Directed by: Gareth Edwards
Starring: Felicity Jones, Mads Mikkelsen, Diego Luna, Riz Ahmed, Donnie Yen, Forest Whitaker, Ben Mendelsohn
Rogue One is an unremarkable footnote in Star Wars lore. It is within the Star Wars universe and features walk-ons by Darth Vader, Grand Moff Tarkin, C3PO, and R2D2, but it does not have the heart or spirit of the better Star Wars films. It was made with hardcore fans in mind. If you ever wanted to know how the Rebellion came to possess the architectural designs for the Death Star, now you know. You won't be much moved, but there it is. The movie satiates fans' desire to see something, anything, with the words Star Wars in the title while waiting for Episode VIII to be released sometime in 2017.
There are battles, gunplay, things blowing up, and bodies flying around, but it is done with little passion and almost by rote. The actors do not give distinguished performances because there is very little for them to be distinguished about. The characters of Jyn Erso, Captain Cassian Andor, and Bodhi Rook pale in comparison to the memorable Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, and others whom have made indelible impressions on pop culture and moviegoers' minds. Rogue One barely has any time to add any dimensions to its characters. There are plans to be stolen and a battle to be fought. The movie forgets that the better Star Wars films include character conflicts with each other and even themselves. Screenwriters Chris Weitz and Tony Gilroy forgot to add the little something extra.
The battle scenes fall black on clichés such as the bad guys firing hundreds of rounds and not being able to touch the heroes, while the heroes fire one shot to knock off a bad guy. There is even Roger Ebert's Fallacy of the Talking Killer in the flesh. A villain has the hero cornered and instead of just pulling the trigger and obliterating the hero, he pauses to ask questions and explain things, giving someone else just enough time to bail out the hero. Computers helpfully tell the heroes what needs to be done in order to fix a problem, "Antenna needs alignment. Antenna needs alignment."
The plot involves Jyn Erso (Jones), whose father (Mikkelsen) is coerced by the Empire to build the Death Star (which is subsequently blown up in Star Wars and again in Return of the Jedi). The odd part is: Jyn's father sabotages the project secretly by ensuring a way in which the station can be destroyed. This weakness is exploited by the Rebellion in the first Star Wars and the Death Star is obliterated. Two movies later, the Empire builds the Death Star again with the same weakness still intact! Didn't they learn from their mistakes? Isn't it also odd the Death Star designs are kept in a computerized storage facility on a distant planet? Wouldn't they be easier to guard if they were kept in the Death Star itself? Or closer by?
Rogue One takes place prior to the events of the first Star Wars, so there is little suspense as to whether the Rebels will succeed in their efforts to obtain the plans. My overriding question is: Do we really need to know every story connecting the events in previous Star Wars films? What's next? Greedo's origins? Han Solo's? Before you scoff, there is a Han Solo origins movie in the works. For all I know, a Greedo movie or even Chewbacca: The Early Years is in development. Some stories are better left untold. Rogue One is well made from a visual standpoint. The filmmakers are professional enough not to allow the production to fall below a certain standard. But even those visuals, like the rest of Rogue One, will be likely forgotten. There are better Star Wars stories.
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