

Led by a young woman whose brilliant father was coerced into designing the enormous home base for the evil Empire, the gang of interplanetary misfits here will be compared to any number of Earth-bound cinematic predecessors - the Wild Bunch, the Dirty Dozen, the Magnificent Seven, etc. Ingratiatingly rough and rugged and decked out with a rainbow coalition of actors from all over the world, in addition to a new 7-foot droid who steals every scene it’s in, the yarn is set at a time when the fearsome Death Star is in the final stages of preparation before its massively lethal powers can be unleashed on the opposition.

Since anticipation for its arrival can’t possibly match the pent-up public excitement that surrounded the franchise’s rebirth with Star Wars: The Force Awakens a year ago, box-office returns probably won’t equal that film’s staggering $2 billion worldwide haul, but everyone at Disney command central will still be all smiles for a good while after Friday’s opening. Loaded with more battle action than any of its seven predecessors, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story plays like a setup for the events in the 1977 original and, for the most part, does so quite entertainingly. It may call itself rogue, but this first stand-alone feature in the series officially unconnected with any of the previous entries fits comfortably in the universe George Lucas birthed 40 years ago. Waiting to herald the Empire's brutal reign with a burst of annihilation worthy of its dreaded name: Death Star.Rogue One definitely puts the war back into Star Wars. In their hands rests the new hope that could turn the tide toward a crucial Rebellion victory-if only they can capture the plans to the Empire's new weapon.īut even as they race toward their dangerous goal, the specter of their ultimate enemy-a monstrous world unto itself-darkens the skies. If the worlds at the Empire's mercy stand any chance, it lies with an unlikely band of allies: Jyn Erso, a resourceful young woman seeking vengeance Cassian Andor, a war-weary rebel commander Bodhi Rook, a defector from the Empire's military Chirrut Îmwe, a blind holy man and his crack-shot companion, Baze Malbus and K-2SO, a deadly Imperial droid turned against its former masters. and a threat that may be too great to overcome. Deep in Empire-dominated space, a machine of unimaginable destructive power is nearing completion. The Rebellion has learned of a sinister Imperial plot to bring entire worlds to their knees. Go beyond the film with a novelization featuring new scenes and expanded material.Īs the shadows of the Empire loom ever larger across the galaxy, so do deeply troubling rumors.
