You know, growing up I never thought much about the ending to A New Hope. They shoot two proton torpedoes into a little opening on the exterior of the Death Star and BOOM! I saw the movie when I was a kid and as I grew up I never gave it one second thought. That's just how it was. To kill a Death Star you shoot into a hole and it blows up. It wasn't until I watched the FAMILY GUY spoof BLUE HARVEST that I started to realize how convenient the solution to A New Hope actually is. That's a pretty major design flaw. Can't you put a piece of plywood over it at least?
Rogue One explains the existence of such a crazy and convenient structural design flaw. It's almost as if the writers watched Blue Harvest, laughed, and then afterwards started brainstorming why the Death Star was built the way it was.
THE PLOT
The Empire is building a super weapon capable of ending the Rebellion in one fell swoop. A covert group of rebels attempt to break into an Empire stronghold and steal the blueprints to the new super weapon thereby enabling them to defeat it.
WHAT I LIKED
The Acting. I thought everyone in the film did a great job with the acting. Felicity Jones was a strong lead for the film and her character's motivations were clearly defined. Alan Tudyk as K-2SO was the scene stealer for me. He made B-B8 and the other droids in the franchise seem obsolete by comparison. Donny Yen's characterization I could see turning some people off. Is he serious? Is he funny? Would you pick one already! I didn't mind him though. Mads Mikkelsen, at last playing a good guy, was amazing too. I wish we could've spent more time with his character.
The Empire. If you've seen the trailers then it's no secret Darth Vader is in the movie. And he is easily the best part of it (in my opinion). Vader's scenes were powerful and chilling. I'd go see this movie again just to see Darth Vader. Also featured for the Empire is Grand Moff Tarkin, originally played by one of my all-time favorites, Peter Cushing. Sadly Peter Cushing has been deceased since 1994. Actor Guy Henry plays Tarkin in Rogue One and his face is digitally removed and replaced with Peter Cushing's face. Every time Tarkin was on screen I was overjoyed. It was as if I were seeing a new Peter Cushing movie.
The Seamlessness. I was impressed by how well this film matches with 1977's A New Hope. And not just Episode IV. This film has direct connectivity to the Prequels as well. I was delighted to pick out all the little cameos of various characters peppered here and there. One of the worries for Rogue One could've been that it may have undercut the events of A New Hope in some unforeseen way. I felt that this movie not only showed great respect for the original film but also served to enhance it. For a movie with an extremely rigid framework for which to work within I thought they did a fantastic job. This movie could've easily overstepped its bounds and and gone too far or not far enough. As it is I feel they nailed.
NITPICKS
I am no Star Wars fanatic. I grew up on the original trilogy and love the movies, but I wouldn't say I bleed Star Wars by any means. I thought The Force Awakens was merely "Okay." I liked it but I wasn't blown away like everyone else. And these are nobody else's opinions but my own. And Admittedly I probably don't know what I'm talking about. So if I piss you off just say to yourself, he's in the minority and doesn't know his backside from a hole in the ground.
I liked that James Earl Jones did the voice for Darth Vader again, but he sounded his age. By that I mean he didn't sound like Darth Vader but rather an elderly James Earl Jones. I'm glad he reprized his voice-over but I wish the filmmakers would've edited it a little bit in post production, you know, make it sound more like the Darth Vader from 1977 or 1980 or 1983. Or even the Lion King. Also the line "choke on your ambition," while cool, is also a little hammy. Also I think they could've got a closer match for Peter Cushing's voice too. Neither of these are that bad though.
Where were Biggs and Porkins during the climactic space battle? And Wedge?! You had two of the nameless pilots from A New Hope but every pilot with a name are somehow missing? Where is the valiant ballad of starfighter Porkins? Daddy needs me s'more PORKINS!
THE VERDICT
I liked it. It didn't "wow" me or blow me away by any means. For being a side story to the main episodes I thought it was very cool. I liked how closely it matched up with A New Hope. I liked seeing more of Tarkin and Senator Organa. If Disney can continue to make Star Wars movies that enhance the originals by explaining away logic flaws or plot holes I'm all for it.
Overall Ranking: 7 out of 10
Really Good! One worth owning.
Thanks for reading! If you want to know what I thought about The Force Awakens click below!
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