10 Reasons Rogue One Is The Smartest Star Wars Movie Ever

7. It Shows Star Wars At Its Most Visceral

Before Rogue One, the mantle of the most violent Star Wars film belonged to the entertaining though obviously problematic prequel, Revenge of the Sith. Like Rogue One and, to a lesser extent, Episode V, the third Star Wars prequel marked a discernible shift in tone for the franchise. The Jedi were executed en masse by the clones they had befriended years earlier, and the ending made it abundantly clear that hope, at least then, was a luxury no one could afford.

Whereas Episode III possessed slight hints of the war genre throughout its proceedings, Rogue One pays homage to those films through and through. There's a reason why it feels as though the film plays out like The Dirty Dozen in space, and it's because it wears these roots on its sleeve. On Scarif in particular, a U-Wing gunner lays waste to an Imperial encampment in much the same way Robert Duvall did in 1979's Apocalypse Now, sans Wagner's Ride of the Valkyries. On the ground, the firefight waged between the rebels and stormtroopers plays out in true Spielbergian fashion, as we see our beloved protagonists succumb to their wounds in much the same way Tom Hanks and his band of G.Is did in Saving Private Ryan.

The parallels here are obvious, but they serve a purpose in adding to Rogue One's inescapable sense of uniqueness within the wider Star Wars canon. This isn't your average Star Wars film, it's a whole other beast altogether.