Star Wars: Rogue One Review - 8 Ups & 2 Downs

6. All The Rebels Are Great

To a degree, the ensemble of Rogue One means that the main players in the rebellion suffer a little from a lack of characterisation. We move quickly through their backstories, and there's little time to flesh them out (it also doesn't help that there's only one movie to do this in, whereas most iconic Star Wars characters have a full trilogy to evolve).

That said, the characters are so fun and interesting to be with in the moment that it's easy to overlook the flaws of them. Of the humans, Donnie Yen's Chirrut Îmwe is the clear scene-stealer. The blind warrior monk is, on a conceptual level, one of the most interesting characters in the film; someone who isn't a Jedi or Sith, but is a huge follower of the Force, and attuned to it in some sense. The film plays around with that, from his repeated prayers to his stylised takedowns of multiple Stormtroopers at once.

Chirrut forms a nice double-act with Jiang Weng's Baze Malbus, a gruff assassin who serves as his de-factor bodyguard, with a relationship reminiscent of R2-D2 and C-3PO. Diego Luna's Cassian Andor is the dependable Rebel veteran, one not afraid to get his hands dirty, and Riz Ahmed's Bodhi Rook - an Imperial pilot who defects - gets a few nice beats to play as well, both comedic and in becoming a hero. They all get their moments, and each comes away with at least one highlight.

Leading them all, of course, is Felicity Jones' Jyn Erso. While presented as your typical Star Wars lead - a young farmgirl whose parents are killed - there's less of a parallel with Luke and Rey. If anything, she's more closely aligned with Han and Leia; his rebellious nature and occasional cockiness, her ability to step-up and be the leader the Rebels need. Jones handles it deftly, providing the film with a clear anchor.