It was the first Star Wars film since A New Hope to become a surprise hit. Not exactly. Everyone knew that the second Star Wars feature film would make money even if it wasn't good. There were a lot of questions. Disney brought in Tony Gilroy and his team to do more than the usual amount of eleventh-hour tinkering and reshoots, as well as the fact that the movie featured mostly new characters, in order to get the production back on track.
The stumbling blocks didn't stop the hit from becoming an enormous hit. It is still in 15th place on the all-time domestic box office list, despite its international haul being less than desirable by industry standards. The reviews were decent, but critics were surprised that it wasn't terrible. The New York Times complained that the movie had a "surprisingly hackish script"
Even though it could have been a disaster, Rogue One was an unambiguous triumph, goingading Disney into a false sense of confidence about what was possible. On the eve of the spinoff show, Andor, does the film hold up? Does it work as a good movie and also give good Star Wars?
This is a good film to start with. I keep a list of movies that look great playing in the background of a fancy party if I ever get a bigger place. The live-action version of Ghost in the Shell is one of the films on that list. I realize that this last one is sacrilegious for a number of reasons, but the point is that these are wonderful-looking movies that you wouldn't necessarily want to listen to given their mediocre stories.
Every blockbuster has expensive special effects. The production is generous in the many stunning locations in which it stages the action and every frame of the film is lushly photographed. The Reynisfjara Black Sand Beach is one of the most unique locations in the Star Wars universe. You can't always say that a Star Wars environment like Endor and Hoth feel alien.
The turquoise water and swaying palm trees of the beach battle of Scarif look like the Empire had invaded the Florida Keys. Death Troopers and Shore Troopers have been added to the coterie of stormtroopers. A Star Wars movie isn't doing its job if we don't want to rush out and buy new toys after it's over
It's not surprising that the film contains some of the best-realized special effects in any Star Wars production. George Lucas wanted to give Return of the Jedi and The Phantom Menace the same ending as his original film and was always trying to remake the ideas he had in his head. His vision may have been realized in the film. It is hard to believe that they can get better than this.
There is nothing new with the Rebel fleet trying to buy time for the heroes to enter the fortress on the ground, but who cares if it is thrilling and gorgeous? One of the more impressive staged moments in all of Star Wars is the moment when aHammerhead Corvette cleaves one Star Destroyer in two. The movie depicts both awe-inspiring power from space and the sheer terror of those facing it on the imploding ground when the Death Star blows up the city. It is an upgrade from the pew-pew destruction of Alderaan in A New Hope and a testament to what special effects can do.
It is certain that the film was saved by the work of Gilroy. The scene in which Darth Vader saws his way into a corridor and savagely dispatches a group of terrified Rebels is said to have been added. The kind of Vader we should have had but couldn't because of innovations made him possible. The final shot of Vader standing on the edge of a docking platform, gazing after his prey, establishes the Dark Lord as someone so badass he is completely undaunted by the rawvacuum of space itself.
It has been influential. It's likely that the makers of Obi-Wan had a Vader slaughter tantrum of their own. It's possible that it was meant as a homage and not a rip-off, but you can't tell with that production.
The introduction of Diego Luna was added when he killed a wounded fellow rebel. This is the most shocking moment in the movie. The climax of The Empire Strikes Back and the big parentage reveal are two other possibilities. We were expecting this from Vader. He had a lot of hate in his heart.
The idea of sacrifice for the Rebellion was thrown into a new light by the fact that he executed his friend. It was the first time we saw it and we realized that not every hero will be remembered. We were aware that dirty acts may be necessary to keep the Rebellion going. It is a more ruthless and dispassionate act than the one HanSolo contemplated.
The fact that it happens so early in the film signals a different tone, that it will dramatize something of the realism of making hard decisions under impossible conditions, and that it may signal a Star Wars story that isn't stuffed full of cute and funny. It was an inspiration. Is the rest of the film up to the new directions it unfurled?
People who have never seen a movie before can tell you how surprised they are by the end. The brutal reality of sacrifice and violence in that first scene is what makes it logical. It's in line with the genre. There are heroes in war movies. In Saving Private Ryan, Captain Miller succumbed so he could save the hero.
Andor may be the least interesting of the film's main characters due to the script failing to make him feel warm. I understand that he is a jaded insurrectionist in a dirty jacket and not the one Luna played in Y tu mam también. It would be nice if our hero felt better.
The movie's weakest parts are the characters. He said he saw a movie called "Battle of Britain" instead of a movie like "Star Wars". Many of the characters in war movies are fated to be cannon fodder, so they take a back seat to the action and the visuals. When Guy Hamilton made the Battle of Britain movie in 1969 it was true, and it is the same for the movie of the same name today.
The role of Jyn Erso is played by Felicity Jones, but she is not funny. She watched the Empire kill her mother and was abandoned by her father, who was a terrorist. A sense of humor makes those difficult times more enjoyable. A few war-weary cracks between her and her husband would make their final moments more intimate.
Donnie and Wen Jiang have a good relationship as a couple of monks turn into assassins. A non- human character is stealing the show. The same droll wit that was provided by Alan Tudyk as the voice of the Imperial droid K-2S0 can be found in the film "Solo: A Star Wars Story".
The pilot Bodhi gets little to do but say exposition. It doesn't make sense that he would be considered one of the best actors of his generation in The Night of and Sound of Metal. Ben is wasted as the Imperial Big Bad. Even though he looks rakish in his white cape, the performance of his character and the performance of his performance are mostly foot-stamping and browbeating.
The music in the film is not good. Michael Giacchino is a top film composer with work in films like Star Trek and The Batman, but his score for Rogue One feels as generic as some of the characters and action Giacchino only had a few months to write it.
I can't understand why William's music wasn't just reused when Giacchino was the first composer to score a Star Wars movie. One of the reasons why it was the first Star Wars film to not have the opening crawl is that it was trying to establish its own identity. When you already recycle so much, why not add everyone's favorite film music as well?
Almost all of Star Wars save for The Empire Strikes Back are mixed bags. At times, the script feels a bithackish. The movie is powered by spectacular visual imagination and on bold character moments. The upcoming Andor might even succeed where its predecessor movie failed.
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