Five-Word Review: Sufficiently Different, Enjoyable, Solid Film

Rating: 8/10 (15 December 2016)

Kicking off the Star Wars universe's foray into spin-offs, Rogue One serves as an almost gritty tale of war and sacrifice, as some rogue members of the Rebel Alliance fight against the threat of the Empire's Death Star, by attempting to steal the plans and exploit its weaknesses. An ensemble cast scattered with familiar faces makes up the character list, with a couple of surprise appearances thrown in.
In fact the film is full of fan service and callbacks. What the film manages to do very well is combine the familiar self-referential Star-Wars-y elements with the new style and expanded world. The references and tie-ins don't become too much, either.
This is best exemplified by the much-anticipated appearance of Darth Vader, who is kept satisfyingly hidden for the most part, the dread surrounding him being slowly built up, and this allows the new cast to take centre stage. When he does show up, he steals the show, including one scene whose terrifying Vader portrayal ranks among the best imagery in the series so far.
Some other characters show up - Peter Cushing's CGI revival, though controversial to some, boasts some impressive visual work and eventually manages to overcome being initially jarring. It's worth it to see such a wonderfully villainous character come back to life, even if the character is perhaps utilised more than is necessary.
The best thing about Rogue One, though, is the style. Despite being burdened by the mammoth series with which it is associated, the film still manages to implement its own style, which is unlike any other film in its series, being close to gritty at times, and far more realistic. In spite of all the references and returning characters, it's not often like the other Star Wars films.
The colour palette is darker, the mood more sombre, the main character plot armour almost non-existent. Nor are there any magical wunderkinds upon whom the entire fate of the galaxy rests due to an ancient prophecy - just resourceful and determined people who are dedicated and good at what they do.
This doesn't make up for the disappointing one-dimension-ality of the majority of the characters. Felicity Jones does a stellar job as the lead, especially given some of the rather uninspired dialogue, whilst Alan Tudyk and Ben Mendelsohn (whose character is well set up as having ambition but no military mind) are rather good, but too many of the characters are not even memorable enough to remember their name, even taking into account cool traits such as the wise, blind old Force user played by Donnie Yen.
It's a bit of a shame given the talent of actors such as Riz Ahmed, Forest Whitaker (overacting like there's no tomorrow), and Mads Mikkelsen, but the film simply has too many characters to devote time to each, resulting in a rather disjointed final product, at least in the first third.
Though these flaws must be acknowledged, they do not detract too much from a film which is fundamentally enjoyable, and never bores. It zips from location to location and character to character, and remains fun, with an easily accessible and genuinely involving, intriguing plot. The ending also manages a near-perfect connection to Episode IV, with just the right amount of tie-in to not be overdone and also satisfy fans. In fact, it can be spliced almost seamlessly to the next chapter of the story and be coherent.
All in all, even though it can't quite match the pure thrills and initial excitement of The Force Awakens, it's ultimately probably a better film: less corporate and safe, at least somewhat, and hopefully indicative of the path these spin-off Star Wars films will take. With Rogue One's rather unique take on the war film, I am now eagerly anticipating the comedic possibilities of the Lord/Miller Han Solo film, purportedly close in style to a western. Beyond that, the possibilities are endless, as long as Disney allows its directors more freedom and autonomy to make their creative marks.
One of the better films in a lacklustre year, and definitely worth watching. 82/100