Rogue One
You do not have to be a devotee of the Star Wars saga to see
this film, but it defiantly helps. This movie is advertised as a standalone
feature presumably to attract new audiences, but there are definitely
similarities that establish lineage. Rogue One is a prequel to the 1977 Star
Wars movie, A New Hope. The basic story is the rebel’s efforts for a way
to destroy the Death Star (stop screaming plot spoilers, this is in the coming attractions).
This movie is like one of those concentration games where
you find hidden characters. Some characters are obvious others are not. Then
there are plot tie ins which are mind numbing. Folks who go to ComicCon, in
full regalia, quiver with excitement connecting the dots between the two films.
I only spotted four archived characters (not bad for my age).
The film defiantly has the Star Wars flavor. Rebels fighting
the Empire. Lots of alien characters new and old. Huge computer graphics and
epic battles. The aerial (space) battles retained the inspired dog fights from
actual wars.
There are new characters, some are wonderful. Felicity Jones
is the main protagonist, Jyn Erso, the daughter of an important Rebel scientist.
I am going on a limb, but I was not impressed, she is too generic (where is
Lara Croft when you need her). She is as threating as a shop lifter in Victoria’s
Secret. Mads Mikkelsen plays a good guy! He is Jyn’s father. There is a blind samurai,
Donnie Yen who channels the Force. Jiang Wen, a Rebel warrior and side kick to
Yen who needs a bath. Alan Tudyk , a wonderful comic actor, is a rebel droid. The
film would have benefited from more of his comedic dialog. The great Forest Whitaker
is literally half a man with a terrible accent. The green card actors are Diego
Luna and Riz Ahmed. Diego was effective as a rebel fighter. Riz not so much as
a Rebel pilot. Many of the characters were killed off, which is strange for a franchise
that uses recurring characters to bridge films.
Then there are the CG character recreations. One was spot on;
I thought he was dead; he is dead. The other character looked like she stayed
to long in Dunkin Donuts.
No matter what I say here, this film is going to make a ton
of bucks. Should you see it? If you secretly keep a light saber under your bed,
yes. Otherwise, prey for the for the third Tomb Raider film.
