Review of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016) by Brendan N — 01 Oct 2017

A few too many winks but a solid Star Wars film. The strong characters lead the film away from the light saber battles surprisingly well. I didn't need the dumb cgi Leia, I knew it was the ship and just seeing it fly away was enough for me for the connection to the episodes. This film will pave the way for future Star Wars anthologies and hopefully one with Lord Vader, that horrifying scene in the corridor got my nerd level to 100. The film worked much better when it was in the trenches and the tone was way too much in line with the core franchise. I want a different and unconventional tone that has the ability to drag the franchise into some different genres. This had a dirty dozen vibe that needed further depth, this film could've been incredible but it is worth the time to watch. Great film for the xmas period and Star Wars will own the month yet again, Avatar might change that when it finally slots the release date though. 15-12-2017.

I have just rewatched this film and adjusted the initial rating from four and a half to a four. The villain work is a little tacky and while the filmmakers attempt an epic scope, it never hits the highs of A new hope or The empire strikes back. The film has heart and that is the key ingredient for any star wars film, it is also a mile better in quality compared to the prequel trilogy and if they can replicate this style of filmmaking for the Han Solo and The last Jedi, the franchise will be in a safe direction. The best part of the film is the supporting players and they fill the void when the story begins to fatigue from reshoots. The ending for the key players is very unemotional while the Vader scene still gives goosebumps. I still don't agree with Leia in the finale but it keeps the pace going for the setup to A new hope. The music score tries to be too epic all the time, this film needed to be more of a dirty dozen war film, the final battle scene is incredibly paced and filmed.19-06-2017.