By 2016, the Star Wars galaxy was splintered. Disney had bought the keys to the kingdom, and The Force Awakens had opened the floodgates of nostalgia; fans were debating whether the magic still remained. Enter Rogue One, a gritty, grounded war film that not only connected the dots between trilogies but also reminded us what sacrifice actually looks like in a galaxy far, far away. Our Rogue One (2016) Review could be our boldest Star Wars exploration yet. Listen to find out.
On this week's Born to Watch, the team rallies on Yavin 4 to break down the boldest entry in Disney's Star Wars canon. Whitey brings the heat with tales of midnight screenings and family rewatches, calling Rogue One the "Everest" of modern Star Wars. Damo, initially underwhelmed, admits it took a second viewing to appreciate the depth and daring of this standalone story. And Bones? Let's just say he came armed with more trivia than a Death Star databank, from K-2SO's comic origins to what Chirrut Îmwe's staff is really made of.
The episode begins with the squad sharing their first impressions, ranging from faulty cinema projectors to kids ditching mid-movie, before diving into the film's iconic trailer. Vader's breath. The Rogue One theme. Mon Mothma's icy resolve. It still rocks. The boys dissect what made the trailer work and laugh at the glaringly absent "I rebel" line that somehow vanished between teaser and final cut.
Naturally, the Born to Watch crew doesn't just scratch the surface. They dive deep into what makes Rogue One so special: a fresh cast of characters who aren't chosen ones or lightsaber prodigies, but ordinary rebels making impossible choices. Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones) gets major love for her no-frills attitude, while Diego Luna's Cassian Andor earns newfound respect thanks to the phenomenal Andor series, which Whitey all but begs Damo to finally watch.
And then there's K-2SO, the sardonic droid voiced by Alan Tudyk (aka "Two Dicks”, don't ask, just listen). Easily one of the funniest characters in the franchise, K-2 delivers punchlines and gut-punches with equal finesse. The same goes for Donnie Yen's Chirrut and Wen Jiang's Baze, a dynamic duo who bring martial arts, mysticism, and machine guns to the battlefield.
Ben Mendelsohn's Director Krennic gets the Aussie shoutout treatment, with the team praising his imperial smugness and exquisite cape work. Forest Whitaker's Saw Gerrera? A source of debate, gasps, and conspiracy theories, is he a Vader prototype? A puffed-up Darth Hipster? Either way, "Bo Gullet" lives rent-free in everyone's head, even if no one quite understands what he's doing there.
And then comes the scene. You know the one. The Vader hallway massacre. It's cinematic perfection, a horror movie, action flick, and fan fantasy rolled into one red lightsaber ignition. The team agrees: it might be the greatest single moment in Star Wars history. Period.
From there, it's time for Good, Bad, and Ugly, where the sets, the new worlds (Scarif, Jedha), and the grounded stakes all get high praise. The team relishes how Rogue One finally explains the Death Star's ridiculous design flaw, praises its minimal use of nostalgia, and wonders how Jyn Erso climbs that 500-metre tower without even puffing.
Legacy-wise, Rogue One is a billion-dollar box office hit that somehow still feels underrated. No Skywalkers. No prophecy. Just a desperate, beautiful mission and a finale that dares to kill every single lead. The episode wraps with laughs, trivia, a tease of a Star Wars Trivial Pursuit rematch, and a reminder that Rogue One is the rare Disney-era film that actually elevates what came before.
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