Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

Over New Year's weekend, I finally got to see Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. For my money, this is the best installment since Return of the Jedi. The film has a stronger ensemble cast than any other Star Wars film-- Felicity Jones, Ben Mendelsohn, Mads Mikkelson, Forest Whitaker, Diego Luna and Donnie Yen are all either Oscar-level thespians or global super stars; Alan Tudyk is the lowest profile actor in the main cast, yet is still beloved of sci-fi aficionados everywhere. The series as a whole is plagued with clunky dialogue, and this installment is no exception, but Rogue One probably has the most fluid scripting since The Empire Strikes Back. And aside from some questionable attempts to revive dead actors with CGI, the special effects are top notch.

Despite all this, the movie still manages to disappoint, mostly because it doesn't feel quite like a Star Wars film. The original trilogy was objectively B-movie material, but what it had going for it was brutally efficient storytelling-- they were simple stories extremely well told. They trimmed the fat, while Rogue One has an entire middle-section that feels unnecessary. Furthermore, in their attempts to add moral complexity to the more recent films, I feel that they've diluted the charm of the original stories. There were times when Rogue One reminded me more of Dune (with Saw Gerrera's extremists) or of the relatively recent Battlestar Galactica reboot (with the social stratification and political squabbling within the Rebel ranks). Mind you, I like Dune and love Battlestar Galactica, but they occupy a different corner of the Sci-Fi multi-verse. I'm okay with Star Wars sticking to archetypal characters and themes, relying more on adventure and a sense of wonder.

One aside: I loved the characters of Chirrut Imwe and Baze Malbus. The idea of a wannabe Jedi with a buddy who keeps saving his ass is great! I'd love to see a film just about them. The other thing I liked about this duo is how, instead of being a call back to earlier Star Wars movies, it's a shout out to the Akira Kurosawa films that inspired the whole series in the first place.

One of the problems with the current trend toward extended universes is that blockbuster films have a harder time standing on their own. If it weren't a Star Wars film, I'd have fewer issues with it. Rogue One is solid, sci-fi entertainment, and would be even if it wasn't a prequel.