JANUARY 3, 2017
Does anyone else feel that going to the latest “Star Wars” movie these days is like attending a family reunion? You know you have to go because you’ve come this far already, but you really don’t want to spend all that time because it’s now the same thing every Christmas.
So when I heard that Lucasfilm was making a stand-alone film set in the “Star Wars” universe, I was encouraged (a little).
I have to confess that I was a huge “Star Wars” fan after the first two films (or Chapters 4 & 5 or whatever the hell they’re calling them now.. They’re still “Star Wars” and “The Empire Strikes Back” to me.) But as soon as those cuddly Ewoks checked in, I checked out. Nonetheless, being a movie completist, I still saw all the films in the series, yes even those dreadful “Clones/Sith” interim movies with Hayden Christensen. (shudder)
But then “The Force Awakens” was released in 2015, and though it was no great shakes as a movie, it did manage to correct many of the narrative weaknesses that the prior films had relied on. The biggest improvement was the series’ treatment of women. The “Star Wars princesses” are gone and now women are fighting as full-fledged rebels, an improvement that took too long in coming.
And in the new “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” that fighter is Jyn (Felicity Jones), daughter of scientist Galen Erso (Mads Mikkelsen) whom as a child, she had seen being dragged away by Imperial Director Orson Krennic (Ben Mendelsohn) and forced to work on completing the Death Star, a super-weapon capable of eradicating an entire planet in one shot. Jyn, who was rescued and mentored by Rebel extremist Saw Guerra (Forest Whitaker, in yet another strange performance), is brought to the Rebel camp after 15 years to join a mission guided by hotshot pilot Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) and wisecracking droid K-2SO (voiced by the brilliant Alan Tudyk) to steal the plans to the Death Star so that construction can stop on the deadly weapon.
So are all the necessary ingredients in a “Star Wars” extravaganza in place? Let’s see. Fearless heroine? (check) Her too-full-of-himself pilot? (check) Funny droid [perfect for kids and toy shelves]? (check) Cape-flashing supervillain? (check) Battles to keep the world from blowing up? (definitely check). OK, now we’ve got a “Star Wars” movie!
And that’s the problem with “Rogue One.”
As you watch the movie while clicking familiar plot points off your mental checklist, you stop being engaged with the characters because there’s so little there there. Gareth Edwards is a director I admire greatly — I’m one of the few fans of his 2014 remake of “Godzilla” — but he brings nothing to the table here. Nor do writers Chris Weitz (“American Pie”) and Tony Gilroy (“Michael Clayton”) — accomplished writers both — but their disappointing screenplay is little more than barked orders and vaguely romantic bromides. Without a solid script, the actors, who are all terrific (in other movies, just not this one) are hamstrung (Jones, Luna and Mendelsohn in particular).
Quick fashion note: Though he can get a little hammy at times (he’s a “Star Wars” villain, for goodness sake), Mendelsohn is saddled with a most unfortunate white cape that is the saddest-looking “fashion don’t” that I’ve seen on a bad-guy in some time. You’re an officer in the Empire, man! Get yourself a better tailor. This white cape is designed to evoke fear but it just looks like a bedsheet — and not a good bedsheet but one that you’d relegate to the guest bedroom. You know a movie is boring if you’re down to offering fashion critiques while the planet is about to blow up.
It’s not an awful movie, just inconsequential. But this is a proud franchise that’s being piddled away. If you must see it, I beg you not to walk out early, because there is a symbol of the legacy of “Star Wars” in the film’s very last shot, an image that will take your breath away. And one that will almost make you think that “Rogue One” is a good movie.
GRADE: C
