Written by: Kevin Berge
They're the best of friends because they spent five minutes together shooting things. (Image Courtesy of: palacecinemas.com.au)
Quick Take: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story follows a unique path in the Star Wars universe as the first non-anthology movie in the canon and does with brave intention. With solid overall foundations, the film is perfect fun for Star Wars fans though somewhat uninspired.
***As Rogue One only recently was released, this will be a spoiler-free review with only allusions to character development and scenes to come. If you are at all worried about hints to plot details though, do not read ahead until you have seen the movie.***
It's an important time in history for Star Wars fans. Last year, the franchise returned for the first not in the hands of George Lucas which was why Force Awakens was one of the most important movies in science fiction history.
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story may not quite have such lofty expectations attached to it, but it still stands as an important chapter as the very non-saga film in Star Wars' long history. This meant no focus on the Skywalkers at all and no long-building trilogy storytelling.
Rogue One is the prequel to the original Star Wars, focusing on the tale of the Rebel group that went on a suicide mission to capture the plans to the Death Star. That group includes Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones) who is looking for her father Galen (Mads Mikkelsen), Captain Cassian Andor (Diego Luna), and the friendly duo of Chirrut (Donnie Yen) and Baze (Jiang Wen).
From the start, it was clear this was a movie made for Star Wars fans. It contains many in-references to the world and events that transpire around the film. This is as close as we have ever gotten to a dark fan film in the way it so completely celebrates its foundations.
Unfortunately, this is far from a perfect film, falling underneath the weight of its own experimentation. Rogue One wants to be a celebration of the Star Wars universe, a Magnificent Seven recast, a classic war story, and a family drama all at once.
Even as it manages to be good in every aspect, it cannot be great in any one. Starting with a shifting yet slow opening, the film takes a while to get off the ground and gets sidetracked too often with reveling in its world rather than fostering its new characters.
With a story like this that is a one-off, more time needed to be given to developing the characters who are hard to get invested in even in the fun final act. This story never lives up to a script that implies a deep connection between this merry band of rebels.
It's an important time in history for Star Wars fans. Last year, the franchise returned for the first not in the hands of George Lucas which was why Force Awakens was one of the most important movies in science fiction history.
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story may not quite have such lofty expectations attached to it, but it still stands as an important chapter as the very non-saga film in Star Wars' long history. This meant no focus on the Skywalkers at all and no long-building trilogy storytelling.
Rogue One is the prequel to the original Star Wars, focusing on the tale of the Rebel group that went on a suicide mission to capture the plans to the Death Star. That group includes Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones) who is looking for her father Galen (Mads Mikkelsen), Captain Cassian Andor (Diego Luna), and the friendly duo of Chirrut (Donnie Yen) and Baze (Jiang Wen).
From the start, it was clear this was a movie made for Star Wars fans. It contains many in-references to the world and events that transpire around the film. This is as close as we have ever gotten to a dark fan film in the way it so completely celebrates its foundations.
Unfortunately, this is far from a perfect film, falling underneath the weight of its own experimentation. Rogue One wants to be a celebration of the Star Wars universe, a Magnificent Seven recast, a classic war story, and a family drama all at once.
Even as it manages to be good in every aspect, it cannot be great in any one. Starting with a shifting yet slow opening, the film takes a while to get off the ground and gets sidetracked too often with reveling in its world rather than fostering its new characters.
With a story like this that is a one-off, more time needed to be given to developing the characters who are hard to get invested in even in the fun final act. This story never lives up to a script that implies a deep connection between this merry band of rebels.
Rogue One impressively combines a cool animated character brought to life with a fantastic actor and gets a man too annoying to listen to. (Image Courtesy of: vox.com)
The cast are solid as a whole though with no strong standouts. Felicity Jones (The Theory of Everything) has great scenes, but she can't fully sell Jyn's transformation. Diego Luna (Rudo y Cursi) feels wasted with a character whose complexity is never explored.
