“I’m one with the Force, and the Force is with me.” —Chirrut
Today’s quick review: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones), the daughter of an Imperial scientist (Mads Mikkelsen), gets drawn into the Rebellion when her father sends word that the Empire is building a superweapon capable of destroying planets. The Rebellion sends Jyn along with Cassian Andor (Diego Luna), a Rebel spy, and K-2SO (Alan Tudyk), a reprogrammed Imperial droid, to steal the plans for the weapon and rescue her father.
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is a science fiction adventure with a dark tone and high production values. Rogue One serves as a direct prequel to Star Wars: Episode IV and chronicles the mission to capture the Death Star plans from the Empire. The movie features a capable ensemble cast, a well-structured plot, and an impressive amount of action. However, its gritty tone and marginal amount of character development may disappoint some viewers.
Rogue One breaks with many Star Wars traditions. Gone are the opening title crawl, the diagonal wipes, the Sith and the Jedi, and the unambiguous morality. Instead, Rogue One opts for a modern presentation style, a cast of antiheroes, and a serious story that has more in common with a war movie than a space opera. The departure from the rest of the franchise carves out a niche for Rogue One that it fills out nicely.
Rogue One benefits from rock-solid craftsmanship and the production values to back up its vision. The supporting cast includes such familiar faces as Mads Mikkelsen, Forest Whitaker, Alan Tudyk, and Donnie Yen. The setting is a credible recreation of the world of Episode IV, but with a harder edge, a couple of new innovations, and the benefit of modern special effects. The action starts as a drizzle but grows into a downpour by the film’s second half.
One of Rogue One’s chief merits is its plot. The story dovetails neatly with the original Star Wars trilogy, expanding on aspects of its plot without overshadowing its main storyline. Rogue One’s plot progression ensures that its characters are always in motion; their clear objectives and daunting obstacles make for an engaging, well-paced action film. The risk of linearity is offset by a variety of twists and detours along the way.
Rogue One does have slight shortcomings in the character department. Apart from an excellent, sarcastic performance by Alan Tudyk, none of the characters are all that remarkable. Seen as brief, vivid sketches, they fill their roles quite well. But only Jyn and perhaps Cassian are given more than the bare minimum of development. The focus of the film is on its plot rather than the growth of any one hero.
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is an innovative movie that casts a familiar universe in a new light. Its solid fundamentals let it stand on its own as a fine example of military-flavored science fiction, while its ties to the original trilogy let it unobtrusively expand on the Star Wars canon. Rogue One is well worth a watch for any fans of the sci-fi genre. Those hoping for a bright adventure in the Star Wars tradition will want to steer well clear.
7.8 out of 10 on IMDB. I give it an 8.0 for a robust and well-executed vision.