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rich_jackoAfter a very busy couple of weeks, I finally found time to see Rogue One this morning.
It was, as I surmised from the trailer, a film that was very Star Warsy in a lot of ways, and very different in others. It was good, certainly a damn sight better and fresher than last year'sA New Hope remake The Force Awakens. Yet at the same time there were several aspects which didn't quite work.
Let's start with the positive (and it is mostly positive). We get to see the dark side of the Rebellion. This film doesn't shy away from the truth that war is an ugly business, things go wrong, and sometimes people make cruel choices and tell themselves the ends justify the means. It's a bold depiction. On top of that, we get to see Imperial defectors and even those who are loyal have their own fears and agendas. It's a complex world full of complicated and interesting characters.
Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones) is a damaged heroine, with reasons to hate both the Alliance and the Empire. With greater responsibilities and no Force powers, she's more interesting and easier to empathise with than Episode VII's Rey, while continuing the current welcome trend for showing that anything the boys can do in action movies, the girls can do just as well.
The rest of the motley crew are an untrustworthy and mysterious bunch, headed up by ethically questionable Cassian Andor (Diego Luna), cranky-like-Marvin-but-more-violent tactical droid K-2SO (Alan Tudyk, now seemingly compulsory as a voice actor in every Disney film), and Imperial defector Bodhi Rook (Riz Ahmed, doing a decent job as this film's Finn). The other "good" guys are less well developed, and include a stereotypical fighting monk and a gun-toting mercenary.
For the baddies, Director Krennic (Ben Mendelsohn), despite stalking around swooshing a white cloak, is far more than a cardboard cut-out villain. His former friendship with Jyn's father and his struggles against rivals within the Empire's upper echelons make him a rounded and more vulnerable adversary.
There are cameos from previous cast members, which I can't say much about without veering deep into spoiler territory. Unfortunately, I knew about most of them before going in, which should teach me to stay away from the Internet the next time I fail to see a new Star Wars film on its release date... Story-wise, they work very well and none of them feel shoehorned in. Emotionally, they evoke a quiet cheer the first time a "new old" character appears. Practically, hmmm... Where they are played by on-screen actors or retrieved from archive footage, they work well. Where they are CGI re-creations, they are undoubtedly a great technical achievement, but they are somewhere down in the uncanny valley, and are unlikely to stand the test of time. Still, as a fan, I'm glad they're there.
Unlike Episode VII's village-sized galaxy, Rogue One takes place across an unimaginably vast canvas. In some ways, slightly too vast, which brings me on to the film's flaws. It takes a very long time to get going. The opening act is a confusing mess, seemingly changing planets every few minutes. Star Wars hasn't previously used on-screen captions to introduce locations; their necessity here to follow what's going on only emphasises how haphazard the start of the plot is.
Speaking of which, where the hell is the opening crawl?!? I know this isn't a numbered episode, but some things are essential. I also sorely missed John Williams on score duty. While Michael Giacchino re-uses some of Williams's themes and attempts to emulate him, it's a clumsy effort. The music often overwhelms rather than supports the storytelling. Equally non-Star-Warsy and irritating is the massively excessive use of jerky camera work. There is no excuse for that sort of nonsense.
Despite a slightly shaky start (Sorry, no pun intended!), Rogue One gets better and better as it goes on. The earlier complex plotting coalesces into the legendary events of A New Hope's opening crawl. We get a proper space battle, badly lacking from The Force Awakens. It's a great one too (even if the planet shield and its security code did put me in mind of Spaceballs), reminiscent of the epic battles of Episodes IV and VI while still being full of fresh ideas. We get a ground assault reminiscent of Endor, but with greater danger. And we get a desperate mission by a handful of individuals struggling against impossible odds, deep in the heart of enemy territory. The final act feels properly like a Star Wars film should.
And then there are the last five minutes or so, which I will say nothing about save that they are an awesome piece of cinema. Crowd-pleasing, heart-rending, relentless and brilliant. More like that, please!
