--- title: "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/rogue-one-a-star-wars-story/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/rogue-one-a-star-wars-story" critics_score: 63 critics_reviews: 20 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016): what the critics said Critics' score 63 from 20 reviews: 14 positive, 0 mixed, 6 negative. Most critics like it, and the praise gathers in the same two places: the third act and the tone. The final battle is the film’s best stretch for its admirers and the only thing some detractors will grant it. Nearly everyone notes that Gareth Edwards has made a war film rather than a fairy tale, with handheld camerawork, grime on everything and a real count of the dead. Felicity Jones is the performance singled out most often. The spread is wide. Six of the twenty reviews are firmly negative, and they share a complaint: the characters are thin and the constant callbacks to the original trilogy amount to fan service. The New York Times finds the script hackwork; The Wrap goes further and treats the whole film as fan fiction. The same faults appear, more gently, in the favourable notices, which concede a convoluted first half and an uneven middle before the ending wins them round. ## Total Film — Matt Maytum Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 13 December 2016. Rogue One is a standout Star Wars film and the best since 1977, a real war movie with textured characters, meticulous world-building, emotional depth and bold risks that grips despite known outcomes. [Read the review](https://www.gamesradar.com/star-wars-rogue-one-review/) ## Little White Lies — Adam Woodward Rating 4/4/5. 14 December 2016. Edwards opts for a slow-burn approach over whiz-bang spectacle, delivering a visually stunning and quietly radical film that explores grey areas between good and evil. The third act builds to spectacular set pieces while counting the human cost of war in an unrelenting, dirt-smudged human drama. [Read the review](https://lwlies.com/reviews/rogue-one-a-star-wars-story) ## Radio Times Rating ★★★★. 14 December 2016. The film is an almighty triumph and the best-constructed, most fun Star Wars entry since The Empire Strikes Back, with seat-gripping action set pieces and a palpable grit to its visual palette. Felicity Jones leads a strong cast as a feisty, understated heroine in a straightforward plot that fits neatly into the saga timeline. [Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movies/rogue-one-a-star-wars-story-review-the-force-is-truly-strong-with-this-one/) ## The i Paper — Matthew Turner Rating ★★★★. 14 December 2016. The film is a genuinely thrilling Star Wars entry that captures the spirit of the originals as a prologue to A New Hope, with superb performances across the board and an exciting third act. [Read the review](https://inews.co.uk/culture/film/rogue-one-star-wars-story-review-36489) ## Time Out Rating 4/5. Gareth Edwards delivers a satisfying, gritty Star Wars prequel with gutsy rebels, a snarling villain and nostalgic pleasures amid murky shades of grey. It is an imperfect but bold film that grows more exciting in its final act. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/london/film/rogue-one-a-star-wars-story) ## Los Angeles Times — Justin Chang Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 13 December 2016. Justin Chang calls it an uneven but thrilling addition to the Star Wars mythology that feels both casually diverting and hugely consequential. He singles out the dynamic action sequences and moments that ascend to classic status for praise. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-rogue-one-review-20161209-story.html) ## Empire — James Dyer Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 13 December 2016. Rogue One delivers offbeat new characters, first-rate visuals and a truly ballsy third act as a World War II-style mission movie in the Star Wars universe, though it is dark and earnest with an uneven middle. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/rogue-one-star-wars-story-review/) ## The Guardian — Mark Kermode Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 18 December 2016. The critic finds the film a convincing spin-off that blends 1970s nostalgia with modern CGI, bridging old and new Star Wars eras effectively. They single out the diverse cast's performances and the focus on character faces amid war-movie action for praise. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/dec/18/rogue-one-star-wars-story-review) ## The Hollywood Reporter — Todd McCarthy Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 13 December 2016. The critic describes the film as action-packed and engaging, praising director Gareth Edwards's spontaneous shooting style that keeps energy high and the large-scale third-act battle sequences. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/rogue-one-a-star-wars-story-review-955566/) ## The New York Times — A.O. Scott Fi1m's normalised score 40/100 (inferred from the text). 