Rogue One: Just Your Average Star Wars Story

Rating: 5/10 (26 December 2016)

I first want to start off by saying that I am a true fan of the Star Wars movie franchise. They are some of my all-time favorite movies to watch except for the prequel trilogy (they're awful). A New Hope is one of the best movies in cinematic history, and Empire Strikes Back as well as Return of the Jedi are absolutely phenomenal films in their own right. These three films have created a fictional universe, along with one of the most crazy and loyal cult fan bases the world has ever seen. When we learned that more Star Wars films would be created when Disney acquired the Star Wars Franchise, many fans including myself were excited yet, we also had a bad feeling about. I truly believe the fan base was duped when George Lucas created the prequel trilogy. We want more movies but only if they are quality movies. JJ Abrams delivered what fans wanted; He did an awesome job directing and reviving the franchise with Force Awakens this past year. Fast forward a year later, and you have Rogue One, the most average Star Wars movie ever made.
Rogue One wasn't bad, but it wasn't good. There are many things I thought were well done and there are things in the film that were terrible. One of the worst parts of the movie was the entire first hour of the film. The director, Gareth Edwards, did nothing to pull me into the movie. By being a huge Star Wars nerd, I should instantly be engaged in the film simply because it's a Star Wars movie. One of the main reasons this didn't happen was due to the omission of the opening crawl. My brother and I, being the massive Star Wars fans that we are, were incredibly dumbfounded and offended by this. The opening crawl is vintage Star Wars and not having it in the film was a huge mistake. Another reason I was not pulled into the movie was the lack of emotional attachment of Jyn Erso and the other main characters. Unlike the original trilogy and the Force Awakens, there was nothing about the main characters that made me like them and thus I had zero connections with them, therefore, when they all started to die in the amazing climatic battle, I really didn't care all that much. An example of this is seen with Saw Guerra, a great character from Cartoon Network's animated Clone Wars Series. His presence in the film did not do him any justice, and he shouldn't have been in it to begin with. I also thought they could have so much more with Donnie Yen's character. Through him, the film could have explored some of the mythology surrounding the Jedi. The planet of Jedah (the one to be blown up by the death star) is the home world of the Jedi. This idea wasn't explored at all and could have been a real bright spot to the movie without having any actual Jedi in the movie. Overall, the lack of an emotional connection with the main characters really hurt the film in the final act. When I can't even remember the names of the Rogue One fighters when writing this review, it clearly isn't a good sign.
Another major detail that should be noted was the lack of the original Star Wars soundtrack. Soundtracks are what help set apart good movies from award worthy movies (Lord of the Rings, Gladiator, The Last Samurai). Music is played in the background to establish the tone of the scene and dictate how we as the audience are supposed to feel at that specific moment. The original Star Wars soundtrack is so iconic that even a five-year-old child can recognize it. It was clear that it was mostly absent from the movie. For a few scenes, for example when Bail Organa and Darth Vader first appeared, the iconic music was played and as a result, these scenes were some of the most memorable.
While there were many things that upset me about the movie, there were some great things that helped make this film incredibly average. First off, the film was loaded with amazing visuals. Every shot was beautiful and had a purpose in telling the story. Second, the acting was actually very good for the lack of depth for the main characters specifically Ben Mendelshon. Third, the film had great action and especially the final space battle (I didn't care about the fight on the ground with the Rogue One fighters because I had no attachment to the characters as they started to drop like flies). Darth Vader was also used perfectly in the film. Not too much and not too little. The final sequence on the rebel ship as he mowed down the rebel fighters showed us the true powers of the most iconic villain in cinematic history. This was easily the most memorable sequence in the movie for me. Darth Vader's cameo as well as others were some of the bright spots of the movie. Bail Organa, Mon Montha, Moff Tarkin, R2-D2, and C-3PO were the most obvious. Even some of the smaller characters such as Red and Gold Leader were awesome to see in the film that your average moviegoer would not pick up on. However, what shinned the most in Rogue One is how it set up a New Hope. The final ten minutes which included Darth Vader's rampage, the plans moving being transported to the republic ship, and Leia receiving the plans was nothing but perfect.
Overall, I found Rogue One to be very disappointing after last year's release of The Force Awakens. I believe this movie had so much potential as a Star Wars movie but ultimately it failed to live up to its predecessors as it's only an average Star Wars movie.