Geekscape Review: ‘Rogue One: A Star Wars Story’

Fans of the Star Wars Universe already know that the Death Star gets destroyed in “A New Hope.” It took just two well placed torpedo shots from Luke Skywalker shot down an exhaust port, and boom, the massive structure was blown to smithereens.

In the new film from director Gareth Edwards, “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” we get a departure from the traditional younger kid friendly story-telling style in lieu for a more mature style. This is war after all. The Rebels are fighting a desperate battle and the lengths they will go aren’t always pretty in their effort to defeat the Empire.

“Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” tells the tale of what led to the rebellion having the ability to blow up the Death Star in “New Hope.” The story opens with where the Death Star originated from, who the players were that created it, and a lot more information about the capabilities of the Empire and the Rebellion, all of which really end up filling the plot holes of “New Hope” and “Empire.”

Forget the cutesy Ewoks, the stupid Jar Jar Binks, and think straight up murder in the name of the rebellion. That’s what you better strap in for when you see “Rogue One.” It’s the adult version, no holds barred, shoot-em up, taking insane chances all for the cause of breaking the Empire. Simply, it’s the Star Wars movie that all the fans of the original, now grown-up, wanted but never knew they would get!

It’s as if story writer John Knoll and Gary Whitta, plus screen writer Chris Weitz (and others, see bottom) had a check list of all the good things about the originals, like interesting settings, cool costumes, bigger than life characters, and a check list of the stupid stuff to avoid, and then went to work to write something that was equally smart and highly entertaining. Forget the choppy stunted dialogue style of the originals and think balanced. Every character with the exception of one (we’ll get to that) is dynamic and three dimensional.

Director Edwards did the same thing cutting back on sequences targeted towards kids and focusing on those moments when humor was appropriate, and avoiding cliche. “Rogue One” is all about the action. The fight sequences and fast paced story all keep you deeply engrossed. There isn’t a dull moment. Further, where “Force Awakens” was a homage to the original, this film breaks new ground while at the same time fitting incredibly well into the original mythos. In a single word, exceptional comes to mind as the film winds down and the story moves towards “A New Hope” as all wraps up nicely into a gorgeous gift to fans.

Along those same lines, the sound track is stand alone incredible with Disney call up man Michael Giacchino, who has a zillion Disney credits to his name. Yes, there’s some moments like Darth Vader’s theme in there, but this film borrows from the style of the original sound tracks, but incorporates totally worthy new pieces. Overly impressive in an age where so many films are going synthesizer/ computer created composing this ones stays traditional but also zips it up into something modern with flavors of the originals.

Character development and selection may seem a bit contrived. We’ve got the kick-ass female lead Felicity Jones, the sexy Han Solo type with the Spanish accent Diego Luna, the “IP Man” Donnie Yen (sure to play up to the massive Chinese audiences), the loyal best bud type, Wen Jiang (also Chinese), and then the adult version of C3PO , the new droid with all the snappy one-liners K-2SO played by Alan Tudyk (Firefly). Even with the main cast seemingly contrived to drive International audiences to the film, all is forgiven because the acting is superb. The exception being the character Saw Gerrera, played by veteran actor Forest Whitaker.

The character itself just doesn’t work. At first he does. His job is to be the one to rescue and raise one of the key characters. As the story evolves and we get to see more of him, he comes across as a hot mess. The costume itself just reminded me of when Whitaker played in “Battlefield Earth” (remember that piece of silliness?). Certainly a lot can be forgiven in the Star Wars Universe. Crazy alien creatures are the norm and so are cyborg baddies like Darth Vader but in comes Saw Guerra which seems cool at first but just winds up being a cliche or all the dumbness you could absorb from all seven prior films. The acting wasn’t the issue here so much, as just the character. However, it’s not enough to bring the film down even a notch.

In the bid to be more geared for adult audiences, there’s a departure from including the mainstream Jedi influence entirely in the film with just a mention here and there of the order, as well as not relying heavily on The Dark Side’s Darth Vader as the supreme villain of the film. Rather Director Edwards focuses on more of what would be good ol’ fashion human bad guys, not magical plot devices, and what comes across and smart choices for the challenges of the main cast to over-come to achieve their objective. Further, rather than leaving unrealistic jumps in the story, Edwards and writers pay attention to the steps of what it would take to accomplish the goals, in affect the story makes sense.

There’s always been a lot of leeway given in the Star Wars Universe for the story to move forward but in this film those story beats are not forgotten or ignored. They are given strict attention so that in the end you have a solid story, performed impeccably and sensibly that all incredibly aligns with “A New Hope.” That attention to story is what really sets this apart from the others and for many this will be easily be toted at the best one to date. That opinion will have to contend with the nostalgia of the originals which of course holds weight for many, but on the basis of just story for story, this one wins hands down.

4 out of 5

-Rating: PG-13
-Genre: Action & Adventure, Drama, Science Fiction & Fantasy
-Directed By: Gareth Edwards (V)
-Written By: Chris Weitz, Tony Gilroy
-In Theaters: Dec 16, 2016  Wide
-Runtime: 133 minutes
-Studio: Walt Disney Pictures