Rogue One: A Star Wars Story Movie Review (SPOILER-FREE!)

Hey guys!! :)

So something really rare happened to me on Thursday night...I actually saw a popular movie before most of my other friends!  And so I thought to myself, I don't have a blog topic for this week yet...why not do a movie review? :D

So on Thursday night, I chose to go see Rogue One: A Star Wars Story with my Dad and brother.  We went to a local movie theater about a half hour away from our home, and we went to see it in 2D.

NOTE:  Even though I will be steering clear of major spoilers, I will be addressing some of the major plot points, as seen in the film's trailers.  If you haven't seen the trailer yet, or have chosen not to watch them to be completely un-spoiled, proceed with caution.

Overall rating: ★★★★½

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is set in the time period between the Star Wars Rebels TV series and the original Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope film.  For the first time in a Star Wars film, we have a female main protagonist, Jin Arso.  Jin and a ragtag group of heroes comprise the crew of Rogue One, and the heroes travel the galaxy on a special mission for the Rebellion against the Empire.

Plot:  ★★★★★  Excellent plot.  I liked how much more dark and gritty the story was, as opposed to other Star Wars films.  I loved how well structured the story was, and how the plot actually seemed more complex that it actually was.

Characters: ★★★  The only character that was really well-developed was Jin, who was a fully-developed main character with believable motives, a compelling backstory, and strong character traits.  The main villain, Director Krennic, seemed very believable too, with some character traits that pleasantly surprised me.  But the minor characters were overall underdeveloped.  They were generic and bland and I was hoping for a bit more in that regard.

Setting:  ★★★★★  Absolutely stunning visuals of the beautiful planets that were visited.  Also, lots of amazing new structures that will be Star Wars icons in the future.  I was absolutely blown away by some of the incredible camera shots of the settings.

Soundtrack:  ★★★★★  LOVED THE SOUNDTRACK, it was different from classic Star Wars but had similar touches.

Writing:  ★★★★½  Good writing with some excellent lines here and there.  But I feel like the script wasn't as funny as it was trying to be?

Effects:  ★★★★½  Excellent effects overall, but two of the human CGI characters looked very fake.  It would have been much more breathtaking if they looked more real.

Acting: ★★★★★
Lighting:  ★★★½

Content:  I'm so glad someone mentioned wanting this category in the comments!  ANOTHER thing I really liked was the apparent lack of inappropriate content.  With no inappropriate attire, nudity, swearing (that I can remember), or any other inappropriate content (apart from violence, naturally there is some of that), I really found myself enjoying the story more.

Miscellaneous thoughts:  I LOVED how the movie spiced things up for diehard Star Wars fans with little references, similar to The Force Awakens.  There are lots of little easter eggs that fans of the older movies will notice.

BOTTOM LINE:

Pros:  I loved it in so many ways.  Excellent main character and villain.  The plot was original, but the film still housed that classic Star Wars feel.  The settings were stunningly gorgeous.  Also, lots of the CGI was masterfully executed.  Overall, this film surpassed my expectations with flying colors.

Cons:  Several human characters were very CGI-edited and they looked absolutely fake.  This film is less humorous than it thinks it is.  Also, some secondary characters were poor developed and mostly present for their funny and clever lines.

So what do you think, am I cut out to be a film critic? ;)  I had such fun with this, let me know what you think in the comments!!  Have a great week! :)