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Movie Review: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
By Sandra Olmsted
Sometimes the backstory should remain the backstory, and that, for me, is the case with this latest installment in the Star Wars saga. The film opens with a compelling snippet of story about a little girl named Jyn Erso, her scientist father, and a villain, Imperial Director Orson Krennic (Ben Mendelsohn). All three figure heavily in the film’s plot. Despite this promising opening sequence, director Gareth Edwards, abandons creating a sympathetic connection with the child Jyn, who suddenly becomes an adult and the main character.
Edward opts for a whirlwind tour of locations which will only be significant to ardent fans. These too-quick flashes of characters and actions occurring in this inept travelogue of the Empire are merely disorienting. Worse, the travelogue creates a disconnect with Jyn (Felicity Jones), who is now in prison for some reason. Good filmmaking is about emotion, and without an emotional connection with Jyn, the story is just noisy battles and special effects.
The Rebellion rescues Jyn from a transport to a slave labor planet, but then is willing to throw her back if she doesn’t help them get to Saw Gerrera (Forest Whitaker). Jyn eventually begins a quest with the Rebellion to contact Saw, who saved her. The Rebellion leaders want Saw to give them a pilot with intel about a new weapon created by Jyn’s father, Galen Erso (Mads Mikkelsen). Jyn is in the company of Cassian Andor (Diego Luna), a Rebellion military leader, and his reprogrammed Imperial droid, K-2SO (Alan Tudyk), who steals every scene.
During their quest, which evolves into getting the plans for the weapon that can destroy a planet, the trio encounter and join force with a host of marvelous characters and even become interesting and sympathetic themselves. Instead of making the audience care about the characters and their challenges, Edwards relies on the shorthand of labeling them victims and Rebels. Edwards knows how to create good character because he does so with other characters, including the Jedi-wannabe Chirrut Îmwe (Donnie Yen). Without spoiling the film for anyone, I will say that perhaps Edwards chose not to let the audience get attached to the characters; however, grieving characters who die can be compelling.
The film includes the return of many old favorites, both characters and actors, such as Carrie Fisher and James Earl Jones. However, the film lacks the soul of the original Star Wars trilogy. In incongruous juxtapositions, the film references too many other films: battle scenes evoke innumerable WWII films; settings borrow from The Lord of the Rings trilogy, and the characters resemble ones in the Mad Max films.
In one of the opening shots, the wires controlling the Imperial plane are visible, which should never happen when the scene allows plenty of time to analyze the special effects. While the acting, most of the special effects, and the way the story fits into the mythology of Star Wars are excellent, the flaw in this film is with Edward’s direction.
Fans should see the film, but those who are new to the Star Wars saga might be lost. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is rated PG-13 for extended sequences of sci-fi violence and action and runs 133 minutes. This Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures release opens in theaters Friday, Dec. 16.
