Rogue One: (A Semblance of) A Star Wars Story

Rating: 6/10 (13 May 2017)

Right off the bat, I am going to clear up the major issue Rogue One: A Star Wars Story presented for me: despite its claim to fame as the story of a fully-fledged suicide mission, it failed utterly and entirely due to the lack of empathy I felt for the Rogue One crew. Despite the heavy-handed 133 minute running time, this movie devoted such little time and attention to character development that it has sadly forced me to dub it "a generic echo of something once great". I was certainly apprehensively excited for this latest installment in the Star Wars universe; however all hopes for an equal to The Force Awakens had fallen flat by around the halfway mark. It meshed well with its predecessors, yet lacking the heart that it so sorely needed, I felt the tons of money poured into visual effects were wasted. Considering the effort, both financial and physical, as is always the case, it definitely fell short.
First off, I'd like to talk about characters. Not only are they integral to every story, but they are especially integral to Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. The rebellion is built on hope, and the film is built on its characters. My pre-sentiments of the movie, gathered from spoilers and marketing, left little to imagination as to the pain and sorrow which surely must swamp its viewers by the final, heartbreaking scenes, detailing the brutal fates of our dearly beloved cast. Yet, surprisingly, not only did the supposedly tragic end disappoint me – it bored me. I read someone's thought someplace that the movie did not rush through its plot – yet I would argue it rushed so much that by the end I felt no connection with the characters! Somewhere else, I read another person's view: "All the characters were introduced very quickly all in one movie and yet by the end I still loved them enough and felt the significance of their sacrifice enough to cry a bit." I wish it had been so, but I sympathize with the first eleven words more than the remainder. It was only too brief. Having seen the film, I barely know any of the characters' names, and why? Because they lacked matured, developed personalities. And so they meant nothing, when they should have meant everything. I should add that I generally disagreed with the cast choice; however, that is my personal preference.
Related to the subject of characters is plot. I find its lack of soul disturbing. I can't personally fathom how many decades of inaccurate storm troopers, smouldering Death Stars and falsely christened nostalgia moments humanity can or will stand – I, for one, am tiring of rehashed synopses. As is wont to happen in real life, people never tire of returning to historical events from all number of viewpoints, and that is essentially what this film does. However, I consider the plot to either lack sufficient material or utilise what it has poorly. The film felt generic, non- engaging and dry. I would suggest that Rogue One: A Star Wars Story manifests Disney's true nature – an avaricious company concerned not with producing original, momentous pictures, but rather with mass- producing template-made blockbusters that draw on cheap emotions in place of deeply rooted tales of virtue and vice.
A great lesson I wish movie-goers would learn: Visual effects, however expensive and impressive, never guarantee a movie's success. This is also true for Rogue One. Surely a large portion of the budget was expended on spaceships crashing into one another, and while that is all nice and well, I consider such efforts wasted and vain in contrast with the film on a whole. Peter Cushing's digital resurrection was a lovely piece of artistry, to be sure – victorious to the degree of convincing unsuspecting viewers of its authenticity – and sometimes the movie- makers use their incredible capabilities for better purpose, such as when they animate the droid K-2SO.
Finally, morals are dangerously dubious. Obviously nothing explicit or obscene is shown throughout the duration of the film, yet disturbingly (and irritatingly) enough, the "spreading of the Force" goes on. I am always relieved when these erroneous religious principles are kept to a bare minimum, yet this story is replete with a conversion to the religiously dualistic belief in the Force, utilitarianism in Cassian's "pragmatic" murder of his friend, and general selfishness on the part of every character. These are subtle, yet mind-altering details.
Altogether, I give Rogue One: A Star Wars Story six stars for good production, a decent if forgettable score, effects and a clever touch of comedy. If I were feeling harsher, I could rate it lower, but I hardly have the heart. Flawed morality, token characters (especially Vader), something trying hard to be nostalgia, and a soulless watch in its entirety see the removal of four stars. I think people need to realise that classics cannot be re-lived in our modern day and age, but rather we need to be forward-thinking, creating original content appropriate for our place in history. I appreciate the "war" element, but largely we are seeing nothing new in this film. Slipping, the Star Wars franchise is.