Rogue One

****************** Spoiler Warning *******************

When it was first announced that Disney would be making three independent Star Wars films, I was unsure how to take the news. A part of me feared this could be another Hobbit situation where the studio was dragging out a franchise solely to make money, but when more information came out about the film's story, including the news that Darth Vader would be returning, my expectations grew (rebellions, it seems, are not the only things built on hope). After the damage done by the prequels, Rogue One has restored my faith in the Star Wars franchise in a way that even The Force Awakens could not.

Characters/Acting

Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones): Overall I enjoyed the character for what she was: a standard sci-fi/action role. Rogue One had many more action scenes than The Force Awakens and dedicated less time to developing its characters. Jyn Erso's weaknesses as a character can mostly be attributed to the writers' decisions but not entirely (I think this sacrifice was justified, but more on that later). Jones' was likable enough and I thought her performance strengthened as the film progressed, but she did not captivate me the way Daisey Ridley did with Rey or Carrie Fisher did with Leia. Both Ridley and Fisher endeared themselves to me early on in their films in a way Jones never did (especially Ridley). In the Story/Writing section of this film I'll discuss why that not only worked for this film but made sense. On the whole, Felicity Jones continued Star War's winning streak of casting strong female characters but, like Natalie Portman, her performance was hampered by a lack of development.

Cassian Andor (Diego Luna): Although I thoroughly enjoyed K-2SO (or "K-2"), Cassian was my favorite addition to the Star Wars universe. Unlike Jyn, the writers left more room for Cassian to develop and Luna thrived off of the opportunity. If both Cassian and Poe are supposed to resemble Han Solo as characters, this is a case where Rogue One's character came out ahead (at least so far). Cassian's willingness to kill Rebel allies for the sake of his mission brought some much needed darkness to the light side of the force. Cassian's inner turmoil over whether to kill Galen Erso gave him more room to grow as a character than Jyn's more cliché and simplistic struggle with not wanting to get involved. It's no surprise then that Cassian is the stronger character, though Luna's performance was also above average and certainly worthy of mention.

Orson Krennic (Ben Mendelsohn): While Director Krennic was not as formidable or intimidating a character as most Star Wars villains (lacking a lightsaber, lightening hands, or a red/black face with horns) he was a stronger character than most. In only a handful of scenes, Krennic proved to be arrogant, irritable, ambitious, and merciless. Krennic's angry outbursts could very easily have been overdone, but Mendelsohn exercised enough restraint to avoid this all too common corniness (cough, Saw Gerrera, cough). The only real flaw concerning his role as a villain is that he was overshadowed by the return of maybe the greatest villain of all time: Darth Vader (or overall character in my opinion).

Story/Writing

My first reaction to hearing about Rogue One was my fear that these standalone films might only serve as a money grab for Disney. My second was "well, every new character is certainly going to die". The decision to kill off all of the main characters was necessary considering this film is meant to immediately precede A New Hope. I've seen some reviews where audiences and critics have criticized Rogue One for killing off all of its main characters. I find these critiques baffling. Since none of these characters appear in A New Hope (Jyn, Cassian, Krennic, the Rebel fleet admiral, etc.) their absence would not make sense and any possible explanation for their non-involvement in the film would seem implausible given each character's importance to their respective cause. The decision to make a standalone film about stealing the Death Star plans was creative and original--at least more so than The Force Awakens--even if it meant a death sentence for its main characters.

Since the fate of all the new characters was to be decided in this film, they did not have to develop as much as characters in the other Star Wars films. Rogue One was more about the story of capturing the plans than it was about the men and women who died stealing them; the heavy dose of action scenes worked in Rogue One because the audience was not meant to have too strong of an attachment to the characters (this is Star Wars and not The Deer Hunter after all). Had there been a greater need for the characters to develop, dedicating the final quarter of the film to a battle would have been to the detriment of the film (as it was in Attack of the Clones). Instead, Rogue One is one of the few instances where a liberal amount of special effects serves a purpose without compromising character development.

The first third of the film, especially the parts on Jedha, were by far the slowest. Forest Whitaker's portrayal of the paranoid general Saw Gerrera was somewhat corny and rather forced. It also seemed unrealistic to me that a zealot like Saw would not make more of an effort to escape the Death Star's attack on Jedha. Even though he probably would not have made it to the ship due to his slow, robotic legs, I would have thought his character would do more than simply resign himself to his fate, especially considering he, justifiably, had doubts about Jyn's commitments to the Rebel cause.

