Looking back on Star Wars: The Force Awakens, it’s easy to see it as a very safe movie. It’s not a bad film, and it does good work by getting you to care about new characters like Rey, Finn, and BB-8. However, it’s also a film that’s clearly a product of a studio trying to rush out a new Star Wars film and not wanting to upset the fans that felt burnt by the prequels. So we’re left with a film that plays more like a greatest hits album with only a few variations along the way. The Force Awakens is more remake than sequel, but with the demands of both the movie business and fandom being what they are, it was satisfying enough.

But with the first Star Wars spinoff, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, director Gareth Edwards finally pushes the franchise outside of its comfort zone. It’s unmistakably a Star Wars movie, but the universe has been re-contextualized through a more sophisticated lens. We’re past the point now where we assume Rebellion = good, Empire = bad. Through Rogue One, we see a more recognizable conflict tinged with darkness that feels real rather than darkness that just wants to gritty up the joint so that people will take the movie seriously. While the film suffers from plotting issues that make the narrative feel abrupt and halting at points, what Rogue One accomplishes in terms of tone and concept make up for its deficiencies.

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Image via Lucasfilm

The film opens with Imperial officer Orson Krennic (Ben Mendelsohn) kidnapping scientist Galen Erso (Mads Mikkelsen) to work on a weapon that will give the Empire the power to destroy planets. Galen’s daughter Jyn escapes and is raised by the rebel Saw Gerrera (Forest Whitaker). As an adult, Jyn (Felicity Jones) is on the run, but the Rebel Alliance recruits her to set up a meeting with Saw, who is viewed as an extremist. Working with Captain Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) and re-programmed Imperial droid K-2SO (Alan Tudyk), Jyn makes her way to the planet Jedha where they meet up with former Jedi temple protectors Chirrut Îmwe (Donnie Yen) and Baze Malbus (Jiang Wen) as well as Imperial defector Bodhi Rook (Riz Ahmed). Together, the group goes in search of Galen and the secret to defeating the Empire’s new weapon.

Despite a fairly direct plot—a group of rebels goes on a mission to steal the plans for the Death Star—the movie constantly stutters in its narrative. While this is likely the result of reshoots, Rogue One’s story only works in fits and starts. It’s a film with poor economy of storytelling and things never run smoothly from a plotting perspective. For example, since Jyn is Galen’s daughter, what’s the point of bringing in Saw? It’s a bit of fan service for fans who liked the character in Clone Wars, and it’s a nice detail that even among the rebellion there are people like Saw who are viewed as “extremists”, although what his extremism entails is never really elaborated upon. As it stands, you have a convoluted way of bringing your characters together on Jedha but it’s undermined when it feels like Whitaker put more thought into Saw’s bizarre accent than the writers put into fleshing out the character.

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Image via Lucasfilm

This characterization problem runs throughout the cast as everyone gets neat details, but rarely enough to invest in them as individuals. Jones is a capable actress, but it feels like chunks of Jyn’s arc are missing as she goes from someone who was raised by a freedom fighter to someone who doesn’t care if the Empire rules the galaxy to someone who has a seat at the table in trying to get the rebellion to steal the Death Star plans. Her evolution doesn’t really track, and that’s probably a result of the reshoots. Cassian starts out as an interesting character who’s willing to do some surprisingly ruthless acts for the rebellion, but like Jyn, his transformation isn’t completely fleshed out. Chirrut and Baze make for an endearing pair, but it’s because they’re cool and funny. The movie desperately needs a scene of Bodhi choosing to defect rather than showing up on Jedha as a defector, which drains him of his unique perspective. I have nothing bad to say about K-2SO. He’s the best and people will have worthwhile debates arguing who’s the best droid: K-2SO, BB-8, or R2-D2 (Threepio sucks forever).

While most of the rebel characters aren’t as fleshed out as they need to be, the concept of these characters helps bring a unique perspective to Rogue One. This is a film that doesn’t have patience for a simple good/evil duality. Yes, the Empire is still unequivocally bad, but even in that regard, there’s shading and nuance. Krennic is a bad guy, but he’s bad in a disturbingly recognizable way: he’s a careerist. Krennic is who we see in the politicians we loathe—an individual devoid of ideology beyond his own advancement. I’m a little annoyed we don’t get more Krennic and that he has to share so many scenes with a digitally resurrected Peter Cushing who “returns” to play Grand Moff Tarkin (Cushing died in 1994, but Rogue One treats us to an unconvincing digital facsimile) because Krennic’s particular brand of villainy is recognizable and immediate.

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Image via Lucasfilm

But over on the rebel side, we get some welcome complexity. Cassian does some dirty deeds that we’ve never seen from rebels before. Jyn’s apathy speaks to those who see the world crumbling around them and use cynicism as a means to survive. Bodhi’s presence shows that the Empire doesn’t have a hold on every single soldier, and that it’s possible for people to have a change of heart (again, the film really needed a scene where Bodhi decides to defect). Chirrut and Baze show the importance of the Force even if you’re not a Jedi (side note: Rogue One proves that Star Wars movies can work without Jedi, which is a good sign for future spin-offs). For the first time in franchise history, the rebellion feels like something diverse and complicated rather than a faceless force for good that’s led by a few people.

Edwards also expands the scope of the conflict, emphasizing the “war” in Star Wars. While there have always been exciting battles in the franchise, previous Star Wars movies remained firmly in the “space fantasy” genre. The Battle of Hoth is great, but what we remember the most is tow cables bringing down the AT-ATs rather than the shootouts. For Edwards, the close-quarters combat is where the action is, and while the third act features an impressive space battle, you feel that where Edwards is truly committed is in seeing the individual soldiers lay down their lives to help accomplish their mission. Rather than following invincible protagonists, we’re with heroes who feel as vulnerable as the hapless stormtroopers.

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Image via Lucasfilm

Rogue One also accomplishes what fans have wanted to see for a few decades now: making Darth Vader scary again. The combination of George Lucas’ prequels and the glut of merchandising have thoroughly defanged Vader in the popular consciousness to where his evil force powers can be used to adorably sell cars. While the film doesn’t overly rely on Vader, it makes the most of his brief scenes, reminding the audience why he was such an indelible villain. While Lucas’ attempts to humanize Vader were understandable, Rogue One restores him to a dark lord.

Granted, the film doesn’t fire on all cylinders. In addition to its plotting and character issues, there are a few too many winks to the original films as if executives were terrified that if fans would lose interest if there weren’t enough callbacks. Additionally, while Michael Giacchino is a talented composer, there’s no hiding that he had limited time to work on his score, which functions more as a variation of familiar John Williams’ themes rather than something new and exciting. Also, as I mentioned before, trying to go with a digital Tarkin rather than just casting a new actor was an expensive miscalculation, and Cushing’s presence is more of a distraction than a welcome sight.

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Image via Disney/Lucasfilm

But these issues aside, what Rogue One accomplishes on a larger scale is incredibly encouraging for Star Wars going forward. While there is some element of safety with the next spinoff featuring a fan favorite character like Han Solo, Rogue One has forged a new path by showing that you can make a good Star Wars movie even if it has a different tone and approaches the universe from a new perspective. Not everything has to be Skywalkers and lightsabers. While I’m excited for Rian Johnson’s Star Wars: Episode VIII, I’m far more encouraged about where new “Star Wars Stories” can take us. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story may not be a total success, but it accomplishes its most important mission.

Rating: B

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