Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story - 2016

Our next film is 2016's "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story", which details the events surrounding the Rebels obtaining the plans for the Death Star and the weakness it holds.

The film's cast includes Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, Alan Tudyk, Donnie Yen, Wen Jiang, Ben Mendelsohn, Guy Henry, Forest Whitaker, Riz Ahmed, Mads Mikkelson, Jimmy Smits, Genevieve O'Reilly, James Earl Jones, Ingvild Deila, and Anthony Daniels.

On the planet Lah'mu, Galen Erso is in hiding with his family from the Empire.  When he sees them approaching, he sends his daughter into hiding.

They want him as a scientist, and they need him to help complete a weapon.  When he shows hesitation, they kill his wife and take him hostage.  His daughter, Jyn, watches from a place of concealment.

She goes into hiding deep in a cave.  She is rescued by Saw Gerrera, who is a rebel extremist.

Thirteen years later, things haven't gone well for Jyn.  She is interned at a hard labor camp.

Elsewhere in the galaxy, Rebel intelligence officer Cassian Andor has learned of a "planet killer" that the Empire is planning to unleash.

Cassian and his droid, K-2SO, go and free Jyn from the labor camp.  Not knowing what's happening, Jyn has no choice but to go with them.

He takes her to the Rebel Alliance Headquarters, where Jyn is informed of a hologram made by her father and sent to Saw Gerrera that contains information about the weapon.  Since Jyn and Saw used to be close, they hope to use her to gain admittance to Saw's base.  In return for her help, the Rebel Alliance will set her free.

Before the leave, Cassian is told to find Jyn's father and kill him on the spot.  Of course, he doesn't tell Jyn this.

An Imperial pilot who has defected has landed at Saw's base on Jedha.  When he's brought before Saw, the pilot hands over the hologram message.

We learn that this new weapon is the Death Star, a "planet killer" indeed.

Jyn and Cassian make their way to Jedha, which they find has a huge Imperial presence.  They also make the acquaintance of a blind man named Chirrut Imwe, and his protector Baze Malbus.

They get into some trouble with some stormtroopers, but Chirrut is there to help them out.

They find Saw and he plays Jyn the message he received from her father.  He's created a weakness in the Death Star, and it's up to Jyn to recover the plans so that she can find it.

Unfortunately, the Death Star has arrived at Jedha, and it's destructive potential is given a test.

Jyn and her companions barely make it out with their lives.  The man in charge of the Death Star, Orson Krennic, is relieved of his duties after it's discovered that the Imperial pilot has defected and there has been a security breach.

Cassian and company find Galen Erso on the planet Eadu.  Cassian makes the decision not to kill Galen.  He also notices that Jyn has left the group and is on her way towards her father.

Rebel bombers attack.  Galen is seriously injured.  He is comforted at seeing Jyn one last time before he dies.

Orson Krennic goes to the planet Mustafar, where he has been summoned by Darth Vader.

Darth Vader warns Krennic not to let any more incidents occur.

Jyn presents her findings on the existence of the weakness in the Death Star to the Rebel Alliance.  Now that they know what kind of weapon they are dealing with, most of them don't want to fight, preferring to scatter the Rebel Fleet.  Jyn wants to stand up to the Empire, but doesn't have the support of the Alliance.

It turns out she has more support than she realizes.  Cassian and many of the fighter pilots convince her to lead them on an assault on the Imperial base on Scarif.

Mon Mothma, one of the Rebel leaders, knows that war is approaching and the Rebels need help.  She asks Bail Organa of his old Jedi friend who helped him in the Clone Wars.  He says he'll summon him, and he has someone he trusts very much to help him send the message.

Meanwhile, Jyn and her crew have arrived on Scarif, where they've set off some diversions so they can infiltrate the Imperial database for the Death Star plans.

They find what they are looking for, but they need to find a way to transmit it to the Rebel Alliance.

Reinforcements from the Rebel Alliance (seen off by C-3PO and R2-D2) arrive and help them destroy some Imperial cruisers.

Jyn is ready to transmit the Death Star plans, but needs to reset the satellite so that the transmission can be received by the Rebel Alliance.  She is successful, but she also gets into a heated battle with Orson Krennic.

The Death Star has also arrived at Scarif.  Governor Tarkin gives the order to fire on the base so that the plans won't leave the Imperial database (he's unaware that the transmission has been sent).

Jyn, Cassian, and their fellow Rebels are trapped on Scarif with no way off.  Knowing that there is no hope, Admiral Akbar salutes them and leave with the Rebel Fleet.

The Death Star plans are still a hot item, though.  Darth Vader is dispatched to retrieve them.

Before he can, they are given to Bail Organa's emissary: his daughter, Princess Leia.  "What is it they've sent us?" asks the Captain of her ship.  "Hope," she replies as the ship prepares to make the jump to lightspeed and launches us into one of the most iconic film series ever made.

Cast rundown:

   Felicity Jones..................................Jyn Erso

   Diego Luna.....................................Cassian Andor

   Alan Tudyk.....................................K-2S0

   Donnie Yen.....................................Chirrut Imwe

   Wen Jiang......................................Baze Malbus

   Ben Mendelsohn..............................Orson Krennic

   Guy Henry......................................Governor Tarkin

   Forest Whitaker...............................Saw Gerrera

   Riz Ahmed......................................Bodhi Rook

   Mads Mikkelson...............................Galen Erso

   Jimmy Smits...................................Bail Organa

   Genevieve O'Reilly...........................Mon Mothma

   James Earl Jones.............................Darth Vader

   Ingveld Deila..................................Princess Leia

   Anthony Daniels..............................C-3PO

And that's all for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.  The characters of Governor Tarkin and Princess Leia, from the original Star Wars story, were added with the use of CGI and special effects.  Real actors portrayed them and their facial expressions were used, but the actual faces of the characters were computerized.  Peter Cushing passed away in 1994, and his character's inclusion in the film received the blessing of his estate.  Carrie Fisher, by then too old to portray a young Princess Leia, also gave her blessing for the character to be used.

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