Rogue One is a different kind of Star Wars Movie.
Rogue One A Star Wars Story, I still like anthology better,
starring Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, Donnie Yen, Alan Tudyk, Ben Mendelsohn,
Wen Jiang, Forest Whitaker, Riz Ahmed, Mads Mikkelsen and directed by Gareth
Edwards. Rogue One is the first standalone film set in the Star Wars universe
and is about how a group of Rebels steals the plans for the Death Star, and ties
directly into the events of Star Wars A New Hope. Taking a small blurb from the
crawl text of Episode Four and turning it into a two-hour film may seem
unrealistic, but everyone involved made the movie a soaring success. It adds layers
and depth to Star Wars Episode Four, and it will be a welcome addition to most
Star Wars Fans.
Is Rogue One for the average Star Wars fan or people who
aren’t fans of the franchise at all? I loved the movie after the first viewing
and will be going back again to see it multiple times. I’m not sure I can
separate myself to say if this film is for everyone. I have read all the
comics, all the adult books and most of the young adult novelizations for the
new Star Wars Canon. This gives more insight into what has been happening since
the end of Episode three with characters like Tarkin, Darth Vader and others.
The book Catalyst was an excellent introduction and prequel to Rogue One. The
start of the movie is a really the next chapter in the book, and if you are a
fan of any of the books Catalyst is worth reading and then watching Rogue One.
It adds so much backstory and nuance to relationships in the movie, that I’m
not sure I can be objective about how much I liked the film because I have read
the book. I don’t think people have to read the book to enjoy Rogue One, but it
does greatly enhance the story. Due to this Rogue One is more of a fans Star
Wars film, but I still would recommend it to anyone who likes a good action
adventure film.
The story is excellent and takes the audience on a fantastic
ride. The third act of the movie will leave no one disappointed. It is the
first Star Wars movie to really look at the war between the Rebellion and the
Empire, and show the ground soldiers and their struggle. It also expands the
universe overall, adding to the structure of the Rebellion and how they went
about combating the Empire. The characters introduced are all great, and
everyone is raving about K2-SO, the droid voiced by Alan Tudyk, for good
reason. He provides the right amount of humor throughout a dark gritty story.
Felicity Jones performance as Jyn Erso ties the entire movie together. She does
a fantastic job as the main focus of the film. Diego Luna character’s, Cassian
Andor, is a more complex Rebel than has ever been shown, and I really enjoyed
his character in the movie. It added a deeper layer to the soldiers who fight
for the Rebellion. Donnie Yen and Wen Jiang characters are not delved into too
deeply, but the chemistry between them is fantastic. I don’t think much
backstory was needed for them during this film, but I would hope we get a book
or another form of medium diving into how they met. I also want to know more
about the Jedi Temple on Jedha and what they did there.
With any film there are also some drawbacks. I’ve got two,
one about the actual film, and then one a nerdy complaint about how it affects
the overall Star Wars universe. The only story complaint I had for the movie is
that the first ten minutes jumped around too much setting up the story. There
are a bunch of different worlds introduced and we move around to some of the
major characters extremely quickly and it is a bit jarring. Once Cassian and
Jyn meet up the pace flows well and the rest of the film isn’t an issue. I
won’t get into my nerdy complaint until a spoiler’s video, but I don’t like
something the movie tries to “fix” within the main Star Wars storyline. I don’t
think anything needed to be fixed, and this issue is the only time I was
disappointed with the film. This fix will make many people happy, but I think
it actually takes away from something else which comes in a later movie.
Overall though Rogue One is a fantastic amazing
addition to the Star Wars universe and I can’t wait to see it again. I will be
going multiple times to see it in theaters and I think the film’s success will
ensure many more Star Wars anthology films. This movie is well worth seeing for
any casual Star Wars fan and I think people who aren’t fans can still enjoy it
for the emotional war story the film provides. The film is geared more towards
the hard core fans, but I do think anyone can enjoy it. Let me know what you
think and what your favorite parts of the film were in the comments below. Like
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