Rogue One: A Star Wars Story – No Spoilers Parent Movie Review!

This post may contain affiliate links. Privacy policy.

Facebook
Twitter
Email
Pinterest

The latest from a galaxy far, far away  – Rogue One: A Star Wars Story – hits theaters THIS Friday, December 16th! And just like with Star Wars: The Force Awakens this time last year, our household is super excited!
rogueoneposterAlso just like last year, Disney/Lucasfilm wants to keep movie details under wraps and avoid spoilers from leaking. So, you won’t find any spoilers here! I sincerely hope that everyone (who wants to) is able to see the film in the same way I was able to at the advanced press screening – with NOTHING but your own guesses and theories going in. It really is all the more magical that way! So, I’m going to do my best to share what you need to know before seeing the movie without giving too much away!

From Lucasfilm comes the first of the Star Wars standalone films, “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” an all-new epic adventure. In a time of conflict, a group of unlikely heroes band together on a mission to steal the plans to the Death Star, the Empire’s ultimate weapon of destruction. This key event in the Star Wars timeline brings together ordinary people who choose to do extraordinary things, and in doing so, become part of something greater than themselves.

Rogue One Scenes

What you need to know about Rogue One:

  1. This is the 1st standalone movie in the Star Wars franchise. That means this does NOT follow The Force Awakens. The new trilogy movie (that follows The Force Awakens story line) will be out NEXT December! There will be another standalone movie then in 2019.
  2. With that said, this movie STILL does have to do with the original storyline. It IS a prequel to the original trilogy.
  3. As a prequel, this takes place a quite some time after Episode 3 – Revenger of the Sith and ends right before the beginning of Episode 4 –A New Hope (the original Star Wars movie). 
  4. Yet, even with an overall look & feel of the originals – this whole thing is something completely original and different than we’ve ever seen in Star Wars. You will notice some key differences in the intro, the score, and the characters. In a sense then, it is the rogue one.
  5.  It IS the prequel you’ve been looking for. It’s everything that the prequels from the 90s/early 2000s were lacking. It IS a Star Wars movie through and through (with a lot of look and feel to the originals). All the DNA of Star Wars is there – and overall it’s done is some seriously incredible ways!
  6. Visually, the movie is incredibly stunning – truly a Star Wars masterpiece. I thought the same with The Force Awakens, but I think this one is even more brilliant! Some things they achieved with the effects in this was just CRAZY! Plus, There’s something about storm troopers and an epic Star Wars battle scene in a tropical paradise setting that is just extra fabulous!
  7. Overall, the cast is VERY good! Everyone will be able to find characters to relate to and cheer for.
  8. There are some BIG surprises!
  9. The ending is mind blowing (on some different levels – I’ll let you interpret that however you’d like 😉 )
  10. Breaking it down to its simplest form, this is a war movie. And war movies are epic, gritty, violent, meaningful, thrilling, and intense.Rogue One Star Wars Parent Review

SO… Is Rogue One okay for kids?

Like all the other newer Star Wars movie, Rogue One is rated PG-13 for sci-fi action violence. And, that truly is the ONLY reason it has that rating. There are no “adult scenes”, gore, or cursing. In fact, there’s really not even any blood. But like I said before, this is a war movie. And war movies are violent. They are intense! In war movies, lots of people die. This movie is no different.

There is a grittiness and continued intensity to this movie that seems different from some of the other movies. I felt “on the edge of my seat” for longer periods of time I think than even in Force Awakens. But I don’t necessarily think it’s any darker if that makes any sense. The intensity is just in a battle sense, not in an awfully dark, evil sense like in the end of Revenge of the Sith (or even the infamous Han Solo scene in Force Awakens). In terms of overall intensity, I think it best compares to a combination of Empire Strikes Back and Force Awakens. As a mom, I still feel like Revenge of the Sith (the 3rd prequel) is the darkest, most violent, etc. of all the movies in the franchise ( I still have not allowed the boys to see the second half of that movie.). Rogue One still doesn’t reach that level of darkness for me. The boys (ages 9, 6, and 4)  have seen everything else in the Star Wars universe…and Rogue One will be no different.

So, if your kids are like mine, already knowing (& loving) Star Wars and have already been exposed to the other Star Wars films, then I think this movie will be ok for them too. If you’re not sure, then just plan a date night to see it first and then go as a whole family if you think it’s ok! You’ll probably want to see it more than once anyway – I certainly do! 🙂

As for our family, we ALL  have tickets to the very first movie time here in Phoenix (in 3D) for Thursday night with a big group of friends and family (shhh…it’s a surprise! ;)) …and I’m confident that even with the war themes, my boys will do ok with this. I think it’s definitely something that can be enjoyed by the whole family– all ages and all levels of Star Wars fans (or even first time Star Wars watchers).

ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY arrives in theaters everywhere this Friday, December 16th in 3D, Real D 3D and IMAX 3D! Be sure to take the whole family to see it this weekend! 

As always, a big thank you to Disney for inviting me to an early screening of this film so that I could bring you this review! 

Save

Explore More

welcome!

I’m Sara, a mom to three adorable boys living in the Arizona desert. As a former teacher, I love sharing my passions with others. So, have a look around for creative inspiration about cooking, creating, celebrating, traveling with kids, and more everyday mom endeavors!

DON'T MISS A THING!

Get freebies, new recipes, and fun ideas sent right to your inbox!

Looking for Something?

Search

One Response

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *