Rogue One

Rogue One is a 2016 science fiction war film that is the first installment of Star Wars Anthology. It was directed by Gareth Edwards and stars Felicity Jones.

Set just before the events of A New Hope, Rogue One opens with scientist Galen Erso being tracked down and forcibly recruited by the Empire to work on a secret project. His young daughter, Jyn, manages to escape the mooks and ends up being fostered by rebel soldier Saw Gerrerra.

Years later, the existence of the newly-developed Death Star is leaked and the Empire dispatches a team to minimize the publicity. Jyn, now an adult, is asked by a group of Rebels to find her father and learn what she can about it. On the way, she meets Saw and is shown a recording of her father explaining that he had worked on the Death Star, and had built a critical weakness into the reactor design that anyone with the plans could exploit. The plans are stored in a data center on the well-defended planet of Scarif.

Jyn reports back to the Rebels, but thanks to the Empire's efforts is unable to bring any supporting evidence. They recognize that attempting to steal the Death Star plans could easily plunge their small Alliance into an all-out war they'd have little hope of winning. Lacking support for such an action, their leader decides not to take the risk.

Some of the Rebels disagree with the decision, and before their leaders have time to realize what has happened, Jyn and a small crew set off for Scarif in a stolen Imperial ship, under the hastily-improvised call sign Rogue One.

Rogue One was praised for its more realistic tone (compared to earlier prequels) and originality. On the other hand, it received criticism for its CGI recreations of the late Peter Cushing as Grand Moff Tarkin and a twenty-year-old Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia.

• Big Bad: Orson Krennic.
• Bigger Bad: Tarkin.
• Call Forward: When Leia is asked what she is holding, the reply is simply "Hope," a reference to Episode IV's subtitle.
• Continuity Cameo: Some of the characters from other Star Wars media make brief appearances.
  • C-3PO and R2-D2 are seen at Yavin.
  • At the very end, Princess Leia gets the Death Star plans.
• Darker and Edgier: This Star Wars film is more like an actual war film.
• Foregone Conclusion: Since A New Hope came first, it is guaranteed which characters make it.
• Grey and Gray Morality: The Rebels are seen doing bad actions and some of the Empire is doing some good actions.
• Mythology Gag: K2SO says "I have a bad feeling about this."
• Opening Scroll: Averted for the first time in a Star Wars film.
• Serkis Folk: A few characters are entirely CGI, portrayed via motion capture.
  • K2SO is played by Alan Tudyk with real=time motion capture.
  • Tarkin is a digital recreation of Peter Cushing with a soundalike playing him.
  • Likewise, Princess Leia is a digital recreation of Carrie Fisher.
• Title Drop: Gyn's pilot identifies their ship as Rogue One.
  • Also see Call Forward, above.
• Uncanny Valley: While the digital recreations are exquisite, there is still something very slightly "off" about Tarkin and Leia.