Bor Gullet, Saw Gerrera's pink, mind-reading monster, was easily the weakest scene in the film and felt extremely out of place. Why did Saw subject Bodhi to a mind-reading monster and then throw him in a cell anyway after his story was presumably confirmed? And did Bodhi really "lose his mind" if he can regain it simply by being asked if he's the pilot? One could argue that this scene's purpose was to show how irrational and paranoid Saw was, but that would have been established well enough by the Scene where Saw is reunited with Jyn. The Bor Gullet scene should have been cut on the editing floor.

The "cameos" by previous Star Wars characters throughout the film were a small but significant addition to the film. Keeping these appearances brief and plentiful was wise as it kept the focus on the story at hand while spreading them out over the course of the film.

The only cameo that possibly created a non sequitur was C-3P0's observation that "they're going to Scarif?" Well, in order for the beginning to A New Hope to make sense, C-3P0 must be aboard Leia's ship (Tantive IV), which means he too would have been going to Scarif aboard Admiral Raddus's ship. This can easily be explained as a mistake on C-3P0's part, but then why not just have him say "We're going to Scarif?"

George Lucas made what will probably be his last positive contribution to a Star Wars film by allowing Director Gareth Edwards to splice previously unused clips of Red Leader and Gold Leader into the film. These scenes made perfect Easter eggs as they were hardly noticeable nuggets which only true Star Wars fans would appreciate.

The scene where the Rebel fleet shows up outside of Scarif was extremely well done and made good use of the old John Williams' score. I haven't been so pumped up for a fight scene since The Charge of the Rohirrim in Return of the King. 

It took me a second viewing to warm up to the characters of Baze Malbus and Chirrut Îmwe. It's no secret that Kung Foo movies are not my favorite, so I was initially opposed to Chirrut's character based on his battle with the Stormtroopers on Jedha. Upon further consideration, however, I'll admit that the idea of having the Jedi temple guarded by a Shaolin monk makes a certain amount of sense. In regards to speculation I've seen from certain fans that Baze and Chirrut must be gay lovers (because obviously two male warriors have never been close in battle without being romantically in love), I'll say this: nope.

The Tarkin and Leia CGI scenes were impressive and I think the right choice given that the alternative choice was to find alternative actors.  I thought the Carrie Fisher CGI was especially impressive while I had to adjust to the Tarkin scenes as the film progressed. Also, why all the pretend outrage over the morality of using CGI of a dead guy? Please go back to complaining about non-kale foods and leave Star Wars alone.

Darth Vader is my favorite character of any narrative, whether the story be a book, movie, or oral poem. It was with great anticipation therefore that I awaited his return to the big screen. My already high expectations were exceeded by that final scene, a scene which I may one day count among my favorite movie scenes of all time. As great as it is to see Darth Vader use a lightsaber for the first time since Return of the Jedi, it was the way the scene was shot that left me craving a second viewing. And a third. And a fourth. Edwards gave us the Darth Vader that Star Wars fans know and love, without any attempt to one-up previous Vader scenes. There were no lightsaber acrobatics or excessive force choking. He just walks slowly and confidently through the hall as he cuts a path through the Rebel forces like he always has, occasionally using the force to throw troopers out of his way or disarm them. It was a brilliant choice to have Vader appear out of the darkness by the glow of his lightsaber and the whole scene perfectly echoed Vader's first introduction in A New Hope. For a Star Wars fan this scene is reason enough to see Rogue One.

Conclusion:

A unique, creative backstory to the Star Wars series and better than I could have hoped for from a "standalone" film. Despite the weaker characters, I enjoyed Rogue One even more than The Force Awakens, mostly because Rogue One had a unique plot. Despite Rogue One's extensive use of CGI fight sequences, it will stand as an exception to my usual critique of films without more character development. It's possible that my grade too heavily reflects the film's ending rather than the film as a whole, but I'd much rather a film end well and start slow than vice versa, not to mention few films end as well as Rogue One does!

Grade:

WRAP: 85%

Author's Note: I've called this film a standalone Star Wars film because others have done so before me, but it really isn't. Some, including the great Mr. Plinkett, have criticized the film because it would not work without the context of the other Star Wars films. It seems to me that they've entirely missed the point. Rogue One is not meant to work outside the context of the other films (as the film's conclusion proves).