Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
6.5/10 I guess.
Y'know, it's Star Wars, and there was nothing BAD about it. It was well made, so overall it was definitely worth seeing. But there was something missing that made it feel sort of detatched and dragging. I noticed this almost immediately and spent a lot of the movie trying to zero in on exactly what that missing piece was. I came up with some thoughts:
First, I think the absence of a John Williams score had a much bigger impact on the way this movie felt than anyone would have guessed. I've actually always considered his SW score to be overrated. But, like, when the "Long ago, in a galaxy far away" line appeared on screen, it felt REALLY WEIRD to not have that music kick in, accompanied by the vertical scrolling expository text! It was like the whole theatre was ready and raring to go, and then... bloop, we're on this planet. This had an actual physical effect on me, making my stomach sink a little. So I guess the Williams music really is an extremely important thread for the series, and it as more variation than I give it credit for. I missed it.
Also, this really wasn't a character-driven story at all. Star Wars has always been about these huge characters... what's next for them, what they are to each other. This one played out more like military science fiction (which I respect), but in that respect, I can see how it disappointed some people.
I appreciated the story. They built an entire stand-alone film based on one stupid inexplicable plothole in the original Star Wars. Rogue One presented a backstory for it and "explained" it in a way that at least kind of made sense.
But honestly I felt that it was a bit dark. Not in tone necessarily, but.. like.. visually. It was hard to see at times, kind of an eye strain. I got tired. Zap zap boom! Ugh. All of the Star Trek reboots have held my interest straight through, and The Force Awakens kept me glued to the screen. This one, not so much. Makes me nervous about future standalone films. I don't care about young Han Solo. I think they could easily overdo it with too much of this kind of thing.
One thing that was GREAT about it was Darth Vader. Not to spoil anything, but he's only in it for a few moments, but they make those moments count big time. They finally have the technology to show Vader as the ominous, unstoppable, badass motherfucker that he was always supposed to be.
It's probably (hopefully) the last time we'll ever see him in a movie, but MAN did he go out on a high note. Best Vader scene ever.
Overall, it wasn't terrible, but it was no Force Awakens. I don't feel any need to rewatch it, but I'm glad I went.
Still made me think of how much we Whovians are getting the shaft from Hollywood. One episode in the past year, no movies. I'd freaking kill to have just ONE big, well-made Doctor Who movie. Just one. This is the TENTH Star Wars movie (if you count the Ewok abortions, which you kinda have to). It pisses me off from time to time, thinking about it.