December 16th saw the release of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story - the second Disney Star Wars film and the eighth theatrical film in the saga. My girlfriend and I were apart at the time, so we made a pact to hold off seeing the film until we were reunited after Christmas. On December 29th - and after managing to stay almost entirely spoiler-free - we went along to a matinee screening at our local theatre.
Long story short, we had an absolute blast. If The Force Awakens was a familiar story in an unfamiliar setting, then Rogue One is the exact opposite. The costumes, characters, and vehicles are all incredibly familiar, but this is a story unlike any we've seen in the saga before. This isn't a tale told from the lofty perspective of the Jedi. Instead, it's interstellar conflict as seen by the everyday denizens of that galaxy far, far away - and it couldn't be more enthralling. For a movie that centres around a very large ensemble cast, it does an impeccable job of giving an engaging and rewarding character arc to every last one of them. These are individuals that we're not only invested in, but whom we come to care about deeply.
That being said, K-2SO absolutely steals the show. He is for me - and, I assume, many fans - one of the best parts of this film. Alan Tudyk gives a superb performance, and contributes a character that's bound to become just as iconic as R2 or BB-8. Best of all, he's flawlessly incorporated into every scene, ensuring you never once find yourself jarred by a sudden realisation that you're looking at a computer-generated character. In fact, insofar as visual effects go, ILM look to have done their best work yet. Rogue One impeccably recreates the visual effects style of its chronological successor A New Hope, and the surprise inclusion of certain elements from the original '77 film (the explicit mention of which would be a little too spoilerific) was enough to leave me completely dumbstruck. It's a long time since I've seen a film and been left utterly perplexed as to how a particular effect was pulled off.
That being said, K-2SO absolutely steals the show. He is for me - and, I assume, many fans - one of the best parts of this film. Alan Tudyk gives a superb performance, and contributes a character that's bound to become just as iconic as R2 or BB-8. Best of all, he's flawlessly incorporated into every scene, ensuring you never once find yourself jarred by a sudden realisation that you're looking at a computer-generated character. In fact, insofar as visual effects go, ILM look to have done their best work yet. Rogue One impeccably recreates the visual effects style of its chronological successor A New Hope, and the surprise inclusion of certain elements from the original '77 film (the explicit mention of which would be a little too spoilerific) was enough to leave me completely dumbstruck. It's a long time since I've seen a film and been left utterly perplexed as to how a particular effect was pulled off.
My girlfriend and I went along for another viewing a couple of weeks later and enjoyed it just as much the second time around. It's clear that for many, Rogue One will be exactly what they were hoping The Force Awakens would be: a brave new exploration of completely uncharted waters. With this film, Disney have genuinely shown just what they're capable of doing with the Star Wars franchise - and it fills this particular fan with an enormous amount of hope indeed.
