‘Rogue One’: More to The Force than the Skywalkers’ drama

Expanding the original “Star Wars” trilogy with the backstory fans didn’t know they needed, “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” proves that there’s more to the sci-fi-fantasy film series than the saga of the fractured Skywalker family.

Detailing events prior to the original film, “Episode IV: A New Hope,” “Rogue One” follows the story of Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones), daughter of an ex-Imperial science officer, Galen (Mads Mikkelsen), who is instrumental in developing the moon-sized battle station, the Death Star.

Raised by renegade warrior Saw Gerrera (Forest Whitaker), Jyn forms an uneasy alliance with old and new members of the Rebellion, including determined agent Cassian (Diego Luna); the disconcerting droid, K2SO (voiced by Allan Tudyk); the ex-Imperial pilot, Bodhi (Riz Ahmed); the blind Force devotee, Chirrut (Donnie Yen), and gun-toting fighter Baze (Jiang Wen).

The rag-tag band of Rebels discovers firsthand that this galactic conflict isn’t always clear-cut, but they do get reminded of the evil of the Empire and its many power-mad figures—among them a villain tied to Jyn’s past, as well as the mysterious Sith lord, Darth Vader (voiced again by James Earl Jones).

So, the film isn’t entirely devoid of a Skywalker, but Gareth Edwards’ film focuses mostly on Jyn, the reluctant heroine, and her team of disparate but driven cohorts. It’s a daring, foolhardy task, zooming into danger with only a handful of soldiers, and with barely any strategy in place. But what they lack in planning, the crew of the aptly named Rogue One more than make up for in sheer guts and improvisation—and some faith in the all-encompassing Force!

Intense, breathtaking

Those who thought that they’ve seen all there is to see when it comes to effects-enhanced spaceship battles, there are encounters and stunts here that are intense and breathtaking—far more interesting than those in last year’s “The Force Awakens.”

The ground warfare is tightly choreographed and unpredictable, although there are moments when the gunfight sequences aren’t as dramatic as they should be. Still, Yen’s martial arts-fortified moves are put to good use—his character is an immediate favorite, a sightless combatant who can give the similarly blind superhero Daredevil a run for his money.

In many ways, it’s still the “Star Wars” universe that fans are familiar with—there are nigh-countless recognizable elements—but by introducing fresh new concepts, the film franchise expands further and covers angles that the original storytellers may have missed, or didn’t feel like expounding on.

It creates more peripheral material that expands the mythology, but it was reported recently that this is a standalone film, so expect no sequel. Regardless, “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” proves that there are many ways to enrich or improve the central “Star Wars” realm, while offering new underdogs to root for, and a bittersweet, done-in-one tale to savor.