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

3. Putting The War In Star Wars

War has always been a part of Star Wars. I mean, obviously - it's in the bloody name. The other movies have shown us conflicts, dived into battle, dealt with loss and despair. It's nothing compared to what Rogue One does with the idea.

This is as much a war movie as it as a Star Wars movie, taking from classics of that genre as much as it does A New Hope. As mentioned earlier when discussing the aesthetics, this is a film that's not afraid to show just how dirty it all is. The film is grimy, gritty, and realises the galactic conflict on a completely different scale.

You'll probably hear a lot of remarks like 'this is Star Wars for grown-ups', and while that's a little reductive, there is a degree of truth in it. This movie gets pretty dark at times, and presents the Rebels as much as the Imperial forces as people who'll do whatever it takes to win. They aren't just a happy-go-lucky bunch of good guys, but assassins, spies, and saboteurs.

Edwards does a superb job of showing all of this. We know people die in Star Wars, we know the conflict causes unspeakable damage. But Edwards here shows it, and shows it, and shows it. Heroes, villains, random extra you hadn't seen before, they die. And Edwards really excels in getting right into the battles, showing it on scales both grand and intimate (thanks to some excellent hand-held camera work), and the dread that follows these characters around.