Rogue One A Star Wars Story Review: A Worthy Successor To The Name Star Wars!

Not so long ago in a galaxy nearby Star Wars returned to the silver screen.  Last year the acclaimed franchise came to theaters everywhere with Star Wars: The Force Awakens. No matter what attendees thought about the film there was no denying that Episode VII made a statement and left moviegoers pondering of what was to come next. Viewers will get those answers in Star Wars Episode VIII, but that chapter won't be arriving until next Christmas. However just because the Saga does not returned until 2018 does not mean the franchise is taking a break as hitting theaters this season is Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Directed by Gareth Edwards Rogue One begins a new series of Star Wars films that tells standalone tales in the franchise. In the case of Rogue One it takes place between Episode III and Episode IV and tells the story of how the Rebels stole the Death Star plans. So with Star Wars taking a new direction in the celluloid system does Rogue One keep the franchise in hyper drive or us this mission a failure?

The story to Rogue One centers on Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones): an outcast who fights to survive. After being imprisoned by the Empire, Jyn is rescued by the Rebel Alliance who task with a mission to find her missing father Galen Erso (Mads Mikkelson): whom is responsible for constructing the Empire's super weapon known The Death Star. With the help of Captain Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) and his droid K-2S0 (Alan Tudyk), Jyn travels to find Saw Gerrera (Forest Whitaker) who abducted Bodhi Rook (Riz Ahmed): a former Imperial pilot who knows the whereabouts of Galen. With the help of guardians Chirrut Imwe (Donnie Yen) and Baze Malbus (Jiang Wen), the unlikely crew set off on adventure that leads them to steal to the Death Star plans from Director Orson Krennic (Ben Mendelsohn) and the rest of the Empire.

Inferno Review: More Puzzling Than Gripping

In 2006 the movie world was introduced to Robert Langdon in the thriller The Da Vinci Code. Based on the novel by Dan Brown, The Da Vinci Code blended the likes of history and religion with a major conspiracy, and I for one found the thriller to be enjoyable. Then in 2009 the story of Robert Langdon continued in Angel & Demons which dealt with a conspiracy in the church. Personally I found the 2009 sequel to be just as good as its predecessor. Now the mystery franchise continues with the third installment in the Robert Langdon series: Inferno. Once again directed by Ron Howard Inferno brings a mystery that surrounds the work of Dante. The previews for the film showcased both the mystery and the action behind this thriller, and it looked to be a decent time at the movies. Yet could Inferno be another exciting adventure for Robert Langdon, or is this film a puzzle better left unsolved.

Inferno finds Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks) in a another mystery as the professor is on the run from several parties looking for him. After getting help from a doctor named Sienna Brooks (Felicity Jones) Langdon discovers a Faraday Pointer that shows Sandro Botticeli’s Map of Hell. Upon his investigation of the map Robert discovers that billionaire Bertrand Zobrist (Ben Foster) created a plague called Inferno which will wipe out half of Earth’s population in a matter of days. Aided by Sienna, Robert sets out to find clues about the plague’s whereabouts before it is release as well as get it out of the hands of those who would use it for their own purposes.