6. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
The first of the Star Wars spin-offs was 2016s Rogue One. directed by Gareth Edwards (Godzilla). The film sees a group of rebels band together to steal the Death Star plans. It went on to gross over $1 billion and received mostly positive reviews.
Rogue One was a gamble, and a pretty solid one at that. Outside of the main Skywalker Saga, side stories were reserved exclusively for the comics and novels, so seeing a big screen adventure with brand new characters was exciting.
We also get one of the franchise’s most diverse casts yet. It’s a shame that many of them were severely underused. The biggest issue with Rogue One is that its ensemble cast is too large. As a result we never really get to know any of them.
Their personalities are underdeveloped to the point that we don’t care too much when they’re all obliterated in the film’s climax. Spoiler alert, if for some reason you have yet to see the film.
The third act is incredible. Make it through the first two acts and you’ll be rewarded with some of the best action ever seen in a Star Wars movie. The Battle of Scariff is intense, exhilarating, and just good fun.
What more can be said about the Darth Vader scene at the end of the film? Yeah, you know, that one.
The cinematography is beautiful. Greig Fraser shoots a movie that’s grimy and gritty with gorgeous vistas. The score by Michael Giacchino’s also solid.
It can’t be easy to follow the biggest symphonic footprints in the business, but Giacchino crafts some truly rousing melodies. It’s all the more impressive, considering he only had four and a half weeks to put the entire score together.
Messy character work and shoddy CGI character creation that isn’t quite ready yet don’t distract from a bold, satisfying entry in the franchise.
