"Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" (SPOILER ALERT)

⭐⭐⭐⭐½💖

Happy (??) Sith Day!

According to the updated machete order I'm following, "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" is next in line after "A New Hope". This is an important part of the Star Wars saga and it felt natural to watch it immediately after "A New Hope".

"Rogue One" is the backstory about how R2-D2 and friends obtained the plans for the Death Star. Jyn Erso finds out that her father was a lead engineer in its creation and he formed a weakness in it that would allow it to be destroyed. The main goal of this movie to obtain those plans so that it can be destroyed. Jyn and her team embark on a mission to obtain the plans. The mission is not only filled with non-stop action, but also raw emotion. It's one of my favorite movies in the Star Wars story.

"Rogue One" isn't perfect, though. There are major problems with the way disabilities are portrayed. The actor, Donnie Yen, who plays Chirrut is not blind in real life. Why not hire a blind actor to play this role? It was a missed opportunity. I do love the character of Chirrut, and Donnie Yen does a phenomenal job, but there are lots of disabled (in this case, blind) actors who need jobs and could have played this role. 

There are other examples of disability misrepresentation in "Rogue One". If you blinked you might have missed it, but there is a scene where an informant is physically disabled and is not able to climb to safety. So how does Cassian, our leading man, handle this? He shoots and kills the informant! Say what??? And as if that isn't bad enough, Cassian shows barely an ounce of remorse before he escapes. 

The next example is with Saw Gerrera and our leading lady, Jyn. Saw Gerrera is also physically disabled. He tells Jyn he isn't worth assassinating because there isn't much left of him. So he chooses to stay behind and die. This is not the choice most disabled individuals would make and it should not be represented as such. There is already a a problem with lack of disability representation in movies and television, so it's even more important that it's done right when it is there.

All three of these disabled characters die as a direct result of their disabilities, and in some cases the attitudes towards them. This is one of the tragedies of "Rogue One" and the only reason I did not give it the full five stars. 

A huge chunk of this post focuses on the disability misrepresentation because I believe it's an important issue. However, apart from that, this is indeed a great movie. It is filled with purpose, light humor, raw emotion, and action. The plot moves along at a fast enough pace. I was engrossed in it from beginning to end. The Death Star at the end of the movie is oddly beautiful. Darth Vader's chilling appearances in "Rogue One" help to tie it in with the rest of the saga. If you didn't blink you might have also noticed C3-PO and R2-D2. Although computerized for obvious reasons, the appearance of Princess Leia also added a nice touch. "Rogue One" flows right into "A New Hope" and it reminds us that it's always good to remember and appreciate those who paved the way for us.