Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2022)

Admirable film.

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

"Rogue One: A Star Wars Story," some people love it and some people hate it. Some say that this movie is better than "The Force Awakens" and vice versa. For me, "Rogue One" is not one of the most memorable movies from the whole trilogy as not a diehard fans. However, I really loved it when I was a kid where I always playing video games at first. "Rogue One" is nothing more than an anthology or should I just say, a spin-off in the "Star Wars" universe but it tells a different story which still has a connection especially for the original movie. It has a simple story which impresses like a copy-paste, a unique yet forgettable characters, and gives you some knowledge before "A New Hope." We watch the original movie without any background at all, before the prequel which I mean. At the time, we only witnessed the most brilliant movie ever existed at the time but it didn't give any clear background on why like this or that. Now, are you obliged to watch the anthology movie as a "Star Wars" fan or just pass it like there is nothing else? We will talk later in this review."Rogue One" is set before the "A New Hope" event and after "Revenge of the Sith." This movie explains the background of "A New Hope," why Princess Leia got a map of the Death Star, and include other characters as we know it. On the other hand, "Rogue One" doesn't have enough strong plot because the story seems simple and we absolutely know what will happen next. For all aspects, this movie has nothing to do with the Jedi. So, there is nothing a one on one lightsaber scene between the two Jedi. However, "Rogue One" actually provides all kinds of trivia and various references which you can find it such as Darth Vader for sure, Governor Tarkin, Princess Leia, R2-D2, C-3PO, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Senator Bail Organa, and other references. Considering various references, the opening shot at the end of the movie did have a right and well-shot connection before "A New Hope" began.Besides having a simple story which didn't show anything but put the name of "Star Wars" in its title, "Rogue One" prevails a fresh story for an initial story. Not many trilogies are shown from "Star Wars" which I speak of the original trilogy in here besides the lightsaber scene. The space battles don't seem focused so many people don't really care about that too. Therefore, "Rogue One" keeps uniqueness elements from the visual effect or rather, "Rogue One" overwhelms like a space or war movie in general. It 's so fascinating with its magnificent visual effects which I feel quite hate it when talking about this. The final before reach the climax is just one of the best in this movie regardless of the slow pace opening which doesn't have a text crawl opening scene. It just fell into the main story without a strong explanation from the beginning.When talking about the CGI, isn't just me or not who feels as an idiot when can't recognize between CGI and real? I just can't believe that the director was way too far on this point, especially for the Governor Tarkin's CGI which used the real face of Peter Cushing. Although watching and noticing it again, the CGI still feels stiff in some of the details, but it's so impressive because I think they used different actors apart from Guy Henry. Similarly, Princess Leia only appeared as a cameo in the last 10 seconds at the end of the movie. But, if there is Leia, it means there must be Luke or Han Solo, right? Well, there is nothing but you can see Darth Vader again in this film. Speaking of Darth Vader, I think I can take a little if he is the coolest villain character ever from all other movies or trilogy. This movie brings out this character into one of the awesome scenes which I don't think about. Even though it was just a few seconds, Darth Vader in this film was so badass and made me goosebump when I saw his performance that went straight into the action."Rogue One" feels like an easily forgotten movie in several parts including its characters. There are Felicity Jones as Jyn Erso, Diego Luna as Cassian Andor, Alan Tudyk as K-2SO, Donnie Yen as Chirrut Îmwe, Wen Jiang as Baze Malbus, Ben Mendelsohn as Orson Krennic, Forest Whitaker as Saw Gerrera, and Riz Ahmed as Bodhi Rook. With a movie that has a great cast and a perfect role for each character and scene, all of the characters seem like they are forgettable regardless of their variety of characters with funny humor. K-2SO is an android-like of BB-8 or R2-D2 and it is one of the funny characters and able to make some people laugh. Chirrut Îmwe is one of the characters who have the Force and steals most of the action parts with a very breathtaking choreography along with Malbus Baze. There are many characters in this movie but Jyn Erso is the most focused along with Orson Krennic as the main antagonist. This movie reminds me of an anime by Tomoki Kobayashi's "Akame ga Kill!" which has unique characters but it's turned off. At least, "Akame ga Kill!" feels memorable with those characters while "Rogue One" doesn't apply in this case.The visuals are no doubt in this movie as I said. It has a realistic visual effect and it shows some small details in it so you can't focus on what's going on in this movie. There were battles on the beach with AT-AT Walker, dogfights between space fighters, Star Destroyers, exotic and amazing place as it reminded me of a video game set in the place, and etc. With the original score from John Williams along with Michael Giacchino which still seems memorable and beautiful that fit with the scene, at least "Rogue One" feel a nuance as "Star Wars" in general but with a new idea, familiar, yet fresh.A lot of people said that "Rogue One" is better than "The Force Awakens." I did agree with the statement a little but I still prefer "The Force Awakens." I like all of the new characters in "The Force Awakens." "Rogue One" feels forgettable in terms of characters. Besides, "Rogue One" also provides a clear background from the original story and slips some of the trivia and connections in it. The scene from the Darth Vader which only lasted a few seconds was so frightening and tense in this movie. The CGI works very well from Governor Tarkin and Princess Leia, although it's still pretty weak in the small details. I can say "Rogue One" is an average movie. Not too great but not too bad besides that but it shows a story which seems similar but not the same.