As an after note, I must say that watching the film was a slightly bittersweet experience, after the sad passing of Carrie Fisher and her mother, Debbie Reynolds, in the past few days. May the Force be with them, always.
It was, as I surmised from the trailer, a film that was very Star Warsy in a lot of ways, and very different in others. It was good, certainly a damn sight better and fresher than last year's
Let's start with the positive (and it is mostly positive). We get to see the dark side of the Rebellion. This film doesn't shy away from the truth that war is an ugly business, things go wrong, and sometimes people make cruel choices and tell themselves the ends justify the means. It's a bold depiction. On top of that, we get to see Imperial defectors and even those who are loyal have their own fears and agendas. It's a complex world full of complicated and interesting characters.
Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones) is a damaged heroine, with reasons to hate both the Alliance and the Empire. With greater responsibilities and no Force powers, she's more interesting and easier to empathise with than Episode VII's Rey, while continuing the current welcome trend for showing that anything the boys can do in action movies, the girls can do just as well.
The rest of the motley crew are an untrustworthy and mysterious bunch, headed up by ethically questionable Cassian Andor (Diego Luna), cranky-like-Marvin-but-more-violent tactical droid K-2SO (Alan Tudyk, now seemingly compulsory as a voice actor in every Disney film), and Imperial defector Bodhi Rook (Riz Ahmed, doing a decent job as this film's Finn). The other "good" guys are less well developed, and include a stereotypical fighting monk and a gun-toting mercenary.
For the baddies, Director Krennic (Ben Mendelsohn), despite stalking around swooshing a white cloak, is far more than a cardboard cut-out villain. His former friendship with Jyn's father and his struggles against rivals within the Empire's upper echelons make him a rounded and more vulnerable adversary.
There are cameos from previous cast members, which I can't say much about without veering deep into spoiler territory. Unfortunately, I knew about most of them before going in, which should teach me to stay away from the Internet the next time I fail to see a new Star Wars film on its release date... Story-wise, they work very well and none of them feel shoehorned in. Emotionally, they evoke a quiet cheer the first time a "new old" character appears. Practically, hmmm... Where they are played by on-screen actors or retrieved from archive footage, they work well. Where they are CGI re-creations, they are undoubtedly a great technical achievement, but they are somewhere down in the uncanny valley, and are unlikely to stand the test of time. Still, as a fan, I'm glad they're there.
Unlike Episode VII's village-sized galaxy, Rogue One takes place across an unimaginably vast canvas. In some ways, slightly too vast, which brings me on to the film's flaws. It takes a very long time to get going. The opening act is a confusing mess, seemingly changing planets every few minutes. Star Wars hasn't previously used on-screen captions to introduce locations; their necessity here to follow what's going on only emphasises how haphazard the start of the plot is.
Speaking of which, where the hell is the opening crawl?!? I know this isn't a numbered episode, but some things are essential. I also sorely missed John Williams on score duty. While Michael Giacchino re-uses some of Williams's themes and attempts to emulate him, it's a clumsy effort. The music often overwhelms rather than supports the storytelling. Equally non-Star-Warsy and irritating is the massively excessive use of jerky camera work. There is no excuse for that sort of nonsense.
Despite a slightly shaky start (Sorry, no pun intended!), Rogue One gets better and better as it goes on. The earlier complex plotting coalesces into the legendary events of A New Hope's opening crawl. We get a proper space battle, badly lacking from The Force Awakens. It's a great one too (even if the planet shield and its security code did put me in mind of Spaceballs), reminiscent of the epic battles of Episodes IV and VI while still being full of fresh ideas. We get a ground assault reminiscent of Endor, but with greater danger. And we get a desperate mission by a handful of individuals struggling against impossible odds, deep in the heart of enemy territory. The final act feels properly like a Star Wars film should.
And then there are the last five minutes or so, which I will say nothing about save that they are an awesome piece of cinema. Crowd-pleasing, heart-rending, relentless and brilliant. More like that, please!
As an after note, I must say that watching the film was a slightly bittersweet experience, after the sad passing of Carrie Fisher and her mother, Debbie Reynolds, in the past few days. May the Force be with them, always.
