We've all seen film franchises grow up around us--franchises have almost become their own genre considering how many there are, past and present. Hold on to your britches--I'm not a true 'Star Wars' fan! Hey, don't judge me! Even when I saw the original "Star Wars" in the theater back in 1977, it just didn't wow me. It wasn't terrible--ILM's state-of-the-art visuals were stunning, but, com'on it was good vs. evil with a sci-fi backdrop. So, after ALL the many films that have come along, including its newest, "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story", we're still getting the same basic premise.
This prequel to the very first "Star Wars" film chronicles the thrilling story of how a ragtag band of freedom fighters--including a former soldier-turned-prisoner, Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones), a Rebel Alliance insider, Cassian Andor (Diego Luna), A Jedi, Chirrut Imwe (Donnie Yen) and a sentient robot, K-2SO (voiced by Alan Tudyk)--worked together to steal the Death Star's secret blueprints. Through this eclectic team, with all the harrowing situations they must go through, will it be enough to succeed in the absconding of the elusive Empire's Death Star blueprints?
Others to round out the cast are Wen Jiang as Baze Malbus, Ben Mendelsohn as Orson Krennic, Forest Whitaker as Saw Gerrera, Riz Ahmed as Dodhi Rook, the pilot, Mads Mikkelsen as Galen Erso, Jyn's father, Jimmy Smits as Bail Organa, Alistair Petrie as General Draven, Ben Daniels as General Merrick, James Earl Jones as Darth Vader and Genevieve O'Reilly as Mon Mothma.
This was directed by a filmmaker that certainly was in his comfort zone, Gareth Edwards ("End Day" (TV movie) '05, "Monsters" '10, "Godzilla" '14) plus TV. By his very resume, this is the kind of film that Edwards was born to direct. With the intensity, amazing visuals, the good vs. evil backdrop, Edwards made his characters come alive which one has come to expect considering the franchise involved. It was written by Chris Weitz ("Antz" '98, "Nutty Professor II: The Klumps" 2000, "About a Boy" '02, "The Golden Compass" '07, "Cinderella" '15) plus TV and Tony Gilroy ("Dolores Claiborne" '95, "The Bourne Identity" '02, "Michael Clayton" '07, "State of Play" '09) plus many others, based on a story by John Knoll and Gary Whitta, which is based on characters created by George Lucas. OK, this is where the difficulty lies: first of all, this was a good 15 minutes longer than it needed to be, and secondly, there were a bit too many slow and slightly choppy areas in storyline. Considering the seasoned writers here, especially Gilroy, I'm actually surprised by the script. Did they not put their best in this and decided to let the Star Wars name carry its audience? Or did they just have a bad day at the laptop? Not sure, but when the next installment is produced, Hollywood needs to encourage its writers to be a bit more cohesive and concise when the storyline is developed. Of course, the visual effects by ILM (Industrial, Light & Magic) were seamless, but one already knows this before they walk into the theater.
Don't get me wrong, this certainly wasn't a wash, it had merit, but the storyline is about as old as dirt, and like a ton of other franchises, to continue the franchise isn't so much for the audience as much as it is for the box office. Ca-ching! All in all, if you're planning to see this, it's definitely better to see it on the large screen if for no other reason than to enjoy the Super Panavision 70 format it is filmed in. Grab the popcorn!
Out of 4 Stars: 3 Rated: PG-13 134mins.
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