Way more than just hope

Rating: 10/10 (25 December 2016)

As a long time fan of Star Wars I was extremely exited to see Rogue one, not just because it was another SW movie; a simple continuation of the saga, but something different and unexpected. Hopes were extremely high, expectations were huge and I must say that all of them were superseded.
First of all, the story itself is spectacular. The idea and premise are simple: how the rebels stole the plans to destroy the Death star. Now, it seems quite fun and entertaining, but the result is a dark war drama resembling Saving private Ryan. The way the story is told is quite intriguing. The very pacing of the movie is interesting and the contrast of the first and second hour of the movie is spectacular. The first hour is quite slow and drags on, introduces us to the characters, a few old and a bunch of new ones. We learn about their past, their ideals, fears and desires. It may not seem like there is much background to the characters at first, but the more one contemplates about it, the more vivid it becomes how layered they actually are. Every location the characters visit in the first hour of the movie has a different atmosphere and ambient. The very contrast between them is astounding, as well as how much each time they visit another planet one learns about each character. Also, it is important to emphasize that all of those locations and battles that take place there resemble a specific historic real world battle or war (e.g. Vietnam; Iraq; Afghanistan...). Then we get to the second hour of the movie, where (and I am understating it) the greatest space battle ever made in history takes place. So, in contrast to the first very slow and dramatic part, the second one rips every nerve in the viewers body. But, the most interesting element is the pacing that Edwards uses to achieve that effect. Everything starts slow, sort of drags on etc. And then, at one point he just starts to build up not only the tension but the visual spectacle and emotions. The movie culminates with one of the most nerve wrecking sequence ever made, giving every one the chill along their spine. Not only will the old SW fans be astonished, but even the new fans will find that one special scene the highlight not only of the movie or this year, but of the last decade.
Giving the highlight of the movie (story, pace, contrasts and ending), some of the weaker points include acting, editing and music. In my opinion, there was a complete miscast of Jones as the lead, and a complete under use of Whitaker and Mikkelsen. Still Mendelsohn was properly used and he did a decent job. The problem was that the characters themselves were not the main focus of the movie so they did not receive that much attention. This is a big flaw to the movie but taking into account that no one really cared about them compared to how much everyone was interested in the story, it is slightly forgivable. So, a stronger female lead should have been used, more focus, especially in the first part of the movie, should have been given to the characters and the result would have been a more emotional response from the audience in the very end (considering it is extremely emotional as is).
As for the editing, the crossing over from one planet to the next, taking the story forward could have been done in a finer manner. It feels a bit rough and unpolished, but not in a way that it destroys the overall impact of the movie.
The music on the other hand, was going over the top. Almost all of the original tunes can be spotted, but non of them were pulled to the end so that they become the original fan favorite tune. Besides that, the real problem is that the movie lacks an original theme. Going out of the cinema, one just cannot whistle an original tune and that sort of strikes the viewer out of balance.
All in all, Rogue one is by far the best movie of the year, it is something true SW fans have been waiting for over 30 years. It feels, looks like, sounds like and plays out just like and original SW movie and that is its main quality. A spectacular story with unprecedented space battles and a superb ending that I would recommend to all SW fans as a must see, and to all non fans as a spectacular war drama.
The Force is really with this movie.