Review of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016) by Garrett T — 15 Mar 2017

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is the new spin off prequel to the original trilogy, about how the rebels were able to get there hands on the Death Star plans. This movie does a lot of things right, and down right perfect, but this movie also has it's flaws.

So the first thing I would like to talk about is the musical score in this movie, this was the first time that the score of a Star Wars movie was not done by John Williams but instead it was done by Michael Giacchino he did an absolute great job in this movie! He was able to take the beautiful music that has been in every other Star Wars movie, and he tweaked it just a bit, so it was fresh and fit with the tone of the film, but also didn't veer too far off of the traditional roots of the franchise! When you watch this movie, you will notice the amazing music that adds an amazing amount of realness to the film!

Star Wars has always been known for being able to push the envelope when it comes to visual effects, and this film is no disappointment. This is hands down the most beautiful film visually that I have ever seen. The creatures, the space battles, all the effects in this movie were just done so well. And I strongly believe that that is in no small part to the great job director Gareth Edwards, he made some absolutely stunning shots in this movie that just blow your mind. There is one scene in particular that I love, but I don't want to spoil it for you.

Now let's talk about the characters in this movie, because that is what has always made us fall in love with the Star Wars saga. In this movie, if I'm being completely honest, the characters are one of the biggest weaknesses, rather than one of its great strengths like it should be. So I will just take it one character at a time and try and tell you which ones I personally liked, and the ones I didn't.

So let's start with Jyn Erso, played by actress Felicity Jones. For me personally I really didn't love her character, you can tell that they cut a lot of her story arc after doing all those infamous re shoots. Her motives in this film are vague and her past is really vague and it leaves you not knowing/caring about her character all that much. She does have some great moments as well in this movie that kinda balance out some of the bads. I feel like she is an ok character, but she won't be remembered as one of the greats from the Star Wars universe.

Next person I would like to talk about would be Cassian Andor played by Diego Luna. The casting of Diego Luna was perfect for this role! He embodies this character so well, he even has the perfect look for this role! But much like Jyn Erso, Cassian Andor really has no background, you know very little about him and it really sucks because I would've loved to see his past more in this movie.

K2SO voiced by Alan Tudyk was one of my favorite characters in this movie, he brought some great comedy moments to this movie that fit so well with the movie. Didn't feel out of place and it didn't take away from the film like a lot of the comedic moments from Disney's last major live action release Doctor Strange, where I felt like the jokes in that movie took away from the intensity of the scenes. But in this movie it felt perfect and they fit, much like BB-8's comedic moments in The Force Awakens.

All I want to say about Forest Whitaker's role as Saw gurrera, is that his voice in the movie is annoying and I really don't like his character. I don't want to say more about him cause it makes my frustrated. (my apologies).

Orson Krennic was one of the best roles in this movie! He brings a tone to this movie that really drives the success of this movie. Without the great performance by Ben Mendelsohn, this movie might not be getting the great reception that it did, I'm not gonna spoil his character because I think it's better to just see for yourself!

Now the rest of the "Rogue One" team I will combine as one so characters like Chirrut Îmwe,Baze Malbus and Bodhi Rook, who were although played very well by their respective actors, just like many of the other characters in this film, where underdeveloped and felt very forced and like they just kinda through these guys in our face without showing us who they really are.

I'm not gonna talk about Darth Vader or Galen Erso in this movie because I don't want to spoil their characters for you.

One last complaint I have about this movie, which is like not a really complaint for most people, but I talked to some people about this film after watching it, and these people weren't big Star Wars fans, so they found themselves very confused after the movie. This movie has a lot of fan service, but not too much. So I think you should definitely go study up on your Star Wars knowledge or at least be able to see the other films somewhat recently before watching this film.

All in all this movie is a very beautiful film, with great music, and it expounds on this great Star Wars universe, although its poor characters and character development, I think this movie is great and I would definitely tell you to go out and watch it right now I'm giving Rogue One: A Star Wars Story an 8/10.