I finally watched Rogue One. It might be better if I quickly explained my thoughts on the SW universe. I liked SW, I liked ESB a lot. RotJ as passable entertainment but not a great movie. The Lucas prequels are mediocre at best, with the last of them being the best, though that's no high praise.
SPOILERS I SUPPOSE:
Having said that, I watched the Force Awakens with anticipation..with Lucas past the point of the best of his powers, and JJ fresh off the stratospheric success of the Trek Kelvin-era movies I thought it would be a good popcorn movie. It was a disappointment. Not only was it washed out, unimaginative, with mostly forgettable new characters, but it led to my disinterest as a whole to the entire SW franchise.
What's more, I feel coming out with 10 films is a major mistake for Disney...even though SW could be immune to franchise fatigue, the second SW movie already made a lot less than SWFA. There was a lot less "buzz". This led me to have almost no interest in Rogue One.
I watched it yesterday, with some renewed interest. Where does it sit among the SW pantheon? Mildly better than FA, partly due to a superior ending. It's still on the bland side. Despite the dialogue, stupid characters, conceptual confusion and droning politics, Lucas' world vision was much more imaginative than the 2 Disney efforts. I kept waiting for both of them to have half the vibrancy and momentum of the latest ST space opera efforts, but to no avail.
Rogue One starts off slow. Again the characters all kind of look like each other, and get confused in the mix. No one really stands out, good or bad. The reprogrammed robot was much more human and interesting than any of them. There's a muddled plot covering half a dozen different planets before we finally start to move into the Death Star mission debate. During that time, we find out there's an ineffectual Rebel Alliance splinter group (we never really know why) that gets a hold of a weapon designer's daughter. She's constantly scowling and doesn't really care for the Rebellion or the Empire much. Apparently her attitude is much like a lot of fat and happy Americans who don't really mind a little facism as long as they can afford their McMansions. At one point, she even says she won't notice the Empire's flags if she doesn't look up. Eh, ok. George Lucas kind of liked despots too if I recall. Most of this part is inconsequential..it only succeeds to place our characters in position for what we know is coming (another reason why the movie isn't so compelling).
A small point of success. We love to hate the new bad guy. He's dressed in a crisp white Imperial uniform and he spits a lot when he talks, but he's much better than the featherweights from The FA. He is a man of action, he's just a little behind the curve though..he races from planet to planet, slowly realizing what's going on..there's a traitor and the Death Star may have been compromised.
They all meet up on the Caribbean planet. The Imperials back up their data on huge bulky optical drives in giant columns in a central shaft. The Rebels need these plans so they can sabotage the Death Star that has a built-in weakness. One wonders if they simply knew the weakness, why they couldn't muster spies and turncoats like the pilot who was helping them, without launching a massive raid in Episode IV. To make things even more Rebelly, the Rebels think it's a suicide mission to get the plans, so the small group "The Fellowship of the Scowl" try it on their own. When they start to make waves, the real Rebels send help..launching a raid in other planetary system at a moments notice.
At least here the battles are well shot. We can really get on the Rebels side. The battle for the shield is non-sensical but action-packed. The Empire looks hapless, not a tactic to be seen, but they have a lot of firepower. Eventually a second test of the Death Star (remember all those people complaining because the Xindi tested their super weapon once on Earth? Yikes) kills everyone who is left. We see Princess Leia, so at least we know we can invest some interest in those characters again.
Ultimately the movie isn't completely disagreeable. There's some entertainment value here. 2016/early 2017 wasn't a great period for cinematic scifi. This one might even rank in the top 10 somewhere oddly enough. I saw Passengers last week and thought it was a much better "space" movie, with a terrific starship and some questionable morals to debate over. Disney's SW has long lost the cutting edge. TV shows like "The Expanse" leave it in the dust, but as long as the nearly religious following sticks around, the SW universe is in no danger of disappearing.
Grade: C+
RAMA
