‘Rogue One’ ShortScope Film Review (No Spoiler)

Here’s the deal:

With all the things I have going on with school, the next episode of ShortScope, and the production of ‘BloodGuilt’ (my next short film)

{which I should be filming today, but I’ll get into all that in a later post}

I decided to get away from everything and spend some quality time with my family, and clear my head.

And what better way to bond this weekend, than to check out ‘Rogue One’?! Yeah! (patting myself on the back) that was a good call, because I was pleasantly surprised at how much fun I had watching this film.

Look:

I went in thinking that ‘Rogue One’ would be tricky to pull off, because:

(A) -it takes place within a world that we’re already familiar with &

(B) -they’re introducing new characters into that world

Why Does This Matter?

The filmmakers would have to find the balance of producing all the familiar ingredients of a Star Wars film, while simultaneously getting us to root for new characters against the Empire.

I mean, being able to introduce one character in a film is hard enough, let alone a whole team of them:

Good Example: Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)

Bad Example: Suicide Squad (2016)

But tacking on all those other challenges, while still being able to entertain us, is all the more impressive.

The only concern I had with this film, is actually the same concern I have with any of these types of prequel stories.

And Here’s the Catch:

We already know how it would end; because we know that this story takes place before Episode IV. Therefore, we know that in the end (spoiler alert for those who haven’t seen Episode IV) the rebels will get the plans to the Death Star. So, if a fight is taking place in this film where the plans “may, or may not” make it the rebels, we’re not going to be as emotionally involved as we could be.

The only film I can remember effectively handling this conundrum was the first reboot of Star Trek (2009). Its storyline made every other franchise story before it irrelevant; thereby raising the stakes in every “life or death” mishap in that story. It was a true reboot.

Look:

This misstep doesn’t stop ‘Rogue One’ from being entertaining, because it’s definitely entertaining. Just like the same situation didn’t stop “Shadows of the Empire” from being a good book, or video game (shout out to all my late 70’s and early 80’s babies that remember that one).

So, when you get a chance, make sure you check out ‘Rogue One’, and let me know what you think. In the meantime, I’ll be getting back to my school work, editing for ShortScope, and producing BloodGuilt my next short film… [salute]