Fan service, fan service...

Rating: 8/10 (16 December 2016)

"Rogue One" is the first of (probably) many side installments in the form of films in the Star Wars universe. Its reason of being is clear and, for once, legitimate: to explain how Leia got the info about a weakness in the Death Star and how to destroy it. Decades of discussions spun out of what many called a plot-hole, but which happens to be closed by this film. I won't get into the details because f*ck spoilers, but what they came up with is a half-satisfactory reason, which makes half-sense after thinking about it. Everything surrounding this purpose is more or less the basic plot of any blockbuster introducing "new" characters: the tough girl, tough boy, a funny stooge (as any SW film, a droid), and a few others. Actually, it's the few others that make for an enjoyable bunch, as Jyn Erso and (especially!) Cassian Andor are some of the most linear characters I've seen in some time; on the other hand, Chirrut, Baze and K2, while not being especially memorable, are fun to watch and get to you on the long run. The plot itself is nothing special: just another shoot-out, another space battle, another base infiltration, same old, same old. Also, two great actors such as Mads Mikkelsen and Forest Whitaker are criminally underused for criminally badly written characters. Only the final moments of the movie are particularly well staged, with an ending that managed to shock me -and, thus, please me- quite a bit.
When watching a sci-fi and more specifically a Star Wars entry, special effects and awe-inspiring visuals are vital. And "Rogue One" might very well be THE best one yet on this account, even surpassing Episode VII. A pretty bad story is structured so that the most awesome scenes could be made, and they are just as incredible as they should. Maybe the classic space battle near the end of the film could've been slightly better staged, though. There are two characters from the original trilogy that come back for this movie in the splendor of CGI: the one taking some time on screen is so well made that I could hardly realize it wasn't an actual person. The other, appearing at the very end, SUCKS TERRIBLY. He/she looks like a play dough doll, really shameful.
With its highs and lows, "Rogue One" is not an extremely memorable Star Wars film, being better than the prequel trilogy (and that is no hard task, if you ask me), but worse than any other (and that is not strange either). Hopeful and excited for next year's Episode VIII!