By Jack Kelly, Business and Publishing Editor
I stood outside the Vashon Theater shivering, unsure if it was in anticipation for the premiere of the latest installment in the Star Wars franchise or the sub-freezing temperatures of December. Two hours later, I found myself driving home, wondering what went wrong.
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story released on Dec. 16 to a rather negative response from popular critics including Anthony Oliver Scott of the New York Times and Stephanie Zacharek of Time.
“‘Rogue One,’ named for the call sign of an imperial cargo ship appropriated by rebel fighters, is the opposite of that vessel,” said Scott. “Masquerading as a heroic tale of rebellion, its true spirit is Empire all the way down.”
Yet despite the criticism, the film has had decent box office success. Making over $150 million in the first weekend alone, Rogue One was by no means a flop, yet it failed to live up to its overachieving cousin The Force Awakens, which raked in an astounding $529 million over the same period of time.
The film follows Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones) as she struggles to find a weakness in a rumored imperial superweapon. As she gathers followers, Jyn is forced to confront family ties and forge a new path of resistance.
One of the greatest shortcomings of the film is the severe lack of character arc. While the backstory behind Jyn is interesting, there is no significant character development, which is essential in any film regardless of the fate of the characters.
Ironically, this leaves the wisecracking droid K-2SO (Alan Tudyk) as the most personable character.
I agree with the claims that Chirrut Îmwe (Donnie Yen), a blind monk who is attuned to the force, is a complete badass; however, because the story would essentially run the same track without him, I find it hard to feel much emotion at his character arc.
Director Gareth Edwards was also indecisive with the direction of the film. Rogue One was marketed as a fresh story in a historic saga, but the film was packed with somewhat forced references to the rest of the series.
The first Star Wars film, A New Hope, was such a successful movie in part because of its creative world building. Star Wars fan or not, most would recognize the planet Tatooine and the iconic Death Star. Breaking from tradition, the first half of Rogue One bounces around from various random locations within the Star Wars universe, preventing the audience from developing an attachment for the “new” universe of Rogue One.
We start on Lah’mu where we meet Jyn’s family. Next, we skip forward 15 years and find ourselves watching rebel leaders discuss an imperial super weapon in the Ring of Kafrene. Then, we are suddenly on Jedha with a defective pilot and so on. You catch the drift.
However, Rogue One does have its redeeming qualities.
The cinematography was consistently incredible. From the opening shots of Jyn’s home to the epic space battles over Scarif, I was thoroughly impressed.
Michael Giacchino, composer, was asked to step into some very large shoes when asked to compose the score for the first Star Wars film sans John Williams, all with a time frame of only three months! However, with the odds against him, Giacchino did an excellent job in capturing the spirit of Williams, while adding a fresh sound to a new kind of film.
Perhaps the disappointment felt by a portion of the community stemmed from the high expectations placed on the movie. The title Star Wars carries a heavy weight. Regardless of the movie’s quality in the audio and visual, it will immediately be compared to some of the greatest of all time.
With that in mind, Rogue One is one of the best films released this year. The beautiful cinematography and quality score make it a film to watch, yet it ultimately failed to live up to the expectations of a group of serious Star Wars fans like myself.