Rogue One (2016) - Review

SPOILERS AHEAD

Just a year after the release of The Force Awakens, Disney/Lucasfilm gave us Rogue One, a prequel/spin-off that centers around the actual mission by the Rebel Alliance to steal the plans to the Death Star, which would jump start the events of A New Hope. I will say that I liked the idea of seeing this, even though the trailers didn't impress me that much. But I enjoyed The Force Awakens a lot and had faith in this new film, despite news of reshoots that make fans a little nervous. Anyway, I went to see it last month and I can give you my thoughts with one word: meh.

Now before you strike me down with your lightsaber, I want to clarify that I respect all fans of this movie. Before going in to see it, I had a feeling that people would be split over this movie, judging from what some of my friends thought of it. Some of them really liked it, others didn't find it all that engaging. And I really hate to be in the latter group.

Firstly, I didn't find the characters very interesting especially the two leads played by Felicity Jones and Diego Luna. I don't know if it was intentional for the cast to be cold and detached since the Empire has made times tough in the galaxy, but they just don't intrigue me. They don't have many interesting traits other than they're rebels. I really wish they had the same companionship that Rey, Finn, and Poe had in TFA. However, my favorite character is K-2SO (Alan Tudyk), an Imperial droid reprogrammed to help the Rebels. He provides much-needed levity to this dark film. Very ironic when the droid feels more human than the actual humans. I also liked Chirrut Îmwe (Donnie Yen), a blind warrior who strongly believes in the Force. He also has some cool moments and lines. 

Aside from the characters, the way the film expands the world and mythos is pretty cool. We travel to a lot of planets and see the effect the Empire has on other people. The climax was also pretty neat where you get to see the mission. It's like how I felt about Jurrasic World where I didn't care much for it but the climax was awesome! Also the Darth Vaders scenes I thought were effective, despite his short screen time. It was cool to hear James Earl Jones' voice again. But the icing on the cake is when at the end, Rebels try to fight off Vader but he outmatches them with his lightsaber and powers. I can positively say that a lot of people had nerdgasms over that scene. It's not hard to imagine how pleased everyone must have been to see the Vader they knew and love, and not his whiny, younger self. One last thing I liked is how the movie fixed this plothole from A New Hope in which how was it possible for the Death Star to be destroyed by shooting a laser in an exhaust port? It was very clever, in my opinion.

Another element people seem to be split on is the CGI effects of Tarkin and young Princess Leia. Some people felt it was unnecessary and didn't look that convincing. I, on the other hand, didn't think they look too bad but it's not as impressive in Ant-Man where they showed a younger Michael Douglas. Leia's face looked a bit plastic, but her scene at the end was brief. I'd give those effects an 8 out of 10.

So that's my thoughts on Rogue One which is a shame since it had to be my first meh review on my blog. Again, if any of you find a lot of value in it, then don't let my opinion stop you from enjoying it. I can definitely say that it's the best Star Wars prequel but that's not saying much. I just pray that the next spinoff will win me over. 

RATING: MODEST DISFAVOR

In memory of Carrie Fisher, our beloved sci-fi princess. Rest in peace. Also K-2SO. *sniffle* First Wash, now him. Why?!