I’ve found that giving one’s thoughts on a film, especially films as big as Star Wars, these days is difficult. There doesn’t seem to be an understanding of middle ground anymore. It’s either, “It was fantastic,” or “It was terrible,” and if I say something along the lines of “Rogue One was a lot of fun, but it had some major story problems,” some might take that to mean “It was terrible.” But it wasn’t. Did I say that?
The point that I’m trying to make is that before I criticise a few parts of the film, know that I loved it. It’s Star Wars, and it’s a competently made Star Wars film, so I’m going to find some enjoyment in it.
We good?
Alright. Let’s roll.
For those not in the know, Rogue One takes place between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope, and tells the tale of how the Rebellion got their hands on the Death Star plans, as revealed in the opening crawl of A New Hope. The rebels recruit Jyn Erso, a criminal who happens to be the daughter of the Death Star’s chief scientist, Galen Erso, to find her father and retrieve any info she can find on the mystery weapon. Joining her are Rebel captain Cassian Andor, reprogrammed Imperial droid K-2SO, Force monk Chirrut Imwe, his machine gun wielding buddy Baze Melbus, and defecting Imperial pilot Bodhi Rook.
The first hour or hour and a half of the film seemed disjointed. The opening scene is great, but after that, it almost goes Avengers-style to introduce us to some of the other characters, taking away some of the focus. Ok, so once we meet them all and the mission’s started, things get better, right? Kind of. Rogue One regains focus, but the flow between set-pieces feels jarring. In my review on Letterboxd, I mentioned how I felt like it was paced like a video game. The story is divided into levels, and each level has a different objective and setting. The characters finish level one, they move on to the next, and so on. There’s no smooth transitions, and that’s something The Force Awakens has over Rogue One. The Force Awakens has multiple “levels” as well, but the way the action moved from each setting seemed organic, and maybe that’s because it’s a character-driven film while Rogue One is a plot-driven one. I’m having some trouble explaining this, and I think it’s something that is better understood if you’ve seen the film. Here’s a big takeaway, though. While I had problems with the scene transitions, the scenes themselves are still fun or interesting.
My other issue is with the characters. Every main character is well-acted and fun-to-watch, but a few lack motivation or screentime. Chirrut and Baze are probably my favourite characters in the film, but their reason for joining the mission isn’t divulged. It just seems like they’re along for the ride. Bodhi’s an ex-pilot for the Empire, but his reasons for treason aren’t elaborated upon. And Saw Gerrera, the character who I was so happy was in the film, and who is set up to be an important figure in the story, doesn’t get the focus I think he deserved, regardless of previous appearances. But these are a few gripes I can get over, because these characters are still good characters you can care for, and, like my previous criticism, isn’t a movie-killer.
Now that I’ve got my criticisms out of the way, let’s talk about the biggest strengths of Rogue One. Rogue One is steeped in Star Wars lore. Like, anything goes Star Wars lore. Like, “You want to reference the prequels, The Clone Wars, Rebels, and the original trilogy all in one film? You got it” lore. However, if you were hoping for foreshadowing towards The Force Awakens or hints about Episode VIII, you might be disappointed. But there’s an obvious love for everything Star Wars here. From the tying-up of loose threads from the beginning of An New Hope and the near-perfect recreations of some of the sets and costumes from the original film, to appearances from actors from the prequels, nothing’s off-limits. And Rogue One blends so seamlessly into the aforementioned A New Hope, it actually enhances the latter.
The action is incredible, especially during the climax, which is classic Star Wars action. You got your space battle. You got your land battle. You got your sneaking around an Imperial facility…battle. It’s a hoot, and actually immensely exciting even with the knowledge of the outcome.
I think that’s all I can say about my thoughts without going into more spoiler-y details, so I’ll save those for my inevitable spoiler-filled review.
I think I’ll end this by saying I think I got a bit more out of The Force Awakens than I did Rogue One, and I hope my criticisms don’t make it seem like I didn’t like the film. I loved it, and I think if you’re as big as a Star Wars fan as me, you’ll love it too.
Noah
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