With just over four months to go until the release of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, the second trailer has dropped. Now, as Star Wars fever picks up once again for the second year in a row, here’s my Rogue One trailer review.
The Look
On the whole, this trailer is pretty fantastic, but the stand-out feature by far is the film’s visual beauty. By the look of a good few shots in this trailer, Gareth Edwards has done a stunning job at recreating this world on a massive scale.
Looking at shots such as the one above, Rogue One is set to be a film that really appreciates the diverse landscapes in the Star Wars universe. The Force Awakens did this to an extent, but Rogue One seems to have an even better eye for spotting out the most beautiful and vibrant landscapes, from the likes of a desert planet to a tropical beach world, and that will certainly make it an incredible visual experience.
The Good Guys
Of course, no great film can be without a great story, and in the world of Star Wars, we therefore need some great heroes.
What looks to possibly set Rogue One apart from the rest of the Star Wars movies is both that it doesn’t centre on Jedi protagonists, but also that it’s all about a team effort. Although the original trilogy had the team of Luke, Leia, Han, Chewbacca, C-3PO and R2-D2, it always felt like either a Luke or Han-centred story, with assistance from the rest of the crew.
In Rogue One, however, with Jyn Erso as the main focus, it looks like we’ll be getting a good insight into four or five supporting characters that should be playing a big role as they look to steal the Death Star plans. From the trailer alone, we’ve learnt about Donnie Yen’s force-sensitive warrior, along with Diego Luna, playing the sensible head in contrast to the rebellious Jyn Erso, and Alan Tudyk’s K-2SO, an imperial robot who looks to provide a lot of the comic relief to this otherwise quite heavy and serious film.
Whilst the first trailer was all about Jyn, this second trailer has shown us that Rogue One will be different from any other Star Wars movie, showcasing a great team with members of all capabilities, something that will definitely add an extra layer of depth to the story beyond simply stealing the plans to the Death Star.
The Bad Guys
Along with our look into the heroes in this trailer, we also get to see a fascinating look at the Empire. Set at the time when the Empire was at its strongest, Rogue One will undoubtedly be a tale of David vs. Goliath, given the extraordinary power of the Empire against the plucky resistance of the Rebels.
From just the shot above, it’s clear that Edwards wants to make the Empire’s dominance over the galaxy painfully clear, thereby adding an extra level of danger and threat for our heroes, something that will be hugely important to do well given that we already know the ultimate outcome of the story from the beginning of Episode IV.
One of the most fascinating prospects for the film is something that we’re still pretty unclear about: Ben Mendelsohn’s Director Orson Kennic. Yes, we know Darth Vader is in the film, but Orson Kennic appears to be a very menacing and dangerous Imperial officer, taking on a similar role to Grand Moff Tarkin and making it even more evil.
Again, there’s little we know about Kennic, but the shot above gives a very clear indication of the film’s vision for him. Tying into the David vs. Goliath theme, he’ll be a formidable enemy that will surely live up to the classic Imperial villains of the original trilogy.
The End Of The Story
Much has been made of the fact that those who know Star Wars know the outcome of this movie: the Rebels steal the Death Star plans. However, that’s still very vague in relation to this film’s protagonists. Whilst it’s clear that they do complete their mission for the greater good of the Rebellion, none of us yet know whether our heroes will survive, and whether they’ll play a role in future Star Wars films.
In fighting the Empire at its strongest time in history, with massive AT-ATs and the dominating Death Star, it’s unlikely that all of the team will survive the battle, which will provide a good level of emotional depth and drama alongside the action.
On the whole, this trailer was fantastic, and has provided a solid footing with all sorts of possibilities for the upcoming movie. With the prospect of Darth Vader involved, and no Jedi opposition to bring him down, he’ll be an even more devastating villain to fight against, which should make for a truly thrilling battle.
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is set to be released on December 16, 2016 in the UK and US.
