Rogue One: A Star Wars Story Review

Edwards makes a war film. Handheld cameras chase soldiers through rubble, the Rebel Alliance is a fractious committee that orders assassinations, and there is no destiny to fall back on. Greig Fraser photographs Jedha and Scarif with dust in the air and long lenses, and the ground battle under the shield gate is the best staged combat in the franchise. K-2SO is the discovery, Alan Tudyk giving a security droid the deadpan of a colleague who has stopped pretending to like anyone, and Donnie Yen's blind monk needs about four lines to become a fixture.

The problems are all front loaded. The first hour hops planets behind title cards with reshoot seams showing, Jyn Erso is written as a function rather than a person, and the resurrection of two dead actors as digital faces is a decision that ages worse every year. Then the third act commits to killing everyone it introduced, the Vader corridor pays off forty years of buildup in ninety seconds, and the film ends precisely where another one begins.