‘Blu-ray or Bust’ - ROGUE ONE

‘Blu-ray or Bust’

ROGUE ONE (2016, PG-13, 133 minutes, LUCASFILM LTD/DISNEY)

When I first saw this STAR WARS film in a theatre, it left me with a dissatisfied view on where this series is headed.

I’m not one of those fans that has read all of the books and still has all of the toys—I am a fan, but of the original trilogy, and the effort made by J.J. Abrams. This time around, I wasn’t entirely sold on the concept of a one-shot, a film which stands as a direct prequel to the events which transpire in Episode IV. There were a few things I had issues with, and they were strictly from the production side of things.

The movie stars Felicity Jones (THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING, INFERNO) as Jyn Erso, a troublemaker recruited to the cause of The Rebellion. Seems there are plans for a certain Death Star that need stealing, and she knows the designer of the battle station personally. The story itself is fine, albeit chock full of the usual storytelling elements: redemption, revenge, justice, bad kid goes good. These points are all necessary, and the script by Chris Weitz (THE GOLDEN COMPASS) and Tony Gilroy (the entire BOURNE series) never gets preachy or heavy-handed. The acting is on par with every Star Wars film (the good ones, at least); indeed, the biggest standout here is the voice (and body movements) of Alan Tudyk as Imperial droid K-2SO. Also, the characters of Baze and Chirrut (Wen Jiang and Donnie Yen) have the best chemistry since Han and Chewie. You kind of wish that, for certain characters, this was not a standalone film.

At times—especially the end, a wonderful spectacle of beach warfare that involves Stormtroopers that actually have good aim—the movie looks more like a WWII epic, complete with Army-issue helmets and flying sand. Therein lies part of my problem with this film: in an effort to recreate the human moments of Abrams’ THE FORCE AWAKENS, director Gareth Edwards (MONSTERS, GODZILLA) and the production team may have taken things too literally. From Jyn Erso’s rap sheet (should the words “resisting arrest” ever be in a Star Wars film? Isn’t there a better galactic phrase for it?) to the helmets, there are times in which you wonder if planet Earth is going to make an appearance at some point. Don’t get me wrong; seeing an AT-AT trudging along a beach is just as breathtaking as seeing an X-wing zipping across a lake. But part of the magic of the entire saga is that this is all happening in a galaxy far, far away.

The other thing that bothered me in the theater, but isn’t really an issue in the transition to the “small” screen, are the effects shots of two characters from “A New Hope” that make appearances here. Both characters looked horribly computer generated in IMAX, but they look much better here. Yes, I know; the technology isn’t quite were it should be to recreate human characters from movies made forty years ago. Which brings up my other point: if the technology isn’t quite there yet, why bother with the shot? Why create something so fake-looking that it is a distraction to the entire film? Especially when that franchise is one of such notoriety and fame? Alas, it does look better on a smaller scale; so don’t let my technologically biased brain hinder your viewing experience.

The special features are production and character friendly—apparently, the entire team was sold on the technology being just fine for the facial mapping. Yet it is an interesting look into the technical aspects of filmmaking, and seeing behind the closed doors if Industrial Light and Magic is a nerd’s dream come true.

Again; not a bad film. Despite the Star Destroyer that defies gravity and physics…

Grade: B

Special Features:

Blu-ray Necessary: Most definitely. (just…maybe…not for those two characters…)

-- T.S. Kummelman