A REBELLION BUILT ON HOPE.

Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones) becomes involved with the Rebel Alliance and its quest to steal the blueprint for the Death Star; her father deliberately hid a fatal flaw inside this powerful space weapon…

This 3D prequel to Star Wars (1977) was made by the Godzilla (2014) director and has a decidedly more militaristic look than George Lucas’s original vision. Takes a while before it gets going, but the last hour has exciting battles and gives Darth Vader a few good scenes.

The production ties the movie nicely into the Star Wars universe, but it’s curiously uninvolving at times and the decision to digitally reanimate Peter Cushing was a bad idea.

2016-U.S. 134 min. Color. Widescreen. Directed by Gareth Edwards. Screenplay: Chris Weitz, Tony Gilroy. Music: Michael Giacchino. Cast: Felicity Jones (Jyn Erso), Diego Luna (Cassian Andor), Ben Mendelsohn (Orson Krennic), Donnie Yen, Mads Mikkelsen, Alan Tudyk, Riz Ahmed, Forest Whitaker… Jimmy Smits, Fares Fares, Warwick Davis. Voice of James Earl Jones. Cameo: Rian Johnson.

Trivia: Alternative title: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Rooney Mara was considered for the lead role. Followed by a spin-off series, Andor (2022).