Blast from the Past: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

 

SPOILER-WARNING: DO NOT PROCEED until you’ve actually seen Rogue One... 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

Any doubts that Disney could find an audience for stand-alone Star Wars films that don’t directly involve Luke Skywalker and the Jedi Knights were obliterated in a massive box office blast crater this weekend, as Rogue One: A Star Wars Story took in a massive $155 million in domestic sales.

 

Now I wear my heart on my sleeve – lifelong Star Wars fan, and my expectations here were super high. Rogue One has wildly surpassed them. In many ways, this is the first Star Wars movie aimed squarely at grown-ups. We’ve all heard the pitch – this is the story of how the Rebel Alliance got ahold of the plans to the Death Star that R2-D2’s carrying in the original film. And while we know where things are going, that in no way lessens the suspense of how we get there. Godzilla director Gareth Edwards has directed a simply phenomenal, thrill-packed entry to the Star Wars franchise, that easily ranks among the series’ best. That’s right – it’s as entertaining and gripping as The Empire Strikes Back or The Force Awakens. Rogue One is a war movie, a sci-fi Guns of Navarone or Where Eagles Dare. There’s not a lot of cute in the picture, and the stakes are high. The one child is glimpsed in the film’s prologue, heroine Jyn Erso, seen as a young girl, when agents of the Empire come to take away her father (Mads Mikkelsen), the scientist necessary to complete construction of the Death Star. 

 

Jyn Grows up to be a headstrong insurgent, played by Felicity Jones. Jones is in nearly every scene, and she does a great job of carrying the film and making Jyn a compelling character. Alongside Force Awakens’ Rey (Daisy Ridley), Lucasfilm is going out of their way to provide young moviegoers with strong female role models who drive the action, and aren’t just along for the ride. The Rebel Alliance figures out who Jyn is, and sees her value as a means to get to her father. The Rebels (lead by Diego Luna’s Cassian Andor) are a murkier group here, who aren’t above taking extreme measures to serve the greater good. Jyn and Cassian are part of a Dirty Dozen band of warriors who are all terrific characters. Donnie Yen is a real standout as a blind follower of the Force from the Zatoichi school, whose cheerful serenity doesn’t impede his ability to knock the tar out of a squad of Stormtroopers. Destined for classic character status, reprogrammed Imperial droid K-2SO (motion-captured and voiced by Alan Tudyk) is outright phenomenal. Towering and intimidating, he’s like a cynical, uncensored C-3PO, and is 100% convincing and captivating.

 

Let’s talk Imperials: As the military project manager responsible for the Death Star’s completion, Ben Mendelsohn is an exceptional bad guy, desperate to be appreciated by those he answers to, including a couple of major players from Star Wars’ inception. We’re talking about events on the Death Star, so we all figured there’d have to be some kind of glimpse of Grand Moff Tarkin, despite the fact that actor Peter Cushing died in 1994. I was expecting a brief cameo, at best – so nothing prepared me for Tarkin appearing as a pretty major supporting character! While it’s bound to generate controversy, the combination of digital effects and the work of actor Guy Henry is flabbergasting. I’ve heard some wags take issue with the character’s rendering, but I strongly disagree – Tarkin’s a favorite, and Henry’s diction and delivery – the facial expressions, his insidious contempt – all eerily evoked Cushing incredibly well. I felt positively gleeful every time he appeared onscreen. Say what you will, it’s an amazing achievement.

 

Then there’s Vader. James Earl Jones is still very much alive, and to have Darth Vader back in a new Star Wars film is…is exhilerating! I don’t want to give too much away, but if you were expecting Vader to just glower through a scene or two making fists, think again. Vader is very much an active antagonist, and we see him join the fray like we simply never have before – and it’s chilling. 

 

There are plenty of surprises throughout Rogue One that are guaranteed to delight fans, but like The Force Awakens, the new characters are engaging and welcome additions. Wen Jiang, and Riz Ahmed round out the rebel squad, and Forest Whitaker is sensational as legendary insurgent Saw Gerrera. He’s been fighting the Empire all his life, and it’s taken its toll, like a crazy cross between Eli Wallach and Richard Roundtree. Special shout-out to Mads Mikkelsen as Jyn’s father. Mikkelsen has seemed sleepy and detached sometimes to me, but not here. I found him complicated and sympathetic and it’s some of his best work. I really liked him here. 

 

Yes, there’s a lot of digital work going on in Rogue One, but I found it all done with great skill, and always, always in service to the script. Chris Weitz and Tony Gilroy have combined their talents to deliver some top-notch storytelling. Things people have sometimes carped on from the original Star Wars now have a deliberate purpose. That weakness in the Death Star? It’s there for a reason, and that somehow makes it that much more incredibly cool. Parents of younger children might want to think twice with Rogue One, as this is a War Movie, and there’s way more shooting and loss than they might be used to in the less combat-driven saga installments. There’s also a lot more slowed-down conversation, as characters talk about the stakes and choices at hand. Youngsters may fidget. 

 

But hands down, this is a tremendous Star Wars film. It’s busting at the seams with thrills and action, with awe and ideals, and it screams repeat-viewing like few films I’ve seen lately. It should easily give Force Awakens a run for its money, as the audience I saw it with had plenty of three-generation family attendees. It’s definitely more adult, but it never stops being fun, and Rogue One is simply one of the most entertaining films of the year.