Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, 2016.
Directed by Gareth Edwards.
Starring Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, Alan Tudyk, Donnie Yen, Jiang Wen, Ben Mendelsohn, Forest Whitaker, Riz Ahmed, Jimmy Smits, Mads Mikkelsen, and James Earl Jones.
SYNOPSIS:
The Rebellion makes a risky move to steal the plans for the Death Star, setting up the epic saga to follow.
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is the best film in the universally beloved franchise since Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back. Involuntarily rejoicing in Darth Vader being let loose on a Force-driven killing spree is not necessary one bit to reach this conclusion. I’m not saying that doesn’t happen… it might. You just have to go see it and appease your own curiosity.
Following the guidelines of seemingly all Star Wars films, amidst all of the galaxy politicking and clear-cut good versus evil battles is a great deal of familial bedlam, this time excluding the Skywalkers. Instead, audiences are treated with a new hero, Jyn Erso (played by Oscar-nominated actress Felicity Jones of The Theory of Everything acclaim), an orphan of sorts taken in by the Rebel Alliance as a child after an unfortunate incident involving her father, mother, and Orson Krennic, the high-ranking Imperial Army Director tasked with creating a weapon (most commonly known as the Death Star) capable of wiping out entire planets. Essentially, Galen Erso (Mads Mikkelsen) is a research scientist whose knowledge is mandatory for crafting the schematics.
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story works right off the cold opening (yes, there is no traditional opening precursor text setting up the narrative) not just for its fairly tragic beginning scenario, but also due to the first impressions of an absolutely chilling performance from supremely underrated actor Ben Mendelsohn. Portraying the villainous Krennic, it’s entirely forgivable if his character is nothing more than a pawn in the grand scheme of things containing little development, simply due to his intimidating demeanor, heavy strides in his walk when marching on to carry out nefarious deeds, and an unnerving voice. Krennic is a spectacle to behold, and honestly, gives off Col. Hans Landa from Inglorious Basterds vibes during his introduction, which also might clue readers into what actually goes down in the first 10 minutes. A lesser actor would not be able to match such a convincing performance, so Mendelsohn (who has played nasty characters to perfection for quite some time now) as a Star Wars villain is a match made in… a galaxy far, far away (I apologize in advance for this terrible play on expressions).
Felicity Jones doesn’t quite deliver a performance at his level on the opposing side of the good/evil spectrum (there are one or two scenes where she feels more reserved and collected when maybe she should be slightly raising her voice), but she’s still serviceable as the arc of Jyn’s character is one of sadness and rebellious inspiration that easily makes her a quite likable heroine. She’s joined by Cassian Andor (played by Diego Luna, and thankfully their alignment doesn’t blossom into a love relationship) against her will to team up with a squadron of roguish types; the mission: Steal the plans of the Death Star. What makes her journey so fascinating, without spoiling much, is how she transitions from apathetic to the rebellion, to by the end of the movie, leading the charge of an all-out attack. Naturally, there is personal conflict at stake that heightens the dramatic gravitas paving the way for her journey into a fantastic, fully-formed hero.
Unfortunately, the same cannot be really said for the majority of the supporting teammates. Most of them are lacking in character development, and only really have visual cues to distinguish themselves from one another, or a different but equally useful skillset. The closest analogy one can make is when popping in an RPG video game, being presented with four or five different character presets to choose from that are all the same, outside of strategical purpose. With that said, Donnie Yen most definitely transcends these shortcomings as a blind warrior that can acrobatically obliterate small groups of stormtroopers with his staff. Accounting for only singular characters on foot, he has the best fight sequences in the entire movie.
It also wouldn’t be a Star Wars entry if there wasn’t some form of robotic companion, so make way for K-2SO (played by recent frequent Disney collaborator Alan Tudyk), an Imperial Army droid reprogrammed to work alongside the Rebel Alliance. He is also the vessel for some light comedic relief (trust me, this is still arguably the darkest Star Wars film to date), but it’s how characters react and respond to his overly analytical personality that allows the witty banter to take on a greater meaning. Sure, it’s amusing watching him consistently calculating fairly low survival probabilities for perilous situations. but the statistics are almost always met with quick dismissal and defiance from Jyn and Andor. It doesn’t matter how slim those chances are, the rebellion must fight on, even when potentially facing failure; hope is needed. Deeper analysis aside, K-2SO is also simply a charming addition to the team, adding some levity to the film’s highly serious nature.
Although there are characters aplenty, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is more about bridging a section of the gap in between Episodes 3 and 4. Why does the Death Star have such a bafflingly overlooked blueprint flaw illuminating extreme vulnerability to being blown up? That’s just one of the many questions answered throughout the experience. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story may be labeled as a spinoff, but it’s importance to the canonical plot-line actually makes it deserving of being a numbered entry. This is a film that enriches the very foundation of Star Wars.
Furthermore, under direction from Gareth Edwards (Godzilla 2014), the movie has moments of absolutely astounding imagery. Without going into too much detail, there is a humongous, epic-in -scope space opera dogfight between the Rebel Alliance and Imperial Army that starts off hot, quickly building momentum to out of this freaking world holy s***levels of destruction and carnage. The shot composition behind all that destruction (we are talking colossal sized spaceships colliding with one another) give these fights more impact, which is something I didn’t even realize was possible.
Edwards’ direction isn’t solely to be applauded for giving audiences a visual feast for the eyes, but more so delivering an experience unequivocally different from standard Star Wars films. With only roughly 30 seconds of lightsaber action and an all out aerial battle towards the end, much of the war is grounded, allowing for some unique creative direction. On one planet, the Imperial Army parade around with totalitarian control, even with a tank; it evokes parallels to World War II Nazi Germany. Even the film’s final battle, which takes place on a beach, is reminiscent of Normandy. It all wonderfully fits; Rogue One is the Star Wars equivalent to a war movie.
There’s also only one way to accurately depict war; lots and lots of violence including mass death. To be honest, it’s something that I, and I doubt many, will be expecting from Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. The film doesn’t even remotely push R-rated territory, but Gareth Edwards and the marketing team weren’t lying whenever they spoke about just how dark and depressing this one gets. It all makes the message of the film, and the birth of hope, ring that much louder. Unfortunately, because as previously mentioned, some characters aren’t really fleshed out enough, it doesn’t always pack an emotional punch witnessing someone bite the dust. However, the aforementioned excellent cinematography, including a heart-pounding score from Michael Giacchino, make the fruits of the Rebel Alliances’ labor all the more powerful.
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story starts off good and gradually builds and builds into a force to be reckoned with. The relentless nonstop action occasionally does a disservice to character development, but the entire last hour of the movie is so flat out insane, filled with chest-beating moments of spectacle and crushing emotional losses, it’s one of the most immersive Hollywood blockbusters in recent memory. It’s also one of the best movies of 2016. The ending is filled with both a bittersweet tragedy and hard-fought victory; ‘ a new hope’ is earned, and so is this film’s place in the upper echelon of Star Wars lore.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Robert Kojder – Chief Film Critic of Flickering Myth. Check here for new reviews weekly, friend me on Facebook, follow my Twitter or Letterboxd, or email me at MetalGearSolid719@gmail.com
