Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (No Spoilers)
Well, it's finally here! The first standalone anthology Star Wars film, Rogue One. After all the speculation, hype, concern, reshoots, and more, how is the overall film? This will be a non-spoiler review, so you won't have to worry about any major plot points getting ruined for you. If you don't feel like reading the whole article and want a quick summary, while it had a few problems, it was still a pulse-pounding, gritty, and fantastic Star Wars film that shows that Disney can make a quality Star Wars film that doesn't have to follow a Skywalker or Jedi.
Heroes
Much like my review of the Force Awakens last year, I will split this review into different sections. First, let's talk about the main heroes of the titular Rogue One group. This has been the most divisive subject of the film for many people as some feel that the characters weren't given enough depth to care about them. I wouldn't go that far. While yes, it's true they aren't given as much backstory or development as Luke from A New Hope or even Finn and Rey from the Force Awakens, I personally thought that they had enough personality and charm to where I was rooting for them and wanted to know what was going to happen to them by the end of the movie.
First, there's Jyn and Cassian, the two main characters. I liked Jyn a lot more than I thought I was going to like her. She is a good character but not a great character in my eyes. She has a troubled past and is resourceful but you never really see her act in that way, it is just assumed. However, as the film went on, I sympathized with her more and rooted for her on this mission. Cassian was the character that took me the most to root for. He started off as a dick, though it is later explained why. I did eventually warm up to him more, though not as much as the other characters.
K-2SO, the droid of the group, absolutely steals the show. He is awesome. He is a badass voiced perfectly by Alan Tudyk and is hilarious. Almost every time he told a joke it got a hard laugh out of me and the audience. Chirrut Imwe is a protector of a holy temple on the planet Jedha who is revealed (slight spoiler) to be force-sensitive. He is accompanied by his friend and guardian, Baze, who will win best bromance of 2016. They were both good characters in the film with their own badass moments although Chirrut repeats a line in the film often to calm his nerves which started to get a little annoying to me after a while.
Finally, rounding out the cast is Bodhi, a defected Imperial cargo pilot who joins the group to give a message to the Rebellion. Again, he was a likeable character who goes through the most pain and emotional turmoil in the film other than Jyn. So, overall, while I can see where the critics are coming from, I personally did care about all of the characters in the end and wanted them to succeed in the end.
Side Characters and Villains
As far as side characters go, there are a lot of them. I will say that this film does do a good job showing a lot of individual Rebel soldiers and pilots and showcasing what they are going through as the final battle begins. As far as major side characters, the biggest one is Saw Gerrera, who is the character that was brought to live action from the Clone Wars. His character was...unique. It was definitely not like his character from the show. This is a man who clearly spent his entire life fighting and using whatever tactics he needs to get the job done. That being said, I can picture a lot of people being divided on Forest Whitaker's portrayal of him. It's hard to really describe, it's just something you have to see. Jyn's father Galen is another side character in the film and the film does a good job of making you sympathize with him and his struggle throughout the film.
Well, how are the villains? Well, there actually is another classic Star Wars villain that is brought back that I won't spoil here, but he was a surprise to say the least. As far as the main villain, Director Krennic goes, I liked him, but for a different reason than you might expect. I actually kind of felt bad for him. All his career, he's tried to prove his worth to the Empire and the Emperor with his ultimate weapon, the Death Star. However, the surprise villain and Vader pretty much either undermine him or demoralize him at every turn and ruin his chance at greatness. He almost kind of feels like a little brother trying to show off his art project to daddy only for his older brothers to take credit for it. I know that seems like a weird analogy, but that is what I got from him. He is a good villain, but a more sympathetic villain, at least, by Empire standards.
However, the question that everyone wants to know is, how was Vader? Well, I won't say how long he is in the film though I will say he is in the film longer than Luke was in the Force Awakens. James Earl Jones is still great as the voice and there is a sequence with him in the film that had my jaw dropped and had me fanboying all over my seat...that came out wrong. Overall, I was satisfied with what I got with Vader.
Story
This category is kind of weird to talk about because in the end, we all know the basics of how the movie ends, with the Rebels getting the plans to the Death Star. The main point of this film was to explain the who, how, and where of the opening crawl of A New Hope. In that regard, it definitely worked. The film did a really good job setting up the stakes of the mission and by the end it ties in perfectly to the beginning of A New Hope.
As far as the plot of the movie itself goes, it was good, but not amazing. Again, a lot of my problems with the plot are either nitpicks or with the characters but overall, I will say the story is still engaging enough to where most fans will want to see what happens until the end.
Technical and Action
One thing though that this film nailed more than anything else is the action and tone. This film is just as dark, if not even darker than the Empire Strikes Back. This film is gritty, intense. The tone is somber with slight glimpses of hope sprinkled throughout. That is the tone I have wanted to see from Star Wars for a long time. This is a dark period and the film doesn't sugarcoat it. The film also makes you question some of the actions that the Rebel Alliance does, it's not all just black and white.
As far as the action is concerned, it is incredible. This is the first Star Wars film that truly feels like a war film. The action is intense, close-quartered, and personal. That's not to say I didn't enjoy the action of the other films, but the action of the film is the best part of this film. The final battle on the beach planet of Scarif is one of the best battles in Star Wars history.
The music itself is good though there wasn't any tracks that specifically stood out to me. The effects were also good for the most part. There were a lot of practical effects and creatures. K2SO, who was all cg, looked really good. However, there was a cgi creature in the film that didn't look that good and there was another all cg character that you will either like how he looks, or won't.
Overall
So, in the end, I really loved this film. I'm not saying that the film is perfect. The characters could have been fleshed out more and some of the technical work is hit or miss. However, for what this film was trying to do and for what this film means for the franchise, I think it mostly worked extremely well. The characters are still likeable, the action is amazing and there are so many secrets and easter eggs in the film that any major Star Wars fan will have a field day finding them all. Overall, if I was giving this film a score, I would give it a 9 out of 10 and would highly recommend any Star Wars fan to go out and see it.
