Principal Cast : Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, Ben Mendelsohn, Donnie Yen, Mads Mikkelsen, Alan Tudyk, Riz Ahmed, Jian Wen, Forest Whitaker, Genevieve O’Reilly, Jimmy Smitts, Anthony Daniels, voice of James Earl Jones.
Synopsis: A group of rebels attempt to steal the plans for the Empire’s new Death Star.
*******
This review contains mild spoilers about Rogue One. It does not reveal specific twists or surprises, but does convey elements of the film’s plot that some readers might consider too revealing for their tastes.
The second of Disney’s Star Wars films, following JJ Abrams’ blockbusting The Force Awakens in 2015, Rogue One represents a departure for the feature films in that it’s not a continuation of the “Episode” films, revolving around the Skywalker family, but an anthology film – set within the Star Wars universe and features a whole new set of characters. Set immediately prior to 1977’s Star Wars: A New Hope, Rogue One is intended as a stand-alone film designed to fill-in-the-gaps of the franchise’s sprawling mythology by giving us a glimpse into the events only hinted at in exposition in George Lucas’ original movie. Now, one might argue that the film’s status as a “prequel” to the original trilogy is a concern, given the wallowing depths plumbed by the astonishingly dire Lucas-helmed Prequel Trilogy from the turn of the century, but now that the franchise has been wrested from the hands of its creator, Star Wars is in a very good position to recapture the allure, adventure and fun we’ve come to expect.
Without question, Rogue One is a splendid film. It’s nowhere near the vaunted status of The Empire Strikes Back, mind, but it’s easily one of the best films the franchise has throw our way in many a long year. While no means perfect (more on this in a bit), Godzilla director Gareth Edwards’ operatic entry into the franchise’s canon contains plenty of humour, some solid action set-pieces, and a surprising emotional resonance I wasn’t expecting. Like Abrams before him, Edwards “gets” the sandbox he’s playing in because it’s the saga that influenced him most as a kid, and equal to The Force Awakens’ fan-service-heavy exceptionalism, Rogue One’s slow-build tension-driven narrative explodes into a wartime free-for-all between the Empire and Rebel forces that will make long-time fans pump the air in delight.
Rogue One’s chief villain is Director Krennic, essayed by a steely eyed Ben Mendelsohn. Krennic is a weasel, a ladder-climbing lackey with delusions of grandeur, and Mendelsohn gives him the requisite amount of snivelling conniving – his continued beat-down by his superiors is testament to his lack of real power – without coming across as hokey or farcically melodramatic. He wants his due, wants to rise higher within the Empire, but even his overseeing of the Death Star’s construction isn’t enough to guarantee a spot in the Emperor’s court. In many ways, Krennic is a largely sympathetic character, driven by ego and desire without an ounce of compassion, but you feel his failure and that’s mainly due to Mendelsohn’s terrific intensity.
Secondary roles to action star Donnie Yen, as a Force-attuned blind non-Jedi warrior, and his partner in the form of Jian Wen’s tank-like Baze Malbus (who sports the Star Wars equivalent of a Predator-esque mini-gun for the whole film), as well as Alan Tudyk’s scene-stealing new droid, K-2SO, and Riz Ahmed’s criminally underwritten defected Imperial pilot, flesh out the cast with competent performers in roles that form a proscenium arch of archetypal design, and while you innately get the sense on who – if any – will make it out the other end of this film alive, having these actors aboard gives the film a sense of scale.
Speaking of scale, Rogue One is possibly the most widescreen of all Star Wars films to-date, given the manner in which Edwards balances the smaller moments with the bone-crunching shudders of the various combat sequences. While the ground assault carried off by the titular rogues is designed to emulate a Saving Private Ryan sense of visceral terror, the space-bound aerial sequences, in which Imperial Star Destroyers, TIE Fighters and the Rebels’ X-Wing forces engage in one of the saga’s best ever dogfights, and it’s the film’s final third in which Edwards elevates this from merely another generic action spectacle into the resounding success he does. Edwards knows large-scale effects, and he brings weight and physics to bear in Rogue One’s earth-shattering destruction. The Imperial AT-AT walkers from Empire Strikes Back make an appearance, glimpses of franchise touchstones are squeezed into many a frame (crowd scenes alone will be freeze-framed to death in future, I wager) and the callbacks to A New Hope’s blockade-runner opening are obviously included. Edwards understands spectacle and goes all-out to deliver a fast-paced action flick when it’s called for, peppered with moments of character that – in my opinion – work more than they fail.
Significant spoilers in invisi-text below… Highlight the below area to read more!
One of the main issues I had with Rogue One wasn’t so much the story, or the new characters, but rather a key returning character; in Rogue One, considerable CG artisanship is employed in resurrecting a long dead actor by the name of Peter Cushing, who played Tarkin in A New Hope (before he was blown to smithereens in that film’s climactic fury). Using state-of-the-art digital effects, and unused footage from A New Hope, Edwards inserts Tarkin into Rogue One’s narrative that feels effective but inhabits Uncanny Valley far too much. For all those people who hated the humanoid renderings of Zemeckis’ Polar Express or Beowulf, a resurrected Peter Cushing feels just a bit too clever for its own good; it’s an effect which is certainly overused within the context of this film. I’m also wondering if it’ll stand up in about 20 years time. I think maybe not. A caveat to this, however, is the delivery of the film’s final line, uttered by another returning franchise player, digitally manipulated to bridge the gap with A New Hope. This moment, in particular, nearly made me tear up.
End major spoilers.
With the exception of its only major droid player, K-2SO, Rogue One boasts no new character who becomes instantly memorable. I suspect this is partly because the film is so driven by its ensemble it forgets to focus on a single character for more than a moment – despite a pre-title sequence involving the Erso family and a young Jyn’s escape from death at the hands of Krennic – and if there’s a long-term issue with the film this is probably it. Despite this, however, Rogue One offers thrills, laughs, a few “oh shit!” moments (colliding Star Destroyers, anyone?) and a kinetic, visceral return to the halcyon days of the saga’s most gritty aesthetic. As a prequel to A New Hope we know how the story has to end, and to his credit Edwards makes the film as legitimately tense as he possibly can, and as with Abrams’ style on The Force Awakens there’s a keen edged sense of realism in place of clunky CG sets and sequences, a la the Prequel Trilogy. It plays as a perfect starter to A New Hope (ending where that film kicks off) and actually makes the start of the ’77 film more emotional because of what occurs immediately before it. Which is an achievement in itself.
It’s not perfect, but I enjoyed myself. Nice review.
Thanks mate, Same to you!
Fantastic review. It definitely went beyond my expectations. Really anxious to give it another look next week. This time it will be with my kids which should add to the fun.
Sadly, my kids aren't old enough to appreciate the darker SW films (they've seen ANH and TPM) but I can't wait to watch them watch this for the first time. The poor kid in front of me at my screening kept covering his eyes but he seemed to enjoy it. Cannot wait to get this home on Blu for some serious volume testing… LOL