Review: Rogue One is Good But it's Not That Good.
- Jan 4, 2017
- 3 min read
Don't get me wrong, I love Star Wars and have done so for years. But now, with a film each year and non-stop merchandise, I'm starting to get a little fatigued. Rogue One is good but even I can see the flaws that many others have failed to notice.
Rogue One sports arguably the best action and visuals that the Star Wars films have ever seen and will likely hold that mantle for some time. But aside from some incredible set pieces and enjoyable fight scenes, it doesn't hold up all that well. Rogue One falls prey to the same issues that plagued 2014's Godzilla, both directed by Gareth Edwards. The characters are nothing more than cardboard cut-outs with the occasional cool scene thrown in too mix them up.
Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones) is a paint by numbers rebel whose sole purpose is to piss of the people that rescued her, at least until the plot requires her to do otherwise. Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) is much the same, a conflicted soldier whose past is as blank as his expression, his acting less exciting that Alan Tudyk's cynical K2SO. Riz Ahmed's Bodhi Rook could have been more interesting but was ultimately tossed aside in favour of the two most interesting characters, Chirrut Imwe (Donnie Yen) and Baze Malbus (Wen Jiang) who other than being completely disposable have some pretty cool action scenes and some nice one liners. When a droid and to characters that give nothing to the plot outweigh the rest of the cast you know that something went seriously wrong.
Also thrown into the mix is Orson Krennic, played by Aussie Ben Mendelsohn, who's accent is more than a little distracting and is given far too little to do. But hey (Spoiler Alert) Grand Moff Tarkin is back in all his creepy CGI glory, as is Darth Vader, even if he is almost completely wasted.
Needless to that, the first two thirds of the films are entirely forgettable except for Forrest Whitaker's strange performance and his weird squid creature, both of which could have been cut from the film. And therein lies the biggest problem with Rogue One. Between making references to other films, and trying to show off as many different planets as possible, a whole lot of pointless stuff is brought to the forefront, fluff that could have, and should have, been cut.
But the action is where Rogue One truly comes into its own, and it's worth seeing just for that. No amount of squid creatures or uncanny valleys can dim the immense and well directed action scenes. My personal favourite, other than the one that was everyone's favourite (you know what I'm talking about) was a scene on the planet of Jedha that involved a number of rebel extremists attacking an imperial convoy in what felt like a very terrorist like manner. Ambushes, suicide bombing and underhand tactics suddenly became all too real within the Star Wars universe, as did the unrelenting power of the empire. And one can't mention action without touching on the arrival of the AT-ACT's in which Edwards' ability to portray scale is shown off once again, or Chirrut's fight against a cohort of stormtroopers, both noteworthy additions to a film already packed with excellent action.
While I don't think I can ever recommend Rogue One to someone looking for a character driven Star Wars film, nor to someone seeking a single, cohesive film, I can wholeheartedly say the action is worth it, along with K2SO's endlessly quotable lines. I only hope that Episode 8 doesn't continue this trend of just alright Star Wars.
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