Disney acquiring the rights to the Star Wars franchise
from George Lucas back in 2012 was a decision that turned quite a few
heads and had more than a few people tugging at their collars. On one
hand, it was a good thing that the series was being taken out of
Lucas' hands after his unquestioned creative control lead to the
prequels becoming one of the most disappointing spectacles in
cinematic history. On the other hand, people were afraid that the
series was going to become overly sanitized under the control of
Disney, and while The Force Awakens was well received and made
all the money, they did play it a little too safe by making the plot
a retread of A New Hope, which
didn't assuage any of those fears. While I have faith in Disney since
they were able to turn Marvel into a well oiled machine with a track
record so good that even its missteps are easily glanced over, it's
way too early to be making judgments on the future of Star Wars after
only two film. But Disney has other plans for the galaxy far far
away. While we are looking at a future with a new Star Wars movie
nearly every year, they're trying to keep things fresh by pulling
double duty and maintaining two storylines. Even years will present
the main story with Rey, Finn, Kylo Ren and BB-8, while odd years
will contain stand-alone tales within the Star Wars universe. And
this Christmas, we were given the first chapter of this anthology,
Rogue One.
Our story takes place
right before A New Hope
and follows Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones), the daughter of an Imperial
science officer (Mads Mikkelsen) who was one of the architects of the
Death Star. Separated from her family as a child and raised by a
freedom fighter deemed too radical for the Rebel Alliance (Forest
Whitaker), Jyn has lived the life of a criminal until she's tracked
down and broken out of prison by the Rebels when they find out her
father is planning to leak the Death Star's secrets to them. Along
with a Rebellion intelligence officer (Diego Luna), a reprogrammed
enemy droid (Alan Tudyk), a former Empire pilot (Riz Ahmed), a
blind monk (Donnie Yen) and his bodyguard (Jiang Wen), she goes on a
mission to find and rescue her father, unbeknownst that her handlers
were assigned to assassinate him. When things goes south, the ragtag
crew carry out her father's last wishes to steal the blueprints for
the Death Star, thus playing a small part in kick-starting the major
events of the original trilogy.
Right from the very
first shot, we know that we're not in for a typical Star Wars movie.
Stylistically, Rogue One
is so radically different from its brethren that if it weren't for
some of the iconography like stormtroopers, X-wings, or the Death
Star, you probably wouldn't even tell it was a Star Wars movie. From
what I can tell, the anthology movies are a way to play around with
this universe and tell stories not intrinsically tied to the
trappings of the main saga (the Jedi, the Sith, the Force, the
Skywalker family etc.). In the case of Rogue One,
we're treated to a straight-up war movie with a focus on espionage.
The world director Gareth Edwards created looks more raw, grizzled
and lived in, like it's a place that's not unfamiliar with Star
Destroyers looming in the sky, or where stormtroopers stomping down
the streets are just an everyday occurrence. While the whole series
hinges on a universe that's constantly at war (I mean, it's right
there in the freaking title), the actual war part is mainly just a
backdrop for the mores spiritual journey of the main characters or a
catalyst to show off the capabilities of the Force. Here, we're
following the people who have to do the actual fighting. Of course,
what makes things different this time around is that our ragtag band
of scoundrels are a fringe too rebellious for the rebellion, a
veritable motley crew of murderers, thieves and borderline terrorists
who do the dirty work that make the hero's job possible, who have
nothing to lose and nothing driving them but hope. It adds touches of
gray to a story that hinges on a good vs. evil dynamic, showing that
the side of good isn't afraid to go a mile when given an inch.
Of course, this is
still a Star Wars movie and thus people are going to have certain
expectations of it, and while Rogue One
definitely has its own identity, it still slavishly adheres to the
principles that George Lucas laid out. Gareth Edwards knows what
makes these movies work and goes out of his way to remain loyal to
the source material while also adding his own stamp. In an interview,
he said that there is a very fine line in what makes a true Star Wars
film, and here I think he finds a great balance. But I'd also be
lying if I said that most of the references don't take me out of the
experience a bit. For one, there is a cameo from two minor characters
that makes me wonder how they survived considering the place they're
at gets destroyed a few minutes later. There are also two major
characters from the original trilogy that were recreated with CG
since their actors are either dead or have aged considerably, and
they look pretty amazing even if they teeter on the edge of the
uncanny valley. But it's counterbalanced by fleshing out certain
aspects that have been itching at the back of the minds of fans, like
why the Death Star has such a fatal design flaw. There was also a bit
of hype about Darth Vader's appearance in the film since he was a big
part of the trailers. I can't say much but I will say this; he's not
there for very long, but what little screen time he has is used very
effectively.
Speaking of characters,
you can't really have a Star Wars movie without a cast of memorable
characters. Our dramatist personae this time around is sort of a mixed
bag. The audience favorites are definitely going to be K-2SO, the
reprogrammed droid whose blunt observations and droll delivery
provide the bulk of the series' humor, and Chirrut Imwe, a badass
blind monk in tune with the Force who, despite having an armored
gunman with him everywhere he goes, is more than capable of handling
himself. My personal favorites would have to be Saw Gerrera and
Bodhi. Forest Whitaker gives an incredibly memorable performance as
the defected terrorist and I really wanted to know more about his
character. Apparently he's a carry-over from the Clone Wars
animated series, which means that I'll get my wish and the entire
extended universe hasn't been completely retconned. (Yay.) I also really
liked Bodhi, the defected Empire pilot who plays a big part in the
heist by getting them through enemy lines undetected. Riz Ahmed has
been an actor I've been keeping a loose eye on since he's appeared in
two of my favorite movies of the decade (Four Lions and
Nightcrawler) and
hopefully he'll get a lot more work after this. The two characters
that I felt left more to be desired were our two main leads, Jyn and
Cassian. Nothing against Felicity Jones and Diego Luna, both are
great actors, but it felt like there were some key moments missing
that would've fleshed them out a lot more. (Since the movie underwent
some major re-shoots, which also led to some minor inconsistencies in
cinematography, that very well may the case.) But then again, Luke
Skywalker was kind of a bland character and that wasn't nearly enough
to bring the experience down and it certainly didn't bring anything
down here.
Overall, Rogue One is a
welcome addition to the growing Star Wars legacy that mixes things up
and brings its own unique flavor while still ostensibly remaining a
Star Wars story. If they can keep this experiment up, then the future
of the series is looking pretty bright. I would tell you to go see
it, but let's face it, most of you are probably going to do that
anyway regardless of what I said.
8/10
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