Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

There are whispers around the galaxy of a new Imperial super-weapon, powerful enough to destroy the Rebellion. Will a rundown team led by careless ex-con Jyn Erso, the daughter of the technological fear’s creator (Mads Mikkelsen), be able to find its plans and save every life?

It takes a pair of Death Star thinking heads to put out a “Star Wars” prequel right now. As George Lucas found out in 1999, targeting fans’ nostalgia heads will only get you so far: you also have to give an experience that feels new. (Seeing how there’s no Gungans will please you.) Gareth Edwards’ “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” which came out a couple of weeks ago, has this at their end with very little mistakes. There are so many series callbacks to satisfy diehard fans, but also a handful of offbeat new characters, amazing visuals and a completely gutsy third act.

James Dyer stated in his review, “The pitch, courtesy of VFX legend John Knoll, ILM’s very own Obi-Wan, is beautifully simple: a World War II men-on-a-mission movie, rejigged for the Star Wars universe. Instead of the guns of Navarone or V-1 rockets, the target is that mother of all giant orbicular firearms, the Death Star. And instead of a pack of army grunts, the heroes that comprise this scraggly suicide squad are a bunch of assorted underdogs from throughout the galaxy.” Upcoming “Star Wars” anthologies, such as the planned Han Solo spinoff, will undeniably be lighter than the main trilogies, but director Gareth Edwards here ups the antics. There aren’t any of the series’ trademark screen wipes and other old editing tools. There is a hilarious robot, one-line spewing K-2S0, played by Alan Tudyk, but his comedy is serious, filled by skeptical sarcasm, rather than slapstick. “Rouge One” is dark and serious: for the first time in the series, it feels like any person, and any droid, is superfluous.

At times the sadness feels like it will take away the fun. Like Luke Skywalker and Rey, heroine Jyn Erso, played by Felicity Jones, has a tragic backstory, meaning she had to grow up alone. Dyer said, “But unlike them she’s a fairly dour screen presence, already battle-hardened when we meet her.” Jones brings remarkable strength, as does Diego Luna as a Rebel intelligence officer with a secret mission, but it’s hard not to compare his character to Solo, or even Dameron. Dyer stated, “In this critical phase of the conflict, quips are in as short supply as kyber crystals.” One of the good things, for the first time in the “Star Wars” franchise a movie strengthens its Eastern roots. The original was influenced by the Kurosawa classic “The Hidden Fortress,” and here Donnie Yen and Jiang Wen play phrases on the same Fortress characters that inspired R2-D2 and C-3P0 in the original (they have a small cameo in here). Yen particularly is completely awesome as the blind Chirrut Imwe, as Dyer stated, “A kind of space-Zatoichi who employs what can only be described as ‘Force-fu’.” It’s a new direction for the series. It’ll be interesting to see if it’s one that gets more attention in upcoming movies.

What “Star Wars” fans love the most, however, is the villains, and this film doesn’t disappoint. Ben Mendelsohn is, as Dyer stated, “gloriously hissable as white-caped, permanently furious Imperial slimeball Director Orson Krennic: when someone pleads with him, “You’re confusing peace with terror.” He sneers back, “Well, you have to start somewhere.”” However, talk after seeing the movie will be about the return of two characters: Darth Vader (who gets to finger-point and Force-choke his way through so many moments) (Spencer Wilding and Daniel Naprous replacing David Prowse, but James Earl Jones is back as the voice) and another iconic original-trilogy villain, Tarkin (Grand Moff for the physical form, while CGI of the late Peter Cushing is shown), back again through CGI. Dyer said, “The latter is very close to escaping the Uncanny Valley and shows just how far digital artistry has come in the past decade. The Dark Lord of the Sith’s appearance is the more impactful, though, undoubtedly contributing a couple of entries to future Best Vader Moments lists, and finally answering the question, “Who would choose to live in a fortress with a lava waterfall?””

Dyer noted, “At points Rogue One does resemble Star Wars bingo: here’s a glass of blue milk, there’s a mouse-robot sound effect, there’s that character you like doing that line he’s famous for. Some of it’s clumsy, some of it’s great (watch out for some ingeniously repurposed archive footage from A New Hope).” However, like “The Force Awakens” before this, the movie gets better the more it detracts from past successes. Unlike “The Force Awakens,” which redid every “Star Wars” cliché as it played, this standalone story fights through a little uneven climax but ends on a high, with a successful third act set on the tropical planet of Scarif. Dyer stated, “Taking its cue from Churchill — “We shall fight them on the beaches” — it’s part heist, part battle, a thundering action spectacle with AT-ATs stomping down palm trees, death troopers splashing in azure waters and some truly surprising twists.” It’s here, when “Rogue One” doesn’t follow the formula and goes rogue itself, that it finally succeeds what it meant to do.

This is the ultimate “Star Wars” fan film, it’s short on oddness but when it starts going there’s plenty of risk-taking and show to promise enough for future standalones. Forest Whitaker and Riz Ahmed are also in the film.

In the end, I personally thought this film was better than “The Force Awakens” because it didn’t feel like it was redoing a past “Star Wars” movie. I give this a 10+, seeing how it felt like a “Star Wars” movie but they made it more dark and warlike. There isn’t any lightsaber fights in this movie, but there is some action that is exciting. If you haven’t seen it yet, go see it. This film takes place between Episodes 3 and 4, and it slides into “A New Hope” beautifully. At the end of the movie, the audience gave an uproarious applause, which is to cue you in that it’s definitely worth checking out.

Alright everyone, check in tomorrow for the finale of “Disney’s Pixar Month.”