Rogue One

Although 2016 is the year of spin-offs, no spin-off has gathered more attention and more talk than Rogue One...the first Star Wars spin-off. There's a reason why.

Star Wars has always had a linear storyline. It starts at one point and keeps on going, especially nowadays since we have the sequel trilogy. But now that Disney grabbed hold of the franchise, they're talking of branching off and telling stories never seen before? Are they mad? Not entirely.

But I, like everyone else, did harbor some past uncertainty about this spin-off and whether it would work. They're taking a lot of risky moves with this franchise, and I believe we're all just afraid on whether or not this franchise can keep its relativity. But now that Rogue One is out, are we all justified in our fear?

Perhaps, we have no reason to be afraid at all.

Rogue One tells the long-pondered story of how the hell the Rebels got the Death Star plans at the beginning of the original Star Wars. Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones) is the daughter of an Empire engineer (Mads Mikkelsen) who is captured and sent to built a superweapon for the Empire. Years go by, she grows up and soon learns from the Rebellion about this weapon and her father's contribution. Thus, she hatches a plan with a ragtag team (Diego Luna, Donnie Yen, Jiang Wen) and their smart-assed robot, K2SO (Alan Tudyk) to find the plans for this weapon, and to possibly find her father at the same time.

And yeah, we have nothing to fear at all. In fact, it's hard for me to not say that Rogue One is one of the best and most well put-together Star Wars films of all time. If you were disappointed in any way by The Force Awakens, you're a dumba-I mean, you will love this movie. 

Although it's coated with an old-time feel, embedded deep in the beginning of the Galactic Civil War, it feels so fresh, with an exciting story and characters that you fall in love with so dearly, as well as the return of old ones (Darth Vader...fuck me he's amazing). The cast is brilliant, the direction by Gareth Edwards was surprisingly good, and the screenwriting was on-point. It's so well put-together that I barely have any gripes, and if I did, they'd only be a little struggles in pacing, no more, no less.

And in all honesty, Rogue One is just as perfect as I wanted it to be. It makes me feel so happy to know and love the lore of Star Wars, and so happy to be alive, and excited, for this new era of Star Wars films. I'm giving Rogue One a 9.7/10, and if this is what we're to expect from upcoming Star Wars films, I'm going to run out of 9 ratings to give these things. Phew, man...