I’ve been a Star Wars fan since I was 4Â years old. I still remember the first time my dad introduced me to the galaxy far, far away and how blown away I was by all of it. I remember having a huge crush on Luke Skywalker and going to my first ever ‘Star Convention’ (a comic book convention of Star Wars and Star Trek) when I was 7.
My favorite movie from the original trilogy has always been the first Star Wars movie that I saw – ‘A New Hope’ – and through the years, despite all of the movies that have come out since then, ‘A New Hope’ remained to be my favorite. However, that completely changed after I watched ‘Rogue One: A Star Wars Story’ the other night, thanks to our block screening with PMCM Management at Resorts World Manila. Here’s why.
10 Reasons Why ‘Rogue One’ is My New Favorite Star Wars Movie
10. There were no annoying characters.
Okay. When it comes to Star Wars characters, I have come to find that this really depends on the person. A lot of people hated Jar Jar Binks in ‘The Phantom Menace’, but I didn’t really mind him all that much. In fact, the most annoying Star Wars character for me so far has been C3PO – and surprisingly, a lot of other people love him. So, while I didn’t really find K-2SO annoying in any way, some people might. I guess for me, I felt a sort of affinity to him because he looked a little bit like The Iron Giant – and that, in itself, made him likeable for me.
9. The cast was impeccable.
I gotta hand it to the cast of the Star Wars movies: they have never miscast a character so far (okay, okay… before you say anything, please take note that ‘Attack of the Clones’ came out when I was 14, so my love for teen heartthrob Hayden Christensen trumped how annoying he actually was as Anakin Skywalker at the time. :p) For ‘Rogue One’, though, everybody was perfect.
In true Disney fashion, of course, a woman once again takes the lead. Unlike the Disney princesses I grew up with, though, I loved how Jyn Erso was as normal a woman as it can get (I loved Princess Leia, of course, but it was always so hard to pull off those hair buns in pretend cosplay as a child). I also loved seeing Diego Luna back on the big screen (‘Y Tu Mama Tambien’ was my favorite movie all throughout high school).
8. The mix of nationalities was overwhelming – in a good way.
Aside from putting a woman in the spotlight once again and having so many women take part in the battle scenes, ‘Rogue One’ also has a huge mix of nationalities in their group of main characters. Diego Luna (Cassian) is from Mexico; Mads Mikkelsen (Galen Erso) is from Denmark; Donnie Yen (Chirut Imwe) is from Hong Kong; Jiang Wen (Baze Malbus) is from China; and Riz Ahmed (Bohdi Rook) is of Pakistani descent. Woo! International na international!
7. My emotional investment was at an all-time high.
Now, this may just be because I’m PMS-ing, but I was incredibly invested in all of the characters and in all of their relationships in ‘Rogue One’. For the first time ever in a Star Wars movie, I cared about every single character that came onscreen. Not once did I want to “fast-forward to the good parts” or mute the sound because I was annoyed at something or someone – and that’s really saying something.
6. The locations were breathtaking.
It’s sort of a tradition for me to fall in love with at least one Star Wars location, and in ‘Rogue One’, I fell in love with one new location in the eyes of Star Wars movie-watchers: Scarif (which also happens to play a very important role in the movie). This was the first time I had set eyes on a tropical location in the world of Star Wars and it was just DROP. DEAD. GORGEOUS. It was so gorgeous, in fact, that I found myself searching where Scarif was shot while I was in the movie house (it was shot in Maldives, FYI). Pure eye candy at its finest!
5. The Death Troopers looked bad-ass.
Seeing Scarif wasn’t the only time I got an eyegasm watching ‘Rogue One’, either. The Death Troopers in the movie looked INCREDIBLY GOOD. So good, in fact, that every time one showed up onscreen, I told Julian, “Ang ganda talaga, shet!” They look sleek and they look sexy and I wouldn’t be surprised if future Barney Stinson traded in his white Stormtrooper for one of these bad-ass beauties instead. Plus, unlike the white Stormtroopers, they actually looked scary – and they actually hit their targets more often than the white ones, too. :p
4. Old characters appear out of nowhere.
Darth Vader aside, I didn’t really hear of any other old characters that would be appearing in ‘Rogue One’ (perks of not researching about the movie as obsessively as other people I know :p). So, every time an old character appeared, I found myself punching Julian’s leg and getting all giddy and kilig. However, to avoid spoilers, I won’t mention who they are. Just know that you are in for a real treat if you haven’t seen the movie yet (and if you haven’t: WHY HAVEN’T YOU?)
Plus, there’s this Mon Calimari character named Admiral Raddus, who was actually inspired by Winston Churchill, but will of course make you miss Admiral Ackbar instead – it’s a trap!
3. The CGI was astounding.
I won’t get into this, either, because I don’t want to spoil anything – but you’ll see what I mean when you see what I’m talking about. :p
2. It answered the most important question of all.
I think one of the biggest ‘problem’ that Star Wars lovers have had with ‘A New Hope’ is the fact that the Death Star had a flaw that caused its downfall. Well, ‘Rogue One’ elaborately answers that question to finally put everybody’s mind to rest. As a bonus, it also explains Luke Skywalker’s call sign. 🙂
1. The nostalgia made me cry. A lot.
I found myself crying the minute the screen filled up with stars and the old Star Wars font that we all know and love showed up on the screen (I didn’t feel this way before ‘Force Awakens’ because ‘Rogue One’ is actually set right before the original trilogy, for which I have so many feels). I cried every time an old character showed up. Of course, I also cried every time something sad actually happened. (Let me just remind you real quick that I’m PMS-ing… So,  yes, I cried a LOT during the film.)
However, I cried the most every time there was a battle scene. Let me explain: As a child, I found that old school targeting sensor screen uber cool and I spent most of my time before going to bed sitting on my bunk bed, pretending I was Princess Leia taking Luke Skywalker’s place to blow up the Death Star. I have always associated that targeting sensor with my childhood and I’m so happy that Disney kept its old school charm intact. And yes, I also cried at the very, very last scene.
If you loved ‘Rogue One’ as much as I did, I would love to hear from you. Please do geek out with me and send me a message at When in Manila Angeline on Facebook. I need more geeky friends in my life.
