Enjoyable

Rating: 7/10 (30 January 2018)

Ever since George Lucas created the first Star Wars movie, A New Hope, millions of people have fallen in love with the classic good vs. evil dynamic that has been very straightforward from the beginning. Rogue One has finally broken the cut-and-dry mold that has been, in my opinion, the downfall of every Star Wars movie. While this is arguably the best Star Wars movie to date it is also painfully similar, almost to the point of redundancy, to every film prior to it. From the harsh background of the main characters, the seemingly all-powerful villain, to the fact that R2-D2 and C-3PO make a guest appearance; watching this movie felt like I was rehashing all of the Star Wars movies that I grew up loving. There were many redeeming qualities however, the graphics and special effects used to make the alien planets won me over. Comparing the Empire to the current administration in the United States and the Rebellion to all those opposed to the current administration, I feel like the choice of planets was impeccable. Many of the places the rebels were camping out were barren planets with very harsh conditions to live, with Jedha being incredibly overpopulated and crowded. On the contrary the planet commanded by the Empire, Scarif, is beautiful, tropical, and pristine. With this being a Star Wars movie I was slightly disappointed with the lack of lightsaber scenes; however, the one that was added topped the cake in terms of Vader's fight scenes. Again, I contribute this to the advancements in special effects and CGI. The themes of sacrifice, faith in the greater good, and disobedience made this film more than the typical Star Wars movie every one was expecting, and was key in making it so successful. I feel like having a more realistic ending, ie: killing all of the main characters, transformed this movie from the feel-good campy Star Wars movie everyone knows and expects into a brand new war film with a lot to offer.