'SUP, NERDS?!
Jumping from the Star Wars prequel trilogy to Rogue One, there is a huge leap in quality and style. Many people explained that Rogue One is the first modern Star Wars movie that breaks from the safety net Episode VII created-- a common criticism of the first entry of the new trilogy for too closely resembling Episode IV.
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| "A movie can only be good if it looks nice and things go BOOM!" -Jyn Erso |
I don't want to say that Rogue One is a bad movie, but I think it's lacking a lot of qualities that make me think of Star Wars. Perhaps I may be naive because for being a total Star Wars n00b, but I think Rogue One is boring and lacks depth.
Who are they??
My biggest issue with Rogue One is that there are no outstanding characters. I couldn't figure out or remember the name of the protagonists, except Cassian somehow stuck out to me. I'd describe the other characters as "the girl who developed daddy issues" and "the monk guy." Referring to the trusty Wookieepedia, I familiarized myself with the names of the characters just for you. There were probably a few other protagonists that played a great supporting role, but they aren't memorable enough for me to bother mentioning.
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| Who are these dweebs and why should I care?? |
I do love K-2SO, who in my opinion has the most character out of anyone despite being a robot. His smart-assery made me giggle, the insane statistics he spews is wonderful comic relief. It's a shame he has to die.
The Visuals
I do want to give the folks who animated Tarkin a mega-high five because their work blew my mind. It wasn't until after the movie my friend revealed that Tarkin is a character from the original trilogy that was animated for Rogue One. I didn't even realize he was computer generated due to not having the knowledge he was played by an aged actor in the original movies.
On the other hand, Leia who is shown briefly at the end, looked a bit funny to me. Even if you haven't watched Star Wars, the odds that you can name or recognize her character is pretty high. Is it her iconography that made her appear uncanny? Or was less work put into her than Tarkin because she was on the screen for just a split second? What do you think?
Aside from the CGI characters, there's not much else to comment on. The backgrounds and environments look wonderful. We've come a long way since the prequel trilogy.
Lack of Impact
I understand this is a preface to Episode IV, but I don't think Rogue One holds much meaning to a viewer who hasn't watched the entirety of Star Wars. Looking at the story as an outsider, there is a lot of information that relies on watching the others, therefore the film isn't impactful to someone like me. As a stand-alone movie, it feels like a generic sci-fi movie with no payoff.
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| Is he gonna shoot?? Ahhh!!!! |
I upset my friend, who considers this the best Star Wars yet, because I commented that "I don't feel engaged!" about an hour in. It's not until Cassian and Jyn go to Eadu that it remotely "feels like Star Wars." Jyn's interaction with her dying father was very human and one of the more emotional scenes. The story felt very personal and the mood shifted at that point.
The Ending & Residual Corn
The sequence where Jyn and Cassian retrieve the Death Star data is pretty cool. The stakes feel high and I was biting my lips because I wanted the two to escape so they could fall in love, make babies, etc. Unfortunately they die-- and pretty much everyone who supports the effort dies in the final act. I wasn't a big fan of the ending, but I admittedly felt some "feels."
A few things rubbed me in the wrong way, but two particular moments #triggered me: the blatant name-dropping of the movies. The final scene of Rogue One is corny because Leia calls the Death Star plans "hope." If this line was approached more cleverly, I think I would have appreciated this nod to A New Hope, but the line fell flat. The same goes for when Cassian names the party "Rogue One." When a movie is named after a specific line of dialogue, it can either enhance the meaning of the movie or feel like an awkward "nudge and wink" to the audience. I strongly feel the latter.
IN CONCLUSION
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story isn't a bad movie, but it's very hollow if you aren't deeply invested in the series. Maybe if I try watching it again after finishing the original trilogy, I may appreciate it like everyone else. It fails in a sense because it's not welcoming to newcomers and there is no reward.
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| Me knocking out all these nerd-movies. |
The next entry is going straight into the heart of Star Wars... yes, I finally got around to watching Episode IV again. CAN I TELL YOU THAT I'VE NEVER BEEN SO EXCITED TO WATCH A STAR WARS MOVIE IN MY LIFE????? I hope the torture of watching abysmal movies is over!
LATER, DWEEBS!
Loverly Liz
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