The Prequel That Should Have Been

Rating: 8/10 (13 January 2017)

"Rogue One" is somewhat an anomaly; it's the first non-Episode Star Wars film, set before the events of the original 1977 film, that is meant to show what led up to those events occurring, portraying the mission to retrieve the Death Star plans. The question is, does it live up to what it sets out to accomplish? In my opinion, yes, with a few issues along the way.
One of the things this movie gets right is how much it ties into the Star Wars Universe. You have characters from both the prequel and original trilogy showing up here in the form of cameos or even as main plot devices. While some of these additions can feel forced at times, I would not have taken any of them away, and it reminds how connected this film is to the others.
I also enjoyed, for the most part, the new characters. Felicity Jones does a good job as Jyn Erso and carries the movie well. We get to know a great deal about her backstory and the connection with her father (played by the always awesome Mads Mikkelson), which plays a huge role in the film. Diego Luna does a good job in the supporting character role, and his characters shows you a different side to the rebellion that we haven't seen before. Alan Tudyk is great as the comic-relief robot K-2SO, and Donnie Yen is great as Chirrut Imwe, who was a cool, almost Jedi-like character (he's not, in case anyone is wondering).
The action is intense and fast paced, particularly in the film's final act, which is outstanding. You feel the intensity of every moment and the grittiness of the war that is going on. I'm not sure I would go with those who are saying that is a totally dark movie, but the film does end on a very bittersweet note that actually packed a lot of emotion within it. Visually, the film is also stunning, with most of the visual effects exceeding. Again, I love that they are using both practical and visual effects, something I look forward to see more of in the future.
The film also does something that most prequels (including the Star Wars ones) fail to accomplish: it adds to the original. It fixes plot holes that were found in the original, but it also adds weight to the events found in A New Hope. You understand the gravity of this situation, how important it was and how much sacrifice went into it. It's nice to see this film accomplish that.
And then of course we have to talk about Darth Vader, who plays a small but significant role in the film. This is the first time in the history of Star Wars that I was truly afraid of what Darth Vader could do. He's not in the film much, but nonetheless this is some of the best we've ever seen from the character, making you forget about the whiny Anakin from the prequels.
Of course with any movie, there are flaws, and Rogue One's problems mainly have to do with its story, the character development in particular. There are some characters who were fleshed out fine (Jyn, Cassian, etc.), but then there were others where you didn't really get to learn the motivation behind their actions. I would have liked to have learned more about some of them. I also felt like the story, while overall consistent and well-written, was edited together very oddly. In the beginning of the film, we jumped from several different moments within the span of a couple of minutes. This may be due to the re-shoots that occurred a few months before this film's release, but still, it did feel like it could have been done better.
Also, as good as the visual effects were in this film, there was a case of motion capture that I felt didn't work. I won't reveal which character they recreate, but anytime that character was on screen, it took me out of the movie. Sometimes it looked fine, mostly when the character was standing still, but whenever we saw their mouth move or their facial features, it reminded me of a video game. Another time it was used for a different character and it looked really good, but still, I think the motion capture could have been worked on a bit better.
However, despite my problems with the movie, "Rogue One" is a phenomenal addition to the Star Wars universe and is, in many ways, the prequel that should have been. This is what many people, including myself, wish the Star Wars prequels had been, because not only does it connect the dots between films, it also adds weight and importance to the events of the original Star Wars. It may not be perfect, but with this film, Lucasfilm continues to prove that Star Wars is back and better than it has been in a while.