The
first in a series of stand-alone, spin-off stories set in the Star Wars
universe, “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” is director Gareth Edwards’s spin on
what a gritty war movie in that world might look like. Set just before “Star
Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope,” the story explains exactly how blueprints for
the Galactic Empire’s secret weapon, the Death Star, ended up in the hands of
the Rebel Alliance. It’s an entertaining story, but not really necessary in the
grand scheme of things.
Gone is the gee-whiz excitement we
associate with the big-budget space operas, as Edwards lends his film a much
darker tone than any prior “Star Wars” film; this is the first that doesn’t
feel specifically made for young children. He also nixes the signature opening
crawl accompanied by John Williams’s iconic fanfare, and drops us straight into
the action. The tonal shift is an interesting development for the franchise,
and it might have even worked if writers Chris Weitz
and Tony Gilroy had given us interesting, memorable characters to get us
invested in the story.
The tale revolves around steely
outlaw Jyn Erso (Felicity
Jones), who’s recruited by the Rebel Alliance to aid in a mission to extract
her engineer father, Galen (Mads Mikkelsen), from the
hands of the Empire. Taken prisoner years prior by Imperial officer Orson Krennic (Ben Mendelsohn), Galen was forced to become the
reluctant architect of the planet-destroying Death Star and may be able to
provide the Rebels with the necessary information to destroy it.
The Rebel mission is led by Cassian Andor (Diego Luna), though the core team gradually expands
to include defecting Imperial cargo pilot Bodhi Rook (Riz
Ahmed); Chirrut Îmwe (Hong
Kong action star Donnie Yen), a blind monk who’s a devout believer in the
Force; and Chirrut’s heavily-armed companion, Baze Malbus (Wen Jiang). The
comedic relief comes in the form of Cassian’s droid and co-pilot K-2SO, voiced
and performed with motion capture technology by Alan Tudyk.
The Star Wars films have always been
driven by character more than plot, and J.J. Abrams nailed that aspect in last
year’s “The Force Awakens,” delivering a fresh cast of characters that
audiences instantly connected with. Here we get a “Dirty Dozen” band of
fighters made up of “spies, saboteurs, assassins.” These ground-level soldiers
make a nice counterpoint to the prior installments larger-than-life heroes and
Jedi, which could have added an interesting layer to the story, but the
characters are all so thinly sketched that they barely register as people.
We’re told that they’ve done terrible things for the sake of the cause, but any
real questioning of what justifies the more extreme methods of resistance is
quickly brushed aside in favor of more explosions.
While the film suffers from pacing
issues — the first 20 minutes feel like a planet-jumping travelogue, while the
middle section drags — the film is most successful as a straight-up action
movie. The entire last act is pretty terrific, filled with exciting,
well-staged set pieces and plenty of the series’ distinctive outer space
dogfights. There’s also a fantastic late scene involving Darth Vader that
manages to bring real menace and fear back to the character.
Despite the forgettable characters,
there’s a resonant story about the sacrifice and heroism of a diverse band of
rebels coming together against an all-powerful authoritarian regime. With its
multicultural cast, it’s great to see this beloved franchise grow more and more
diverse as the years go on — although it’s worth noting that there has yet to
be a woman of color in any significant role. Felicity Jones and Daisy Ridley of
“The Force Awakens” have a certain physical similarity that hints that Disney
may have decided there’s a specific type of female hero which audiences most
respond to.
Like “The Force Awakens,” “Rogue
One” is littered with winking callbacks and references to earlier films in the
series, and while some arise organically from the story, many more feel
distracting and out of place. The creative team seems so intent to hold onto
the original trilogy as an anchor that it’s impossible for them to pull up and
go off in their own direction.
Plans for this series of stand-alone
films appear steeped in a sense of nostalgia rather than a desire to bring new
stories to audiences eager to explore the Star Wars universe. Sure there’s a
certain excitement in seeing the pieces fall into place, but by continuing to draw
from the same well, there’s a possibility that over-explaining the original
stories will ultimately dilute their power.
That the next spin-off — scheduled
for release in 2018 — will focus on the adventures of a young Han Solo does
nothing to ease my fears.
I’m excited to see stories set in
this universe that incorporate a variety of genres and tones, but have nothing
to do with the Skywalker family saga. With “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,”
Disney has successfully launched both sides of its two-pronged reboot of the
Star Wars cinematic universe, though it feels like this new series has yet to
truly take off.
Check back on Friday for additional film coverage, including a review of “Jackie.”
This article appears in Dec 21-27, 2016.
