By Nadia Ranaputri
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| Source: Comicbook.com |
Director:
Gareth Edwards
Cast: Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, Ben Mendelsohn, Alan Tudyk, Donnie Yen, Riz Ahmed, Jiang Wen, Mads Mikkelsen, and Forest Whitaker.
Cast: Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, Ben Mendelsohn, Alan Tudyk, Donnie Yen, Riz Ahmed, Jiang Wen, Mads Mikkelsen, and Forest Whitaker.
2016 might not be a banger hit for films, but it’s
been a banner year for Disney. From their own animated films that are Zootopia and Moana, to Marvel films with Captain
America: Civil War and Doctor Strange,
Disney is really hitting the streaks. To end it, Disney gives us another film
to end their banner year: Rogue One: A
Star Wars Story.
Being the first film from the already mapped out Star Wars Anthology films, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story takes place
before A New Hope. After the events of
Revenge of the Sith, the galaxy looms
in terror as The Empire takes power with their own superweapon: the Death Star.
With the Empire striking fear with their latest weapon, a group of rebels risk
their lives on the line to fight their way through the Empire and steal the
plans for the Death Star in order to destroy the weapon.
Rogue
One boasts
a pretty impressive and diverse cast on their belt. Felicity Jones shines in
her role as Jyn Erso, both physically and emotionally. Jyn is strong and
clever, but she was no Mary-Sue. Her backstory and how her story starts once
she’s matured gives much needed ground on her character.
Diego Luna’s Cassian Andor was a very interesting
yet mysterious character. You’d think that he’d have a similar kind of charm
like Oscar Isaac’s Poe Dameron in The
Force Awakens, but Cassian is much more stern and grounded. Still, he
ends up to be more a mysterious character for me. I’m not sure if it’s a good
thing or a bad thing, but we’ll get to that later.
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| Source: Dark Horizaons |
As for the film’s villain, Orson Krennic is played
masterfully by Ben Mendelsohn. Some might argue that he might be over the top
at times, but given the fact that Krennic is given a heavy duty that lays great
burden on his shoulders, it does make sense as to why he is what he is. He’s
not exactly a villain whose strength lies on his physical abilities like Darth
Vader or Kylo Ren, but rather on his intelligence and ability to set things
straight.
Speaking of Darth Vader, I’m not going to say
anything other than the fact that he’s there, and that I really dug his scenes. I won’t go beyond that.
And like any other films, there’s bound to be a
standout character, and Rogue One has
two. Alan Tudyk’s K-2SO is a wonderful addition to Star War’s ever expanding
collection of memorable droids. K-2SO provides not only most of the film’s
humor, but also one of the film’s emotional aspects.
The other standout was Donnie Yen as Chirrut Imwe,
the badass monk who steals the screen with his fighting skills as well as some
witty moments. He may not be a Jedi, but he has a lot of hope in the Force,
which becomes a significant aspect during the third act.
In terms of
the storyline, Rogue One is
incredible in its storytelling. It’s a whole new story that’s not afraid to
take chances and go beyond what has already been told. It’s also very grounded
and stands perfectly on its own, despite the references and callbacks from the
previous Star Wars films. What made Rogue One such a standout for me was the tone that they were going for. Rogue One's tone is more grounded, nuanced, and brutal than the other Star Wars films. Out of all, it has the most beautiful cinematography out of all the other installments.
I enjoyed Rogue One more than The Force Awakens solely because of its story and action. As The Force Awakens lacked that freshness in the storytelling due to how similar it was to A New Hope, Rogue One injects a whole new storyline that really stands out. The pacing lags a little here in there, but it does pick up enough pace to keep the story going. It definitely succeeded in creating a brand new chapter in the Star Wars universe whilst also sticking to the familiar beats of a Star Wars film.
I enjoyed Rogue One more than The Force Awakens solely because of its story and action. As The Force Awakens lacked that freshness in the storytelling due to how similar it was to A New Hope, Rogue One injects a whole new storyline that really stands out. The pacing lags a little here in there, but it does pick up enough pace to keep the story going. It definitely succeeded in creating a brand new chapter in the Star Wars universe whilst also sticking to the familiar beats of a Star Wars film.
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| Source: The Cheat Sheet |
The action sequences are also magnificent, save for
a little nitpick I had with the AT-ATs, or whatever they call it in the film (because it's not technically an AT-AT). Rogue One is a literal galactic
battlefield, especially during the third act, which I absolutely loved; where
the stakes feel much higher and the action sequences feel much more visceral as
these characters put their lives on the line for a rebellious cause. There are
also moments of great sacrifice that puts a lump in your throat.
Though Rogue
One has excellent storytelling, its flaws lie within the characterization.
Other than Jyn Erso, not much is really told about the other rebels who joined
the integral mission of stealing the Death Star plans. We are told some general
information, and maybe was enough for some characters. I understand that Rogue One is mainly the story of how the
Rebels managed to steal the Death Star plans, but a little more depth to the
characters would have been the cherry on top. The biggest characterization problem
that I had was with Diego Luna’s Cassian Andor, who I said was a mysterious character.
He is, and I meant that. Yes, he’s one of the rebels fighting for the
Rebellion, but there were some scenes where he does some things that don’t have
a background to back up his actions. It is explained vaguely though by Cassian
himself in the film, but the film never really addressed anything more than
that. By the end of the film, Cassian as a character remains to be mysterious, even though he’s the other lead next to Jyn Erso. If he were
given more background, Cassian would have been a much more compelling character.
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| Source: Entertainment Weekly/ Science Fiction |
On the other hand, there are familiar characters
from both the original and the prequel trilogies, as well as references and
callbacks that never felt out of place and have their purpose in the film.
Unlike Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find
Them, Rogue One has callbacks that
might require one to actually watch the previous films to understand them. Also, the ending ties very well to A New Hope, which really brought a smile to my face.
Would I say that it’s as good as The Empire Strikes Back? For story and action, I’d say yes. Still, I would say that as a whole, I enjoyed Rogue One more than The Force Awakens because of its storytelling and how they handled the action, but when it comes to the characters, The Force Awakens still wins the latter.
Would I say that it’s as good as The Empire Strikes Back? For story and action, I’d say yes. Still, I would say that as a whole, I enjoyed Rogue One more than The Force Awakens because of its storytelling and how they handled the action, but when it comes to the characters, The Force Awakens still wins the latter.
In
all, I had a great time with Rogue One. It has its issues, especially
with the characterizations and a few nitpicks that I have which I won’t spoil.
But Rogue One manages to create its own groove with great storytelling
and Grade A action sequences that are splendid to witness. As Chirrut Imwe says in the trailer:
“Take hold of this moment. The Force is strong.” And despite the
issues that I had with Rogue One, I
did take hold of the moment through every part, because the Force is strong
with this film.
Stars: 4/5
