4) Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)
Directed by: Gareth Edwards
Written by: Chris Weitz, Tony Gilroy, John Knoll, Gary Whitta
Starring: Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, Alan Tudyk, Donnie Yen, Wen Jiang, Ben Mendelsohn, Riz Ahmed, Forest Whitaker, Mads Mikkelsen, Genevieve O’Reilly
The first of the anthology stories within the rebooted Star Wars franchise is functional in nature, but epic in its execution. It makes far more of a contribution to the cinematic universe than Star Wars: The Clone Wars, because it actually tells a story that is briefly mentioned in the opening crawl of Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope – something that fans have long wanted to see. It also immerses the audience in a sense of actual warfare – with all its foggy uncertainties and moral questions.
It makes for a fascinating series entry, in fact, because it actually reframes the events of A New Hope in a very different light. When A New Hope was released in 1977, and as the saga progressed through its original trilogy, it presented a reality built around the opposing forces of the Light Side and the Dark. The Rebel Alliance – as represented by Leia and her comrades – was ‘good,’ while the Empire – as represented by Darth Vader and his military might – was ‘evil.’ The only real muddying of those waters was the fact that Anakin Skywalker was tempted to the Dark Side, from the Light.
Rogue One, however, presents wider context of that reality, and gives us a number of characters that are not so clear-cut in terms of their ethical code. Galen Erso is an innocent man who finds himself being manipulated and pressured into building a weapon of mass destruction. Jyn Erso begins the film with a real sense of antipathy toward the conflict in general. Senior figures in the Rebel Alliance mark Jyn Erso for death, even as she works to help the cause – purely because of her association with her father.
All of this action occurs immediately before the opening scenes of A New Hope – in that the closing scenes of Rogue One literally overlap with the scenario we’re dropped into at the beginning of the original film. Consequently, not only do we have the rewarding feeling of having the plot points of this epic space opera connect perfectly, but we also feel the building momentum, as the action of the third act builds to this familiar climax. Thanks to it being essentially a prequel to A New Hope, it also brings us Darth Vader on the big screen for the first time in 34 years – and that’s thrilling for fans to see. He makes no less than three breathtaking entrances – the last of which is enough to have audiences leaping from their seats and cheering.
But, again, the flaws are in the characters. The duo of Chirrut Imwe (Donnie Yen) and Baze Malbus (Wen Jiang) are by far the most winning combination – and the film sings when they’re onscreen. Beyond them, however, there are few that enable us to emotionally engage with them, or the story. The clear, but unspoken history that simmers between Galen Erso and Director Krennic is intriguing, but hinted at only fleetingly. The grudging respect that grows between Jyn Erso and Cassian Andor is almost too subtle to create interest.
The fact that we know where this story fits into the saga, and we know what will follow weighs Rogue One down in a way that might have caused it to sink, were it not for the tangible aesthetic that echoes the original trilogy, and some action sequences that are simply sublime. To be sure, Rogue One is a war movie – pure and simple. If it had included a plot twist, it would have been perfect – but as it is, it’s a useful entry into the series that’s stunning to watch.