All looks lost for the Rebellion against the Empire as they learn of the existence of a new super weapon. Once a possible weakness in its construction is uncovered, the Rebel Alliance must set out on a desperate mission to steal the plans for this planet killer. The future of the entire galaxy now rests upon its success. Rogue One is a film part of the main Skywalker saga, but it doesn't follow any of the leading figures. This is why it holds the title 'A Star Wars Story' and further hence, why it features no opening crawl like every other film. This choice was a great idea as it differentiates this from the other films in the series and, after all, this story is essentially a crawl if you have seen the original Star Wars. We follow a ragtag group of individuals, each member coming from a different background with their own stories, lives, troubles and difficulties to overcome. We mainly focus on Jyn Erso, a young woman who has had a hard life after her father was taken by the Empire, who needs him to complete unfinished work on this weapon. She is reluctantly recruited by the Rebellion, who wish to use her help in finding the information on this weapon and her father in exchange for her freedom. She is joined by rugged rebel Cassian Andor and reprogrammed sassy Imperial droid K-2SO, who are at first sceptical of Jyn. Their mission requires them to track down a defective Imperial cargo pilot, Bodhi. He holds a message about the Empire's new weapon, but he is being held by Rebel extremists led by Saw Gerrera, whom Jyn previously worked with. Along the way, they meet up with two men, the blind skilled fighter Chirrut and sharpshooter heavy Baze, who join the crew after the Empire destroys their home on Jedha. I really loved each member of this group and grew attached to them with their many unique personalities. Despite not being together for long, they work as an efficient team and bond as a squad. Opposing them, however, is the mighty Empire, with our main antagonist, Director Krennic, who oversees the construction of the aptly named weapon, The Death Star. He is an excellent villain to follow who crosses paths with our team on multiple occasions and has some brilliant scenes where he argues with Tarkin. He commands an elite group of Death Troopers who are phenomenal in all-black attire with green visors who tower over their peer Stormtroopers. Most of the notable aspects of this movie involve the battles and how gritty they are, feeling like a real war. With plenty of small fights scattered throughout, it all comes to a head in the climactic finale on the tropical Imperial base on Scarif as they make a last-ditch effort to secure the plans of the Death Star. From a battle on the ground to an unbelievable space battle, it was a jaw-dropping climax to behold. I remember fondly going to the cinema with my Dad to see it and how exciting it felt. Little did we know how it would blow us both away by its magnitude across the board. The sheer scope of this cinematic masterpiece was enough to be admired. So much beautiful imagery draws you in from wide, long sweeping shots that linger on such grand spectacles, a combination of on-site location and digital effects seamlessly blending and a variety of worlds holding vast arrays of bright colour or muted tones. Seeing so many planets, new and old, felt like a lived-in world with all kinds of real cultures and creatures. It is true eye candy for audiences, especially for eagle-eyed fans. There are equally plenty of cameos from in-your-face to subtle in-the-back or verbal mentions for fans to find too, especially many links to Star Wars: Rebels (TV Series 2014-2018). The score by Michael Giacchino is magnificent too, as it features many motifs we know from William's score whilst delivering spectacular entries of his own into the mix. Overall, I cannot state enough how much I adore Rogue One. It is one of the best aspects to come out of the Disney era of Star Wars and still blows fans away with its bold choices and exceptional storytelling. This is certainly up there as one of my all-time favourites and will likely remain there for years to come. It also ties beautifully into the first-ever film Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977).
The film underwent multiple rewrites and reshoots, which is quite visible in these trailers featuring many sequences, shots and lines not present in the final product. The trailers are very interesting, however it is equally fascinating to imagine how different it could have been. But for a 'mostly' accurate trailer of the final result, see the last one above.
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