2:13 PG-13 2.5/4

“Rogue One” marks the first spin off Star Wars film. All the other Star Wars films were released with a minimum of three years in between them. The current Star Wars release schedule has a new film being released every year.

This film marks the beginning of the cheapening of the Star Wars franchise. With a new movie being made every year the specializes of a new film in the series goes away. This seems like a problem that would occur down the line, but it has already happened with the feeling of, “How many more of these can they make”, staying with you after leaving the theater.

The film takes some good risks that were unexpected. WIth “The Force Awakens” being a fun adventure film, it seemed like “Rogue One” would follow suit, when in fact it does not. “Rogue One” can be best defined as a gritty war film. The film features more actual war than any other film in the series with a grand battle featuring ground combat and dogfights capping off the film.

The film did not separate itself enough from the other Star Wars films. With “The Force Awakens” relying heavily on Star Wars nostalgia it would seem that a spinoff would distance itself. The film does a poor job of doing this with a scene of Darth Vader killing rebels and a young CGI Carrie FIsher appearing in the film.

“Rouge One” took some enjoyable risks that I did not expect and didn’t take other risks it needed to, making it an enjoyable, but not very impressive film.