Star Wars is my favorite franchise of all time. I love the Originals. I love the Sequels. I like Solo: A Star Wars Story. I really like the Prequels. I even like the Clone Wars movie. I, however, do not like this movie at all. While I do not hate this movie, I can definitely say this is not only the most disappointing Star Wars movie but also the worst Star Wars movie to date. I cannot believe people actually think this is better than the Sequels. Those movies actually felt like Star Wars movies. This movie completely lacked what makes a Star Wars movie great. This movie was only designed to appeal to EU fans or comic-book fans.Storytelling:The plot of this movie is obvious. Receiving and transmitting the Death Star plans to the rebellion. Was this movie anything outside of receiving and transmitting the Death Star plans to the rebellion? Absolutely not! This movie had absolutely no story. Why? The characters were bland, uninteresting, and had no personally. None of them received any character development or changed in the slightest throughout the movie. The writers knew the characters were going to die at the end so they decided to give them no character development. That's a terrible idea. If the characters are going to die at the end, you might as well make them likable, compelling, and give them some type of character development. That way, we can actually care about them throughout the movie, including the part when the die. I can tell you I did not care about characters death for two reasons. Reason #1: I knew they were going to die. Reason #2: Their characters were bland, uninteresting, and unrelatable. I cannot help but say the storytelling was terrible and underwhelming. Good storytelling in Star Wars needs compelling characters who are relatable, interesting, and receive development. Great characters push the story along. No characters=no story. Simple as that.Characters: The characters are bland. So there is little point in talking on the characters but I'm still going to do it anyway.Jyn Erso: The worst protagonist in a Star Wars movie. The only personality she had was that she had a past with her father. Her character development was extremely poorly executed. She decided to join the Rebels despite them killing her father? That makes no sense. That is the worst character development I've even seen in Star Wars. Galen Erso: Jyn Erso's father. Imperial worker who placed a trap in the Death Star. Could have been an interesting character if he was in the movie more.Cassian Andor: Bland character who was in the rebellion since he was six-years-old. Also, he had a past where he did shady things for the Rebellion. Chirrut Imwe: Bland character who can use the force. The movie could have been interesting if he was a Jedi and the movie was just about him.Baze Malbus: Bland character who uses a big gun.Bodhi Rock: Bland character who was once an imperial pilot but defected.Director Krennic: One of the only two characters in this movie with a personally. He's cocky and ambitious. He less of an evil person and more of a person who wants recognition. It's clever writing to see his reputation die with his creation when it was the cause of his death. He's a good villain but it would have been much better if he was in the movie more. K-2SO: The other character in this movie with a personally. He's funny, sarcastic, and rude. Easily the best character in the movie. The only character that I love. Sadly his death was the only one I cared about. Emotion:There are a few emotional scenes in this movie but not enough for a Star Wars film. Here's are the scenes:Jyn Erso's flashback of her fatherGalen Erso's death sceneK-2SO deathSadly, these scenes weren't that emotional because the characters in this movie were really bland. This is not enough emotion for a good Star Wars film. Acting/Dialogue:The acting was nothing terrible but nothing memorable either. It was bland. K-2SO and Director Krennic definitely had the best dialogue in the movie. I'm not counting Darth Vader because his appearance in the movie was minimal.Pacing:The third act was paced perfectly, but the first two acts were paced horribly. As a result, this movie has the worst pacing out of any Star Wars movies. This is the only Star Wars movie with really slow pacing, and that's a bad thing. Visuals/Sound Effects:Easily the best part of the movie. The visuals and sound effects were excellent. Very rarely was the CGI noticeable. This is the only category where this movie is superior to the Prequels. This movie took full advantage of the visuals and sound effects in the final act of the movie. The last 1/3 of the movie was really fun and entertaining. Really awesome action scenes. Let's not forget Vader's cameo when he slices the Rebels. The action is just awesome in this movie.In Conclusion:This movie had great visuals and sound effects with an enjoyable third act with awesome action scenes but that does not make up for the horrible pacing, terrible storytelling, awful characters, bland acting, and lack of emotion. This movie completely lacked the Star Wars magic, magic which is created with great characters, great character development, great storytelling, and emotion. Just because Darth Vader sliced through rebels and rebels destroyed AT-ACT walkers does not make this movie a good Star Wars movie. Like I said earlier, this movie isn't terrible. It's just not particularly great, which is bad for a Star Wars movie. This movie is only average.I do not understand the praise for this movie. I do not understand how people prefer this movie over the Prequels and Sequels. I think this movie is the worst Star Wars movie ever made. Score: 50%

Even though I still do disapprove of Disney and Star Wars having that merger. I really enjoyed this movie it was a good tie in to Episode 5 and it explains how the plans of the death star were saved.My favourite bit was that scene with Darth Vader not going to say which one thought.It had good acting.Good special effects.It is very promising to Star Wars fans.There will be reviews for Episode 7 and 8 I will be doing but they won't be friendly or positive whatsoever. There will be a review for Solo as well once when I have got round to see it.If you want an example of a good Star Wars movie I would highly recommend Rogue One.Have a good day everyone and may the force be with you.

Today Ive watched this for the 5th time. Beside Empire strikes back this has to be one of my favs. How could any true Star Wars fans bash this movie. I remember going to the drive in and seeing the original Star Wars and empire Strikes Back when it first debut. I was Amazed to say the least along with millions of other fans. I didn't have questions like where did Vader come from or what year is this set in. I always wanted to know from the first ten minutes of the original Star Wars-A new hope is how did they get plans to the Death Star. Ive imagined my own story of how they got the plans, Ive talked to others over the many years when star wars came up in conversation but then this movie came out and answered my question better than I have ever imagined. I have no idea why this movie got bashed. Was it because of the prequels, was it because it didn't involve hans solo, or luke skywalker. People this tells the story of 1 specific part of the whole star wars story. Watch it again, I promise you will love it for that. If you are a true fan of everything star wars then there is no possible way you can hate this movie. The only thing bad to me is now I have another question that bothers me. What happened to the Death troopers. They came, they looked awesome and they vanished after this movie.