ROGUE ONE REVIEWED
“Rogue One” is a trivial movie that made $400 million dollars in America. Somewhere between being floored by the use of Vader in the film and trying to comprehend the brutal assault on Scarif, the triviality becomes apparent. Jyn Erso exists to die. The same goes for the warrior monks, the funny droid and Diego Luna. When finite existence exists alongside new characters, the ability to bond doesn’t exist. So, what does that mean? Well, you’re spending two hours watching a cinematic version of a Let’s Play unfold.
The shadow of the Prequels weighs heavily upon this movie. “Rogue One” represents a lot of breakthroughs for the Star Wars Universe. But, it needs the lingering doom from the Prequels and the distant hope of Episode IV to keep things moving. When moving backwards in an established series, the ability to break new ground is limited. The creative team is requiring an audience to accept short-lived characters in an ancillary plot. If an audience can’t do that, the film falls apart.
There comes a time when being part of the Star Wars financial train feels old. Fans used to give Lucas grief for taking extra long between Saga Episodes to tell new stories of the Skywalker family. Well, it makes sense now. Disney is forgoing delay in order to create instant gratification that involves populating movies that don’t do anything other than function as cinematic DLC. For as cool as it is to see Vader killer Rebel troopers or to see early working Death Star attacks, it doesn’t matter.
There comes a point when Star Wars fandom runs high and every outing will get blanketed under a general fan love. I enjoy seeing the Rebels engaging in space battles. Hell, I even love covert sieges on Imperial bases. I just want these actions to build towards something. Otherwise, I’ll just stop home and play Battlefront.
FILM STATS
- 2 hrs and 13 mins
- PG-13
- Walt Disney/Lucasfilm
