ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY
Hope inspires sacrifice and redemption in a thrilling, adult-only Star Wars adventure.
Should You Watch It?
ROGUE ONE is exciting, skillfully executed entertainment with an epic scope and appealing characters. Its moral heart is strong. The film emphasizes doing the right thing, finding a meaningful purpose, seeking redemption, resisting totalitarian evil, and sacrificing for a greater cause.
The cost is significant for younger viewers. Many people and stormtroopers are shot or killed in explosions, cities and planets are destroyed, and the story includes a child’s traumatic separation from her parents. The Force is also treated as something characters trust, pray to, and describe as having a will.
Adults who can engage those ideas with discernment may find a moving, worthwhile adventure. Families with children or young teens should choose something else. For discerning adults, this is worth the trip; for younger viewers, skip it.
The Story
NO SPOILERS — WE KEEP THE SURPRISESSet immediately before A New Hope, the story follows Jyn Erso, whose father was forced to help the Imperial Empire build the Death Star. As the weapon nears completion, he secretly creates a weakness in it.
The Rebel Alliance needs Jyn’s help retrieving crucial information. She joins Capt. Cassian Andor, the droid K-2SO, and several unlikely allies on a mission that could give the rebellion a chance against the Empire.
Is It Any Good?
Four stars means this is an outstanding piece of entertainment. ROGUE ONE is thrilling, thoroughly engaging, and skillfully executed, with a massive, epic scope and a gripping story.
Felicity Jones gives Jyn an emotionally powerful journey toward meaningful purpose and reunion with her father. The blind warrior Chirrut and the hilariously honest droid K-2SO are especially strong characters. The villains are truly despicable, and the scenes involving Jyn’s father and the moments leading into A New Hope are particularly effective.
Gareth Edwards gives the film a grittier, less polished tone that works well for this one-off story. Michael Giacchino’s impressive score judiciously uses themes from earlier Star Wars movies.
The Worldview
ROGUE ONE strongly promotes hope, doing the right thing, repentance, redemption, sacrifice, and finding a purpose in something bigger than oneself. It also carries a positive anti-totalitarian message. Flawed rebels who have done terrible things eventually learn to do what is right, while the sacrifices of many give the rebellion hope that the Empire can be defeated.
The film contains fewer New Age elements than previous Star Wars movies, but “the Force” still shapes parts of the story. Chirrut admires the Jedi and repeats phrases about being one with the Force. Jyn’s mother tells her to trust the Force, and a silent prayer to it appears to save lives. The Force is also described as having a “will,” which seems contradictory: a will implies personal consciousness, while the Force is presented as impersonal. The film also contains allusions to Intelligent Design.
For Christians, there is no impersonal force to be used for good or evil. There is the Good—God the Father—who calls people into a personal relationship with Him through Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. The film’s hope points toward a greater truth: “Hope does not put us to shame” (Romans 5:5).
The Content Guide
The specifics — spoilers included by nature — so you can judge for your own family.
Content Summary
Strong moral worldview with some redemptive content stresses hope as part of its premise, doing the right thing, repentance, redemption, sacrifice, and finding a purpose in something bigger than oneself, with allusions to Intelligent Design, but with some pagan elements of the New Age idea “The Force” which resolves some plot problems and preoccupy a few characters, some characters seem to pray to the Force, but the Force is described at one point as having a “will,” which seems contradictory and there’s less discussion of the Force and its qualities than previous Star Wars movies, plus movie has a strong, positive anti-totalitarian message; no foul language; moderate battle violence with many people and storm troopers getting shot by blasters or killed in explosions, whole cities and planets are destroyed, heroine’s mother is shot by one of the evil Emperor’s henchmen when she was a child, little girl has to hide from villains, who kill her mother and take her father, a character falls around 20 feet and is knocked unconscious, many starships battle in outer space and above planets, one-man starships attack two bases, blind man sometimes uses stick to knock out and beat back the Empire’s storm troopers, a man has information extracted from him by a creepy monster that reads his thoughts, Darth Vader’s heavily deformed body is briefly seen, Darth Vader chokes a character using the Force to teach him a lesson and remind him of his place; no sexual content but a romance brews; no nudity; no alcohol use; no smoking or drugs; and, no other objectionable content.
Talk About It
Questions for the drive home, the dinner table, or the youth group.
The rebels must decide whether to risk everything for a greater cause. What makes a sacrifice meaningful, and what does Jesus say about laying down one’s life for others?
John 15:13 · Romans 12:1Several characters have done terrible things but still seek redemption. How is biblical repentance different from simply feeling regret?
2 Corinthians 7:10 · Psalm 51:10–12The film presents hope as the strength to keep doing what is right. Where does Christian hope come from, and how does it change the way we face suffering?
Romans 5:3–5 · 1 Peter 1:3–5Chirrut trusts the Force as an impersonal power. How does Scripture describe God’s character and His relationship with those who trust Him?
Deuteronomy 6:4–5 · John 17:3The Final Word
ROGUE ONE is a thrilling, morally serious adventure about hope, redemption, and sacrifice. Its frequent battle violence and New Age ideas make it unsuitable for children and young teens. For discerning adults, our answer is WORTH THE TRIP — ADULTS ONLY. For younger family movie nights, begin with.
