After I saw the first trailer for it, I was pumped for The Force Awakens. I knew it was going to be amazing and it was. I was more skeptical about Rogue One. It is the first film in the Star Wars franchise that isn't apart of the main Star Wars story. I remember watching the first trailer and just thinking, "Huh, this could be really good or really bad." And then the big news hit six months ago or so regarding the major re-shoots for the movie and I thought, "Man, they have to change that much? Or some studio guys are really screwing with it?" So I went to into Rogue One with as open of a mind as possible, without too much expectation. It wasn't a perfect movie (neither was The Force Awakens, mind you) and it has been getting some mixed reviews, but it definitely blew me away and, for me, was one of the biggest surprises of the year.
Rogue One takes place right before A New Hope. It tells the story of the ragtag group of rebels led by Jyn Erso and their mission to obtain the secret plans for the Death Star. I want to get right into talking about all that I loved about this movie. Warning: this will be filled to the brim with spoilers!
I was really curious to see how close Rogue One would be to the other Star Wars films. Would there be a scroll? The same closing credits? Would they use swipes? I was pretty pleased with the direction they went with this film. It had some similarities to the main Star Wars movies but it definitely proved itself as a stand-alone movie. The cinematography and editing was different and the score was by Michael Giacchino and not John Williams. The score wasn't as good as Williams', which isn't surprising, but I liked that it was different. It was also a completely different Star Wars film because it wasn't revolved around Jedis or the Force. It was more about the rebellion and the political and military leaders of the Empire more than Jedi vs Sith, which I thought was very interesting.
One of the criticisms I have heard about Rogue One is that the characterization isn't great; the characters aren't as likable as those in the original trilogy and The Force Awakens. I will agree that we didn't get to learn enough about the main characters to be truly invested in them but I will argue that it made sense not to share everyone's full backstory. Every main character dies; there is no Rogue One sequel that we should be expecting. And it made sense to kill the main characters off because none of them are in A New Hope. Even though we didn't get to learn a ton about these characters, I still loved them. Ragtag groups on missions is one of my favorite movie tropes. It's why Guardians of the Galaxy, The Breakfast Club, and The Goonies, just to name a few examples, are some of the best films. I loved the rebels. I actually really liked Jyn Erso. Compared to Rey, she was more flawed and seemed a bit more real. I still love Rey but Jyn is a good character and I hope she gets her own fanbase like Rey. K-2SO was easily one of the best parts of the film; he was so sassy. Cassian, Bodhi, Chirrut, and Baze were all interesting in their own ways. I came away from Rogue One loving all the characters.
There were some good additions of classic Star Wars characters in Rogue One. Darth Vader had some awesome scenes. He was kickin' the crap out of rebel soldiers at the end of the film looking for the plans. But the most amazing part was when Darth Vader said "I hope you choke on your aspirations" while choking Krennic. He made an actual pun while choking somebody. Incredible. Another critique I heard regarded the CGI versions of Tarkin and Leia. Some people saw the CGI as distracting and that it may not hold up thirty years from now. I say you could say that about any movie that uses special effects. Technology changes and I don't know how they would have made Rogue One without Tarkin somewhere. The motion capture was actually quite impressive. Obviously at times you could really tell it was CGI but I thought it looked pretty good and it didn't take away from the overall movie for me. They also used stock footage of the rebel pilots in A New Hope, which was pretty awesome as well. And, of course, R2-D2 and C-3PO had to make a short appearance.
The finale was the most amazing part. I can't get over it. It gets you so amped to watch A New Hope. In fact, I saw Rogue One last night and I'm watching A New Hope now because I couldn't wait any longer to watch it. The ending flows perfectly into the beginning of Episode IV. And the scene where Jyn and Cassian are hugging and the light is overtaking them is a beautiful shot.
Rogue One does have some flaws. Most of us are aware of the old news of the Rogue One re-shoots, some people claiming that over 80% of the movie was re-shot. I think it shows, in some good ways and some bad. I'm really glad they didn't include the "I rebel" line from the trailer, 'cause man, that was just some bad writing. But the beginning of the movie did feel pretty rushed. They jump from planet to planet and character to character so fast, you have to wonder if that wasn't effected by the re-shoots. I also think the transition from Bodhi getting tortured to losing his mind and then being alright really quickly was, again, all very rushed. But I do think that the later three-fourths or so of the movie really makes up for the shaky beginning.
I just love the explanation for the flaw in the Death Star. It makes so much more sense that somebody who hated the Empire was the main architect of the Death Star; he would include a flaw that could so easily destroy it. I also love the feel that you get from the old Star Wars films. George Lucas was heavily inspired by World War II when making Star Wars and you can see so much of it in both the original trilogy and the prequels. We had a lot of political meetings and speech-making in the prequels and in Rogue One we get a gritty, realistic battle scene. (And it took place on a beach - reference to D-Day perhaps?)
Overall, there was a lot I really liked about Rogue One. I just love the idea of a ragtag group of rebels stealing the plans to the Death Star. It's such a great concept and they executed it well. People might be asking now, "Did we need Rogue One? Does it add to the Star Wars universe in a good way?" I would say yes. It changed the way we looked at the Death Star and the Rebel Alliance, adding new layers to what we already know or thought we knew, which enhances the Star Wars universe in a very good way. My skepticism is gone. I had a great time with Rogue One and I can't wait to see it again.
There were also portions of things related to the Stars Wars Rebels cartoon in it. A show worth watching.
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