The strongest performance comes from Ben Mendelsohn (Animal Kingdom) as Director Krennic who embodies the over-the-top Empire swagger with an underlying sense of inadequecy. On the other hand, Forest Whitaker (The Last King of Scotland) takes such a poor approach with his character that it distracts from a performance that sells a man losing his mind.
This movie is absolutely a blast to watch thanks to several aspects. One is the comedy which is a bit secondary in such a dark tale. The repurposed droid K-2SO voiced by Alan Tudyk (Firefly) may just be one of the funniest characters in the Star Wars canon.
Another is simply fantastic action which is the true credit to director Gareth Edwards (Godzilla). There is not a dull moment when anyone is in action with the focus on the characters. The scars of war are also left front and center at every stage.
This is a great movie with CGI so advanced you almost forget it's there. The space and land battles are tremendous. It is just a shame that same CGI is poorly used on a few characters that may have been best left out. Without spoiling anything, there is one CGI character that is too widely used despite CGI that wasn't quite ready to match up.
Chris Weitz (About a Boy) and Tony Gilroy (The Bourne Ultimatum) are the primary writers for the screenplay of Rogue One, and many of the film's flaws rest on their shoulders. Often the dialogue does not quite get home, feeling a bit fluffy and unearned especially with Jyn at times.
At its core, Rogue One is a very fun movie, but it is clear that certain aspects are not wholly complete. The editing throughout is rushed and sometimes sloppy, likely due to the extensive reshoots. Even though the climax is a marvel, it is the most flawed aspect, feeling pieces together.
As with all Star Wars movies, it is important to note the score which has been so integral in the hands of John Williams. Michael Giacchino (Up) is at the head of this score, and he does not hit as heavy as Williams often did. There are no real standout tracks, and some do not sell the complete emotions of the moment.
As a Star Wars fan, I truly enjoyed Rogue One, but, as someone who often deconstructs film to death, I found myself often taken out of the movie by aspects that do not feel wholly finished. At its core, there is a truly great Star Wars movie here, but it needed a few more months to be completed.
The strongest performance comes from Ben Mendelsohn (Animal Kingdom) as Director Krennic who embodies the over-the-top Empire swagger with an underlying sense of inadequecy. On the other hand, Forest Whitaker (The Last King of Scotland) takes such a poor approach with his character that it distracts from a performance that sells a man losing his mind.
This movie is absolutely a blast to watch thanks to several aspects. One is the comedy which is a bit secondary in such a dark tale. The repurposed droid K-2SO voiced by Alan Tudyk (Firefly) may just be one of the funniest characters in the Star Wars canon.
Another is simply fantastic action which is the true credit to director Gareth Edwards (Godzilla). There is not a dull moment when anyone is in action with the focus on the characters. The scars of war are also left front and center at every stage.
This is a great movie with CGI so advanced you almost forget it's there. The space and land battles are tremendous. It is just a shame that same CGI is poorly used on a few characters that may have been best left out. Without spoiling anything, there is one CGI character that is too widely used despite CGI that wasn't quite ready to match up.
Chris Weitz (About a Boy) and Tony Gilroy (The Bourne Ultimatum) are the primary writers for the screenplay of Rogue One, and many of the film's flaws rest on their shoulders. Often the dialogue does not quite get home, feeling a bit fluffy and unearned especially with Jyn at times.
At its core, Rogue One is a very fun movie, but it is clear that certain aspects are not wholly complete. The editing throughout is rushed and sometimes sloppy, likely due to the extensive reshoots. Even though the climax is a marvel, it is the most flawed aspect, feeling pieces together.
As with all Star Wars movies, it is important to note the score which has been so integral in the hands of John Williams. Michael Giacchino (Up) is at the head of this score, and he does not hit as heavy as Williams often did. There are no real standout tracks, and some do not sell the complete emotions of the moment.
As a Star Wars fan, I truly enjoyed Rogue One, but, as someone who often deconstructs film to death, I found myself often taken out of the movie by aspects that do not feel wholly finished. At its core, there is a truly great Star Wars movie here, but it needed a few more months to be completed.