ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY Blu-ray Review

Blu-ray Release Date: April 4, 2017
Director: Gareth Edwards
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Runtime: 133 Minutes
Purchase: Amazon

This product was provided for free for the purpose of this review, however all opinions are those of the writers.

The first standalone Star Wars spinoff film, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, has now been released on Blu-ray, and Disney has pulled out all the stops in delivering an exceptional home viewing experience of Gareth Edwards’ harrowing entry in one of the most iconic film franchises ever.

The series’ darkest—yet most hopeful—story, Rogue One stars Felicity Jones leading a ragtag group of rebels as they hatch a plan to steal the blueprints for a weapon capable of destroying entire planets, the Death Star, from the Empire. This will directly lead into the events of A New Hope and become the catalyst for the rebels’ victory over the Empire.

By now, looking at the box office numbers, most who wanted to have already seen the film, but is it worth another look on the small screen in Blu-ray form? I can say emphatically, “yes;” picking up the Rogue One Blu-ray is a no-brainer, even if you caught it the theater…even if you went to one of those awesome Alamo Drafthouse screenings with the collector pints.

One of the things that struck me about Rogue One was how authentic its visuals felt, compared to the original trilogy, and Disney nailed the transfer on this release. Edwards and cinematographer Greig Fraser may have created the grittiest, darkest Star Wars to date, but every shot was absolutely gorgeous (aside from some questionable character CG) and the Blu-ray does a superb job presenting the stark beauty of the film. I can’t imagine what this will look like in 4K, which I’m sure we’ll see in the near future. It will probably make me cry.

The Blu-ray package comes with a generic poster cover and includes three discs: the Blu-ray, a DVD and a bonus Blu-ray of additional content. (Sorry, non-Blu-ray owners, no special features for you.) Of course, there’s also a digital copy of the film included in the box as well.

The special features are comprised mostly of a series of making-of segments…nearly 1½ hours material. This behind-the-scenes content is highly produced and a fascinating watch, especially the production aspects. It was particularly interesting to see how they turned Alan Tudyk into the android K-2SO.

There’s also a 4½-minute featurette on all the references and Easter eggs hidden throughout the movie, many of which I didn’t pick up on, despite multiple viewings. Although this isn’t a weak batch of bonus features by any means, I would have liked to see more, given this is such a big release. Also, I’m a sucker for artbook inserts so I’m a bit bummed there wasn’t one in here.

The movie itself is the big reason to pick this one up, and as this Blu-ray is of the highest quality, it’s absolutely worth a buy.

You can check out Blake Crane’s review of the film here.