Battlefront: A Star Wars Story

Rating: 8/10 (3 January 2017)

Disney looks to further cash in on its four billion dollar investment by making a prequel that precedes the events of "Star Wars: A New Hope." "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" chronicles the daring mission the rebel spies undertook to steal the Death Star plans. Rogue One has what you would expect: amazing special effects, exhilarating action, engaging story, and fine performances, but also adds rare complexity, grittiness, and easter eggs that does the old films justice. Yet what holds it back from topping last year's "The Force Awakens" is its erroneous mindset that bigger is better, its narrative flaws, and its awkward flow the ending leaves for "A New Hope."
"Rogue One" delivers on what fans wanted. The action scenes are gripping and capture the same intensity as a war movie. The special effects are state of the art, as usual. The story is exciting and patches up the plot hole from the first film of an all-powerful Death Star having such an exploitable weakness. The acting and writing are also perfectly fine. Director Gareth Edwards displays a meticulous attention to detail (like making sure the costumes and technologies fit well with the original films). He also never misses a moment for easter eggs and Star Wars nerdom (Red Five, old X-wing pilots to name a few). "Rogue One" takes the next step in its franchise's filmography with its darker tone, war movie-like battles, and deeper thought-provoking themes. Having the rebellion vs Empire feud not seem so black and white was another great aspect because it offered for some rare complexity we normally don't see in a Star Wars movie.
"Rogue One" features a whole new entourage of characters with a few familiar cameos. Some of the most memorable are Donnie Yen's blind yet still lethal 'Force' enthusiast Chirrut ÃŽmwe (who supplies the funniest line in the movie). Also there is the ambitious and cunning Orson Krennic played brilliantly by Ben Mendelsohn. There are plenty of others but those two are my personal favorite. The only problem with these characters is that you don't feel as emotionally attached to them as you did with the characters in the original trilogy, and even "The Force Awakens," making for a less effective conclusion.
Though just like "The Force Awakens," the film was never going to be perfect because Edwards (maybe the studio) chose to deliver the fans what they wanted instead of what they needed. The biggest gripe with this film is the obligatory final act. The final act doesn't flow well with the timeline of "A New Hope." The battle is so grandiose in its ambitions that it fails to logically set up "A New Hope." So then "A New Hope" would start out where Princess Leia is like "we are on a diplomatic mission to Alderaan," and Darth Vader be like "b@!$h you just blew up half our fleet!" The scene that perfectly epitomizes the unnecessary overkill and pompousness of the third act was when Darth Vader wrecks twenty rebel soldiers who were trying to safely deliver the Death Star plans. The scene was completely unnecessary, and total overkill. It had potential to be the best scene in the movie but just fell flat and arguably was the worst scene in the movie. Also, the whole thing with the majority of the Rebel council declining the decision to attack Scariff was a bit ridiculous because they decided not to attack, then all of a sudden they send in a huge fleet to get the plans based off some sketchy criminal's claims (Jyn in this case). Like really, they risk all of that without any proof that Jyn is telling the truth.
"Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" was like the video game Star Wars Battlefront. It was all-out war between pawns. It focused completely on the Rebel Alliance's struggle against the Empire. It had no Jedi story lines, lightsaber duels or any sign of the Force. It was all about the grunts fighting in this war, and really excelled with its depiction of warfare and how the rebellion affected these characters. Exploring new themes and bringing a war movie-feel really helped this film feel refreshingly new. Yet it suffered from its lofty ambitions to wow its audience with huge space battles that maimed the continuity it had with "A New Hope." Overall "Rogue One" is another success and satisfied its audience with enough Star Wars magic to overcome its flaws. This was a good appetizer until we get the full meal in "Star Wars: Episode VIII."