Image by Screenrant.com

The eighth Star Wars film, the second produced by Disney and the first stand-alone installment hit cinemas on December 16, 2016. It’s two hours and 15 minutes long, but worth watching in the cinema? Let’s see! For all those confused by the timeline, you should probably know before watching that it’s set before Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope. As for stats, it’s the fifth highest-selling film of 2016 raking in $916 million across the world. The budget for film production was $200 million…But we should turn to what’s really important!

Why you need to watch it?

The movie was praised by critics for the acting, action sequences, music and a generally darker tone – so let’s get into it!

Who starred in it? Felicity Jones as Jyn Erso, Diego Luna as Cassian Andor, Ben Mendelsohn as Orson Krennic, and Alan Tudyk as K-2SO. James Earl Jones lends his voice again to Darth Vader, and Guy Henry and Ingvild Deila play Grand Moff Tarkin and Princess Leia, though Carrie Fisher’s audio material from archives gave Princess Leia the voice in this film.

Image by Film.ru

Rogue One is a prequel, (for all those who don’t quite know what to do with Star Wars I, II and III), to the next three movies of the franchise, Star Wars films IV, V and VI. It’s also the only film without the iconic opening opening crawl-text. I found that very confusing – wondering at first ‘Is this actually a Star Wars film?’

What else is new?

Rogue One takes a little bit of a different approach, which left me initially with mixed feelings. The atmosphere is different, the film is definitely darker, and it almost feels like a war movie. The line between good and evil gets obscured and blurred – and we discover that not all good guys are what they seem. There’s a line from Felicity Jones’ character Jyn – ‘You’re confusing peace with terror’ – that hits home, feeling slightly more truthful to our own world that we’re living in.

Also, lots of leading characters ended up dying at the end such as Jyn, Cassian, Chirrut Imwe and K-2SO – plus more in the final scene, but we’ll get to that in a while!

What I personally liked is how seemingly ordinary characters become part of something bigger by doing extraordinary things. That, in a recipe with the film’s darker tones, made this movie new and unusual for Star Wars fans – but game-changing and promising.

What about that final scene?

So, do we dare talk about this unbelievable Darth Vader scene?

Image by Indiewire.com

Dark side vs. good and the lighter comic motifs: While the lines between good and evil get a little blurred, the Empire is still the oppressive power, while characters like K-2SO provide some much needed comic relief when things get a bit too dark.

Vader? Oh yeah, he tears through a dark room of rebel fighters with his red light-saber, killing most. Ruthless and evil, especially after being humanized in The Force Awakens, this scene reminded me that Darth Vader is frightening and horrifying. Rogue One shows him as the monster he is.

Over-rated/under-rated?

Probably under-rated. There was much more hype around Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens. Though while undeniably dark, Rogue One offers a glimmer of hope in a dark universe, painting a picture of a world in which race and gender are no obstacles to success – and that’s a beautiful! Strong female lead Jyn reminds little fan-girls and -boys that it’s not only male characters that change and shake things up!

Image by Lashorasperdidas.com

Get the chance to watch Rogue One on the big screen while you still can – and in 3D for some real cinema aesthetics! Already seen the film? Give us your own review in the comments section below and dont forget to give us a like and a share!

Follow us on our social media channels: @ILQlive @ILQlive @ILoveQtr ILoveQatar