13 December 2016. A.O. Scott finds the film a thoroughly mediocre entry with a hackish script that leaves viewers wanting both more and less from its characters and story. He singles out the cast, particularly Felicity Jones as Jyn Erso, for praise amid the overall lack of ambition. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/13/movies/star-wars-rogue-one-review.html) ## Evening Standard — David Sexton Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 16 December 2016. The critic finds Rogue One a dull and oppressive corporate product that never comes alive, with none of the characters properly developed and a formulaic adventure. [Read the review](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/rogue-one-a-star-wars-story-film-review-the-force-is-wavering-with-this-one-a3421891.html) ## Sight and Sound — Tim Hayes Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 20 December 2016. The critic finds the film an earnest but lacklustre exercise in franchise engineering that raids the Star Wars archive without recapturing the splendour of earlier entries. Characters are unmemorable and the narrative feels annotated into the doldrums, flattened by a mundane sensory style. [Read the review](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/rogue-one-star-wars-story-review-space-saga-doldrums) ## Slant Magazine — Sam C. Mac Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 13 December 2016. The critic finds that the film attempts independence through its focus on individual characters and actions but is frequently undermined by corporate demands for fan service and reintroductions of franchise elements. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/rogue-one-a-star-wars-story/) ## The New Yorker — Richard Brody Fi1m's normalised score 20/100 (inferred from the text). 13 December 2016. Richard Brody deems the film lobotomized and depersonalized, a lifeless product of the franchise that fails to bring characters or effects to life. He singles out the flat script and constrained direction for the lack of emotional or visual impact. [Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/culture/richard-brody/rogue-one-reviewed-is-it-time-to-abandon-the-star-wars-franchise) ## The Ringer — Sean Fennessey Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 16 December 2016. Rogue One is the best popcorn war movie since Saving Private Ryan and the only great blockbuster of the year, a brutal and consequential film about sacrifice, loss, and the costs of rebellion that feels timely and powerful. Director Gareth Edwards delivers visually ambitious, massive-scale filmmaking focused on vulnerable heroes in a realistic war context. [Read the review](https://www.theringer.com/2016/12/16/movies/star-wars-rogue-one-review-d9ab4f86452d) ## Deadline — Pete Hammond Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 13 December 2016. Pete Hammond is surprised by how much he likes the first standalone Star Wars film and calls it possibly his favorite in the franchise. He singles out its gritty war-movie tone, hand-held camerawork, and appealing ragtag team of new characters as standout elements. [Read the review](https://deadline.com/2016/12/rogue-one-a-star-wars-story-review-disney-1201869354/) ## Den of Geek — Don Kaye Rating 4/5. 15 December 2016. It is largely a success as a solid, enjoyable film that takes some risks with the Star Wars universe while remaining on familiar ground, though it is not quite a great movie due to some fan service and thin characters. The critic singles out the spectacular, epic third act as a tour de force of action and suspense that brings the film to a rousing finish. [Read the review](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/star-wars-rogue-one-review/) ## NME — Nick Levine Rating 4/5. 14 December 2016. It is a far more interesting film than The Force Awakens and a thrilling, ultimately emotional addition to the Star Wars canon despite some flaws and a convoluted first half. The critic singles out Felicity Jones’s terrific performance as Jyn and the exhilarating second-half CGI action and high-stakes drama. [Read the review](https://www.nme.com/reviews/rogue-one-review-star-wars-1913064) ## Collider — Matt Goldberg Rating B. 15 December 2016. The film pushes the franchise into darker, more nuanced territory with a sophisticated lens on the Rebellion-Empire conflict and strong visuals, but suffers from plotting issues, abrupt narrative, and underdeveloped characters. It ultimately succeeds in delivering a new perspective that encourages future Star Wars stories beyond Skywalker saga tropes. [Read the review](https://collider.com/rogue-one-review/) ## The Wrap — Alonso Duralde Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 13 December 2016. Alonso Duralde dismisses the film as little more than fan-fiction overburdened with references and shout-outs to the original Star Wars. He criticizes the lack of character, plot, and story while noting a few solid action sequences and one empathetic speech. [Read the review](https://www.thewrap.com/rogue-one-review-star-wars/) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/rogue-one-a-star-wars-story.md