Sunday, December 18, 2016

Rogue One

Movie Name: Rogue One
Year of Release: 2016
Director: Gareth Edwards
Stars: Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, Alan Tudyk, Donnie Yen, Ben Mendelsohn, Wen Jiang, Forest Whitaker, Riz Ahmed, Mads Mikkelsen, Jimmy Smits, Alistair Petrie, Genevieve O'Reilly, Ben Daniels, Paul Kasey
Genre: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 6
View Trailer Here

Synopsis:
Director Gareth Edwards is back with another big budget film, following his previous directorial effort, "Godzilla". "Rogue One" is an original story, within the "Star Wars" universe, expanding upon events that were alluded to in the original George Lucas' film from 1977. The film focuses on the story of Jyn Erso, a young woman who has been haunted by dark events ever since she was a child. When she was but a child, her father was taken by the evil empire to help them create weapons of mass destruction. Now an adult, Jyn is recruited by the rebels, in order to try to find her father so they can get insight into a massive weapon that was created by the imperial forces that has the power to destroy planets. It's a race against time for Jyn and her team to find her father, and ultimately the plans to destroy that weapon.
"Rogue One" is a film that uses the "Star Wars" mythology to expose its premise and what drives its action set pieces. The film functions as prequel to the events of the original "Star Wars" from 1977, and as such tries to build a coherent bridge with the events of that film. The film follows standard and familiar premises, such as the young hero who has lived her life trying to rebel against establishment, since she feels she was wronged by her family and by everyone in general. The rebels give her a sense of purpose, and she forms a bond with a motley crew who help her reach her goals. The story development is not exactly the most enticing and dramatically engaging, but the film does manage to add further dimension to this universe, by showcasing a dirtier side to something that was always so sterile in most of George Lucas' features. The visual effects are stunning and it's fantastic to see Peter Cushing back on the screen, but Ben Mendelsohn easily creates the most interesting character. Felicity Jones' Jyn Erso, who is at the core of the narrative, ends up being enveloped by the most of the action that is created around her, but still manages to give her some heart, even if the character lacks some edge. It's a professionally executed film, one that entertains, but that doesn't add much to the mythology of this franchise.

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