In rebuttal to Luke Resser’s review of Rogue One. View the original article here: https://themustangmessenger.org/1357/arts-entertainment/rogue-one-review/

By Alexia Hines

MCHS English Teacher

I agree with Messenger Reporter Luke Resser when he says that Rogue One is, indeed, “the first Star Wars film of its kind.” From its lack of opening crawl to its shocking and heart-wrenching ending, Rogue One is unlike anything to have ever come out of that “galaxy far, far away” before. However, I disagree with Mr. Resser’s 3/5 rating and his description of the film as ”unfocused,” so as a (perhaps excessive) long-time Star Wars lover, and in the spirit of participatory journalism, I felt inclined to share my sentiments.

I’ll address what Mr. Resser deems “the biggest problem”: that the film “focused really strongly on the characters that didn’t really matter”. According to him, Rogue One “should’ve been a story about how the rebels stole the Death Star plans,” instead of focusing so much on the characters. The issue I have with this argument is that one could argue with the same logic that A New Hope should have been about the rebels destroying the Death Star, not a story about a whiny orphan from Tatooine, (Yes, whiny. How else would you describe an individual who continues to garner sympathy for the loss of his mentor, a man he met less than a week prior, from a young woman who recently lost her entire home planet?). At its roots, the Star Wars saga is a story about characters. It’s a story about the people who banded together in their grief and anger and took back a galaxy.

Therefore, I really must respectfully disagree with Mr. Resser when he implies that Saw Gerrera is a character who doesn’t matter. In Rogue One, Saw Gerrera is the cause of many problems that the Rebellion is experiencing, as stated by Mon Mothma in the film. He’s also the reason much of the plot line even takes place. The rebels need Saw Gerrera in order to get to Galen Erso, so they need Jyn Erso in order to get to Saw Gerrera. Saw is also the reason Jyn knows how to fight and has such a distaste for the Alliance. When we finally meet Saw, he personifies the guerilla warfare side of the rebellion that we didn’t get to see in the original trilogy. Later, he delivers the vital message from Galen to Jyn. Finally, his death reveals the true power of the Empire and motivates Jyn’s first steps toward joining the Alliance. Saying Saw Gerrera is not necessary in Rogue One would be like saying Obi-Wan Kenobi is not necessary in A New Hope, and that’s without even bringing up Saw’s other appearances in the Star Wars universe (The Clone Wars, Star Wars Rebels, Ultimate Star Wars). With no problems, I could provide an equally persuasive argument for the presence of most, if not all, of the characters in Rogue One, but for the sake of space and what little is left of my coolness factor, I will refrain.

Rogue One is “grittier,” “darker,” and basically perfect. It delivered everything I wanted and didn’t get from The Force Awakens. For its breathtaking story and inspiring characters, Rogue One deserves nothing less than a 5/5 Ceglinski rating. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m on my way to pre-order the DVD.