Rogue One (2016), directed by Gareth Edwards

This Star Wars story is set immediately prior to A New Hope, the very first Star Wars movie, and leads into that film very nicely for fans, although it also stands alone. It contains all the usual Star Wars tropes – lots of space fighter pilot action; explosions; strange creatures; and heroes up against it. The very good cast is somewhat wasted as there is not much of a script; dialogue and plot are sacrificed to action every time and actors of the calibre of Mads Mikkelson and Ben Daniels don’t get enough to do. Nevertheless Felicity Jones carries the film as reluctant rebel Jyn Erso; Diego Luna is appealing as her counterpoint Cassian; and Ben Mendelsohn makes a good villain. The sound is a problem – quite often words and sentences are hard to make out as they are swallowed or obscured. And the music is terrible, noticeably unsubtle and overdone. It’s apparently the first of the franchise’s soundtracks not composed by John Williams and it shows. There is not a lot of humour; the little there is supplied as usual by the robots, with a notable contribution from the awesome blind Jedi. It could have done with some extra lighter moments to provide some balance. The Star Wars glamour disguises what is actually a rather grim war story – the rebels keeping hope alive against overwhelming odds and losing almost everything along the way. Not one for the kids.