Rogue One: A Star Wars Story - Review
Let me begin this review by saying I am a huge Star Wars fan. That being said... 'Rogue One' didn't do much for me. Directed by Gareth Edwards, this movie has started the 'Star Wars Anthology Series', or in other words, the Star Wars Overexposure effect. Much like the cash cow that is the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Disney has decided to throw away the integrity of the Star Wars series in an attempt to squeeze every last penny out of audiences before they inevitably get fed up with the overabundance of the same story told over and over again. But no-one's fed up of superhero movies yet... right?
Production context aside, though, does 'Rogue One' hold its own as a standalone movie? Well... no. Without knowing about certain Star Wars devices such as the Force, new audiences wouldn't have a clue what Chirrut Îmwe was doing, or how Orson Krennic was getting choked without any hands on him. But that's getting into spoilers.
SPOILERS AHEAD
The film opens with our protagonist, Jyn Erso (so forgettable I had to look up her name) as a child, which is obviously meant to give audiences an emotional connection with the character as they have seen how they have changed, much like in films like 'Goodfellas'. While usually I would applaud this decision, there isn't enough of the character shown here to develop any kind of response, and it doesn't help that her grown up character is about as interesting as a wet blanket. We do, however, meet the most interesting character in the film in this scene, her father, Galen Erso; a character that is working to design the Death Star, but clearly isn't comfortable helping The Empire. It's this type of three-dimensional character that is missing throughout the rest of 'Rogue One', which made the film remind me of the prequels.
The other main characters are simple movie tropes; Cassian Andor is the rebellious rival with the good heart, Chirrut Îmwe was the wise monk, and Baze Malbus... well, I still don't think there was a character here. Everybody seems to praise K-2SO, the comic relief, but clearly I'm missing something. He just seemed like the same joke repeated over and over again, with the bland 'Big Band Theory Sheldon Cooper' humour that was funny maybe once? Either way, to me he ended up becoming the most annoying character out of the bunch.
The special effects were very impressive, however. 'Rogue One' feels like it takes place in a living, breathing world that mostly fits the aesthetic of the original 'Star Wars'. The final battle scene was an exciting combination of CGI and practical effects that helped immerse me into the action. Darth Vader's costume did look a little cheap - I feel that they may have replicated the original costume a little too much - but I appreciate the effort. Grand Moff Tarkin and Princess Leia, on the other hand, looked pretty bad. These two were CGI characters, and while I understand that Disney is trying to push the boundaries of CGI, there is no escaping the uncanny valley effect, at least not with our current technology.
The final scene was fan service, pure and simple. Clearly it succeeded, as many fans hail this as 'THE BEST STAR WARS SCENE EVARRR!!!1!', but to me it just didn't make sense. Sure, it looked cool, and played out as a small horror-esque sequence where the rebels are trying to escape Darth Vader, but to go from Vader swinging his lightsaber around and force choking like he's not a crippled old man in a robot suit to a stick fight with another old man in the next film is just awkward. I always assumed that the original film's fight was so underwhelming as the two were older and more tired, but clearly now that is not the case. Thanks, Rogue One!
'Rogue One' did not give me a good first impression of these Anthology films, which doesn't help since I already had a negative opinion of it. The story is pointless, the characters are lame, elements of the original don't make sense anymore, and although the special effects were mostly good, CGI Tarkin was a little frightening. I think the biggest crime this film commits is the fact that it didn't need to be made; mystery was one of the biggest elements of the original trilogy, and Disney producing these films on a factory line is only going to hurt that. I wouldn't recommend 'Rogue One' unless you either 1) want to see every Star Wars film or 2) are a rabid fanboy who will like anything with 'Star Wars' slapped onto it. But in that case, I'm sure you have already seen it.
4/10