War. Is. Hell.

We all know what war looks like here on earth. We kinda, sorta, know what war looks like in the Star Wars Universe, but this is the first time that we’ve really seen it up close. When Alderaan was destroyed it was like watching a film of the Hiroshima bombing from the flight deck of the Enola Gay. You understand what happened, you can see it with your own eyes, but you can not truly appreciate the human toll that it takes. Your brain can’t conceive of the destructive power of a weapon of that magnitude. Rogue One shows you. It shows you up close and personal exactly what kind of hell can be brought down on your minuscule, human ass.

This is how ants feel under a magnifying glass

It’s not just the toll of the super weapon of the Empire. War is people, StormTroopers and Rebels alike. The fighting in this movie isn’t just blasters and anonymous deaths. This is up close and personal warfare. No Star Wars movie has ever truly embraced the word “war” like Rogue One has. Here we see soldier vs soldier; person vs person and the horrible effect that it takes on the people on both sides of the war. The rebels may have won a major victory by destroying the original Death Star — but here we see the cost and whether it’s all worth it.