Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)

'Rogue One' is directed by Gareth Edwards and stars Felicity Jones, Forrest Whitaker, and Mads Mikkelson and is the story of how exactly the Rebel Alliance got a hold of the Death Star plans in 'Episode IV: A New Hope'. Going into the film at first, I wasn't sure what was going to happen exactly. This is not a typical film in the series, from the lack of a roman numeral to the composer so the odds could have gone either way here, and for the most part the film succeeds and I have to say it is a superior film to last year's 'The Force Awakens' and I'll stand by that opinion folks.

Here's why: the film does not solely rely upon the nostalgia of the original film to tell its story, but rather it works as a perfect companion piece and builds more blocks upon the lore rather than slightly taking it up a notch. Now, don't get me wrong folks there is nothing wrong with 'The Force Awakens' and I'm not saying it's an awful film or anything like that, but like 2015's 'Jurassic World', once I took off my glasses I had some time to think and realize that much of the same road was traveled in both films. 'Rogue One' also keeps what made 'Force Awakens' work in addition to the companion pieces, including a great sense of humor and some strong performances.

The thing I truly love about this film is it's darker tone and the gritty reality of it all. For a film called 'Star Wars' it's rather astounding that it took so long for the series to depict the more horrific aspects of war and this is shown here from both sides in all its ugly glory. You see the sheer brutality and cruelty of the Empire, while at the other end you see the sometimes heavy burdens that the Alliance must do in a lesser of two evils scenario. You also see representations of some of the world's most infamous wars of the real world, including Vietnam, World War II, and even the modern battles with ISIS. This can sometimes come off as a bit jarring but it serves the story and doesn't really stand out except among those who really pay attention to such things such as myself.

I have to be a bit nitpicky here, but it really is the major flaw of the film and that is the score by composer Michael Giacchino. This movie proves 100% beyond a shadow of a doubt that no one will ever be able to replace John Williams in this franchise and I will truly be sad to see that day remain a permanant one. The score is really not awful, but it's not 'Star Wars'. It lacks the whimsy, the heart pounding tones during the heaviest action that the other films had and while 'Jurassic World's' score by Giacchino was serviceable in that film, here his Williams-Esque score just didn't work for me.

Without spoiling too much, I wanted to bring up the single most impressive moment in 'Rogue One'. It's a special effect that brings a long dead actor back to stunning life and while I won't say who and you may already know who I'm talking about but I just had to mention it in this review as it IS the single most impressive computer generated effect I have ever seen in the history of film and that is something I do not say with carelessness. Trust me, it's damned impressive to say the least. The overall point is, you need to see 'Rogue One'. Gareth Edwards' 'Godzilla' film left fans of that long running franchise feeling rather bummed but here he redeems himself in spades. This is the most impressive film since the original trilogy and highly recommended.

(Buy The Soundtrack)

 

(Buy The Poster)

(Check Out The Art Book)