Rogue One Review

Starring: Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, Ben Mendolsohn, Donnie Yen, Mads Mikkelsen, Alan Tudyk, Riz Ahmed, Jiang Wen, Forest Whitaker, James Earl Jones

Everyone loves Star Wars, right? Of course I know that is not true, but when you're dealing with one of the most beloved and long-lasting series of all time, you can pretty much assume it's going to be successful. The Force Awakens broke almost every record, and while Rogue One didn't soar to the heights as its predecessor in its first week, it's still guaranteed a pretty hefty amount of dollars. What I love about Star Wars is that I can rely on George Lucas and Kathleen Kennedy (the president of LucasFilm and longtime collaborator) to produce good movies. They know the audience is there, and they know they don't have to "sell" tickets to the masses, they will sell themselves. With Rogue One, the story is a little different. This isn't a sequel to The Force Awakens. It takes place in between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope and is considered a spin-off. I walked into the film hoping it would contain the same level of excitement and nostalgia that The Force Awakens had. I wanted a Star Wars experience. I read some early reviews and reactions and saw some very divided critics. After seeing the movie myself, I think that it does live up to my expectations of a Star Wars film. If you're a fan, you'll love this movie just as you have loved the rest.

As far as the cast, everyone does well. Felicity Jones is always a convincing lead, and her performance really grounds the film. I was worried she would just be another Rey, but her character's confidence really separated her from Rey's sense of wonder. Jyn Erso is a conditioned veteran. She knows how to fight, and she has nothing to lose. Diego Luna provided an interesting counter to Jones, but I didn't find his character particularly compelling. He had no backstory to get invested in. I am glad that the two of them never had a romance. After many "will they, won't they?" moments, I'm glad that their was no kiss. Donnie Yen's performance as a blind force-sensitive man was my favorite human character, and I was surprised at the amount of depth they gave his character. He was the stand-in Jedi for the film. I also really liked K-2, the robot sidekick. He had the kind of sarcasm that you know R2-D2 has, only he was able to articulate. And he had the best lines of the film. As far as Mads Mikkelsen and Ben Mendelsohn go, they really didn't give big performance. Jyn's father really didn't do anything, and Director Krennic was a Tarkin stand-in (more on that later). The only sub-par performance was given by Forest Whitaker. Was his name Saul? Saw? I could not care less. I felt that that entire scene was throwaway. From the trailers, it is clear that most of Whitaker's scenes were deleted, but they had to keep him in the film. I don't know. I haven't the slightest clue why he spoke like he couldn't breathe. I know he had an apparatus, but why not just take it off him and let Whitaker really speak? The whole scene was underwhelming and unnecessary.

Of the thematic elements I enjoyed, the score was my favorite. This is the first non-John Williams score, so you can imagine the interest. Michael Giacchino (Up, Lost) does a wonderful job interpreting Williams' iconic scores of Star Wars films past, but adds his flare to it. I wouldn't be surprised if it wins the Oscar. It truly is that impressive. As far as Darth Vader goes, his first scene is pretty standard. It's not amazing, and it's not disappointing. I imagined that would be all the Vader I would get. But lo and behold, the ending scene is the crazed, ballistic Darth Vader I've always wanted. You imagine he must be good with his lightsaber, but we've never really seen him fight.

SPOILERS: One of the big things I was not a fan of were the visual effects. They created Grand Moff Tarkin using visual effects. In Life of Pi, they create a tiger. In Rogue One, they literally bring a dead actor back to life and it really freaked me out. I was suspecting that he would be back, but not in that capacity. I'm just worried about what this means for the future of films. It makes death mean nothing, and actors may have to sign their likeness over to companies like Disney. Franchises could never grow old. I appreciate the vision and scope, but the whole idea really leaves a negative feeling. I was also not a fan of Gareth Edwards' directing. I enjoyed how the film was more stark and real, and depicted wartime in the galaxy, but I felt like his pacing was off. There was a section in the middle where he was really losing me. All in all, if you haven't seen Rogue One, go see it. You'll probably really enjoy it. It may not be as great as The Force Awakens, but it's an interesting expansion on the formula.

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