Felicity Jones Saves the Universe (Sorta) in "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story"

"I'm Rogue numero uno..."

I’m not a huge fan of Star Wars but I watched it anyway because the old ones were deemed classics and the new ones were, well, the talk of the world. And I do thoroughly enjoyed it even though I’m not really into the mythology (what the hey is a Death Star?) and the characters save for the three famous leading protagonists plus the main iconic baddie (who makes a cameo in this new film).
 
But Rogue One and last year’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens has certainly piqued my interest even more because the filmmakers were brave enough to put a woman front and centre as the new hero without dressing them in skimpy outfits (sorry, Princess Leia)—so suck on it you misogynistic alt-right brutes!
 
Anyhoo, the diversity is certainly on full display again in this Gareth Edwards-directed sci-fi adventure. After putting a black man and a latino in The Force Awakens, now the rogue band of Rogue One comprises of a Mexican (Diego Luna), a British-Pakistani (Riz Ahmed), and two Chinese (Donnie Yen and Jiang Wen), meanwhile the wonderful Aussie Ben Mendelsohn stars as the new villain. (I am not oblivious of the fact that the decision to cast Yen and Wen might primarily be driven to capture China's massive moviegoing market.)
 
The heroine of Rogue One is unexpectedly played by Felicity Jones (Inferno, A Monster’s Call), an English rose-type of actress in my eyes thus initially I don’t quite see her as an action hero. But here she’s done an admirable job in playing the lone fighter, Jyn Erso, the daughter of the scientist (Danish Madds Mikkelsen) who unwillingly built the Death Star, the planet-size weapon that can annihilate an entire planet, for the ruling Imperial led by Orson Krennic (Mendelsohn). The opposing forces—the Rebel Alliance—locates Jyn so she can find her father and steal the plans for the Death Star. Her mission is assisted by the Rebel Alliance officer (and sharpshooter), Cassian Andor (Luna); a defected Imperial pilot, Bodhi Rook (Ahmed); blind warrior, Chirrut Imwe (Yen); bad-ass mercenary, Baze Malbus (Wen); and a bluntly-speaking droid K-2SO (Alan Tudyk). Oh and there’s also the extremist rebellion leader, Saw Gerrera (Forest Whitaker), who raises Jyn and might know the location where the Imperial held her father hostage.  

"They helped..."

Things moves fast in Rogue One. Each subsequent scene is located on a different planet and even though there are captions telling us the name and one-line detail of the place but I had forgotten it the next minute. But fortunately the fast-pace is just what the film needed, and despite not offering any meaningful insight into the backstory of each of the rogueish characters (save for Cassian) I still care and worry about their fate (which is not good). It’s either the personality or the performances that sells it. Donnie Yen, especially, completely owns one thrilling action scene with his Daredevil-ish fighting prowess. Admittedly, it’s a bit stereotypical to have an Asian character having martial-arts abilities but I’ll take what I can get…
 
By the way, compared to the other Star Wars film, Rogue One is really brutal with its war film-like final action sequences. Thank goodness it was a laser gun they’re using otherwise that beach will be drenched in blood! But it’s a very well-made and exhilarating ending (energized by Michael Giacchino rousing score) nevertheless that seamlessly blends the action on land as well as up in the air quite. The arrival of a four-legged monstrous robots is particularly memorable.
 
All in all, I love Rogue One not just because it has a female lead—and a diverse cast—but mostly because it’s just a time well spent in space. The story by Chris Weitz and Tony Gilroy is simple and clear (which is set before the first Star Wars: A New Hope), the characters are compelling, the action sequences thrilling, and the visuals striking. If there were reshoots made I did not see the differences.
 
I’m kind of sad that we won’t be getting any sequel to Rogue One (you’ll see why after you watched the film), but Disney/Lucasfilm has other promising spin-offs (the Han Solo pic) and sequels to offer (Episode VIII and IX), and I’m pretty sure there will be plenty more germinating within the Star Wars universe. I wouldn’t mind seeing a pre-bun Princess Leia standalone film, though, …