly made throughout, has a dynamic story that's worth the telling and is willing to go some daringly dark places. It's okay that it's there to fill in backstory, since it does it in so entertaining a fashion.
Let's hope, however, that next year's film takes us somewhere new and totally unexpected. Somewhere that doesn't involve the attempted dismantling of Death Stars.
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