Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)
That being said, I was a little nervous going into Rogue One. A spin-off film has never really been done in the Star Wars universe before, and I had no idea what to expect. How similar would it be to the saga films? Would it add to the franchise in a meaningful way, or would it simply hold me over until Episode VIII is released next December?
To be honest, Rogue One caught me by surprise in a lot of ways. I really ended up enjoying this film, but it was not by any means perfect. It does have a killer finale and some very well-directed moments, as well as a good script and performances from all; however, there are some times where the story drags and the characters don't get all the development they deserve.
Let's start with the fact that Rogue One has quite possibly the best climax we've seen from any Star Wars film ever. I loved the third act of this film so much. Without spoiling anything, I can tell you to expect some amazingly well-shot action sequences that last forever and never get old. There are some truly shocking moments as well that made me really surprised as I was watching the film. Disney knew that this film needed to be darker and more grey than the black-and-white good versus evil of the saga films, and the finale is the best example of them not pulling any punches at all. The battle scenes on the beaches are really incredible and also quite brutal for a PG-13 film. That's not to say that there's blood and gore everywhere like in a traditional war film, but they carry a lot of emotional weight and are also quite terrifying and intense, especially when the AT-ATs come onto the scene. Gareth Edwards shows off his unique sense of scale that we got to see in Godzilla with the way he films these sequences from the perspective of the humans on the ground. It adds a lot to the film's intensity and makes the finale alone worth the price of admission.
The performances in Rogue One are also incredibly solid. Felicity Jones as Jyn Erso shows a lot more subtlety than I thought she would based on the film's trailers, and there were some scenes where the emotional range she showed was impeccable. Her performance also did a good job with not having a rapid turn towards siding with the Rebellion; she had a gradual realization that that is what she needed to do, adding to her character's depth. The supporting Rebels all do a good job as well, with Diego Luna and Donnie Yen being the biggest standouts there. Mads Mikkelsen does great work as Jyn's father and really shows a lot of depth and range. Ben Mendelsohn as Director Krennic, the film's main antagonist, has one of the best performances I've seen from him, ensuring that we see a lot of the complex motives his character has throughout the film.
One thing worth mentioning about the characters of Rogue One is the fan service and connections to both the prequel and original trilogies. There are a lot of tie-ins with A New Hope, which is understandable seeing as Rogue One takes places directly before it. If you've seen the trailers, you know that Darth Vader does make an appearance in this film, and his scenes are done incredibly well. In fact, his first appearance on-screen might be my favorite scene from the entirety of the Star Wars franchise. Several key players in the Rebellion make appearances as well, though I won't spoil any characters in particular. There are a few other surprises in store for fans along the way, and I think most will agree with me on the fact that they don't take away from the film in any meaningful way and at times even add to it.
Another thing that I appreciated about Rogue One was its tone. I expected a very dark film; instead, I got something that felt like the Star Wars of old with some moral ambiguity. This might have been the smartest choice of the entire film; I like darker films, but in Star Wars there needs to be some fun moments. The script does a good job at balancing humor and seriousness, and the comedy is incredibly deadpan and so well-integrated thanks to K-2SO, a Rebel droid portrayed by Alan Tudyk. I like how this is juxtaposed with some of the questionable actions of the rebels early on in the film, as it makes sure Rogue One gets dark but not too dark. The ability of the film to manage its tone like this is quite a feat.
Now, let's talk about the flaws of Rogue One: pacing and character development. In the first act of the film, the setting jumps around a lot more than it should and disrupts the pacing a lot. The story isn't doing a whole lot in these parts of the film either, so these different planets that we're seeing do absolutely nothing besides look cool (which, by the way, they do really well). The characters in the film also don't get the development they deserve. Besides Jyn, there's like a couple ounces of development in the new additions, mostly with Cassian and K-2SO; however, none of the other characters get fleshed out in meaningful and specific ways. It's not that they aren't entertaining to watch; rather, I didn't get that sense of deep emotional attachment that I might have wanted.
That being said, Rogue One is definitely one of the better films I've seen this year. It's not perfect, but it does its job of being entertaining quite well. If you can bear the first act's somewhat lacking pacing and don't mind the lack of character development, you will enjoy it quite a bit; however, in my opinion, the spectacular third act finale is worth the price of admission no matter what you think of the rest of Rogue One. It is a thoroughly enjoyable addition to the Star Wars universe that I'll definitely be seeing again sometime soon.
My recommendation: see it in a theater, the bigger the better.
My grade: 85
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