Rogue One: a Star Wars Story – REVIEW

On a scale of 1-10, features in the movie are:

Violence: 5.5

Scary Scenes: 1.5

Language: 0

Illegal Stuff: 0

Parts Our Parents Skipped: 0

Overall Awesomeness: 8

GC: Star Wars. A lasting legacy in the movie world, known to everyone. Even if they’ve never watched it, they know it. One of the latest additions to the Star Wars franchise is Rogue One. A good movie by my standards, but today it’s going under the spotlight to be pulled apart and put back together again. Will it come out looking like Frankenstein’s monster? I have no clue, but let’s do this!

BC: Interesting how you say a “lasting legacy”. If you know anything about Star Wars, you also know it’s way overdone. Too many confusing prequels and cringe-worthy lines. Remember that musical sequence? Yeah, it’s “lasting” all right. But I’m afraid it’s been remembered as something it was never meant to be. I love Star Wars, well…parts of it. Overall, I’m a big fan, there’s just a lot of flaws and cracks and crevices…some cliffs and even a few canyons.

GC: Beauty can be hidden in flaws. Cracks and crevices can hold secrets waiting to be found. Cliffs? Ladders can be thrown down them to be accessed and canyons can have draw bridges. Sometimes one has to look beyond the mistakes of writers, producers or even directors to see the true beauty in something. I can guarantee you Da Vinci looked at his work and saw numerous flaws in it. Star Wars does have flaws, but it also has a lot of good to it. Take Rogue One for example. The acting was superb! What did you think of the acting?

BC: Very beautifully said, if only the writers had consulted you before some of their atrocities made it to screen. Ah, yes, the acting. The acting in Rogue One was very convincing, more so than in movies past. There’s not much I could criticize about the acting in this movie. Even I know a good thing when I see it. Speaking of good things, can we talk about that music? I’m going against my role for a moment, but I don’t think anyone will mind. The music literally brought me to tears. What were your thoughts when the opening theme began to play?

GC: Considering it was only my second time to see an actual Star Was movie on the big screen, I was almost squealing out of excitement. The opening scenes have always been a huge part of the Star Wars franchise and I was so excited to see it. Nothing like hearing the opening theme on the speakers so loud it actually vibrates your theater chair. So awesome! What about the plot line? I thought it was pretty neat how they tied this movie into the first movie and gave us a little more background on the conversations between Darth Vader and Princess Leia. I think they tied it all together really well and even added a big bow to top it all off nicely.

BC: Really, I cannot say enough good about the score for this movie, but…(straightens shades and tie) back to being Bad Cop. Personally, I thought it would’ve been more cool to show the original scene from the original movie for that last scene. So what if the production value is trash, people would appreciate it more. Still though, the plot line followed a young woman, trying to redeem her father from the bad that he’s done. Sound familiar? Stealing Leia’s character are we? I thought it was very well put together, but a still hard to follow. And a whole movie to explain one conversation? A little extensive. Neat, but a bit much.

GC: Ah, yeah, that would’ve been cooler. Much cooler. I agree with you there. Oh, and did I mention that in the original Star Wars there was a Rogue Two? Writers also answered the question of what happened to Rogue One. I love backstories and this one is no different. But, what got me was the ending. Not the ending with Leia saying, “A new hope”, but a little before that…that part got me. I can’t say too much, because then it’d be a spoiler…but, I wasn’t expecting that, though maybe I should’ve, and I actually liked it. Unexpected and not your normal ending for a Star Wars. I love twists. The more twists the better. Such is the case here. I’m not one to cry, but it moved me. What do you think was your favorite thing overall about the movie?

BC: To be completely honest, it did make me cry. Just a little bit…and mainly because of the music. I did appreciate the ending. Death of main characters in movies today used to be very uncommon, but thank goodness it’s coming back around. How unrealistic would it have been if a ship swooped in at the last second and saved them there on the beach? It would’ve cause massive eye rolls from audiences everywhere! How convenient that would’ve been. But when you think about it, why didn’t they just hop on an imperial ship and fly out of there? Oh I know…because if they were to live, that would’ve caused major plot holes. They don’t appear in the next chronological film, Episode IV. So, of course they had to be killed off. Favorite thing about the movie? You probably saw this coming, but…the music. It was composed by Michael Giacchino, which is not the norm for a Star Wars Movie. John Williams has been the composer on call since the beginning, but due to scheduling conflicts, Giacchino took over the role for him. If you listen at the end and the beginning, the main themes carry traces of original Star Wars scores. It’s amazing how Giacchino was able to replicate the style of Star Wars while creating a new beautiful and amazing tune that sets this movie apart from any other in the saga. I believe with all my heart that the film score of a movie is just as much a character as the hero or the villain. That was a long and drawn out answer, and not at all critical, but it’s what I’ve got. What about you?

GC: Yeah, the music truly was beautiful. My favorite thing overall was the acting. Acting makes a movie for me. Without good acting, a movie is nothing. Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, Donnie Yen, and the other great actors in this movie sold it for me. Their skills shone above any flaws the movie or series has. There’s so many moments in the movie that I felt the acting was flawless, but I won’t spoil anything.

Star Wars has a lasting legacy that’s being continued — er, sorry, started (once you’ve seen the movie, you’ll smile at this) by Rogue One. Even though the series is known to have a few mistakes here and there, the acting and plot line in this movie, in my opinion, is slightly better than the originals, though nothing could ever really beat those. I would recommend this movie to anyone who has seen the movies or has never seen them, even if it does have a few flaws. But, flaws can be diminished by a great plot, a great score and great acting. What do you think?

BC: I must say, it was difficult to be the bad guy against this movie, yet still, as I looked at it from a critical standpoint, I found there was a lot to be said! Yes, the acting was superb in some scenes, but can we over look the many obvious story line clichés? I struggle to, and I believe others do as well. I can’t be alone when I say; this was not the best movie in the saga. It wasn’t as epic as Star Wars movies past, and it could’ve been written much better. So with that, I rest my case.

Where does Rogue One fit into the Star Wars saga?

The Phantom Menace (Episode I, 1999) – Attack of the Clones (Episode II, 2002) – Revenge of the Sith (Episode III, 2005) – Rogue One (2016) – Star Wars (Episode IV, 1977) – The Empire Strikes Back (Episode V, 1980) – Return of the Jedi (Episode VI, 1983) – The Force Awakens (Episode VII, 2015) – The Last Jedi (Episode VIII, 2017) – Star Wars, Episode IX (coming 2019)

Stay tuned for the Han Solo movie coming out next year some time, where we’ll see a young version of Han and his adventures in the galaxy!

Comment below and tell us who you think won this round in the Courtroom!

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