Is Rogue One a good movie ?
I saw Rogue One two times here in France. Is it a good movie ? Overall note : ★★★★★
I love Star Wars. I was looking for a good movie and a good Star Wars with Rogue One. I got a great movie and a different Star Wars. That went higher than expected.
Is the story really different ? No.
Are the characters really different ? No.
Is it an original and revolutionnal movie ? No.
But it’s the most beautiful CGI effects I saw in my short movie viewing life.
It’s one of the most powerful third act I’ve ever saw in a blockbuster.
Oh god, it was really nice. I’ll not spoil anything in this review.
Casting: ★★★★✩
- Felicity Jones as Jyn Erso : ★★★★✩
Powerful character and nice acting from Felicity. Good job !
- Diego Luna as Capitain Cassian Andor : ★★★★✩
Nice character, nice acting, a nice balance between violence and hope.
- Donnie Yen as Chirrut Îmwe : ★★★★★
I want a movie for Chirrut. That’s all.
- Ben Mendelsohn as Director Orson Krennic : ★★★★★
It’s a great bad guy with a great story. Facial expressions were really good.
- Jiang Wen as Baze Malbus : ★★★★★
I want Baze in the Chirrut movie. That’s all.
- Forest Whitaker as Saw Gerrera : ★★★✩✩
God … Forest Whitaker is a nice actor. Use him !
- Mads Mikkelsen as Galen Erso : ★★✩✩✩
God … MADS MIKKELSEN. YOU GOT MADS MIKKELSEN. USE HIM !
- Alan Tudyk as K-2SO : ★★★★★
Really funny. It’s a comic sidekick but it was in correct proportions.
- Riz Ahmed as Bodhi Rook : ★★★★★
I was surprised by this character. I love it even if he got a little screen time.
Story and writing: ★★★★✩
The way Gareth Edwards built his story around all the Star Wars universe is really brilliant. He solves some plot holes from Episode IV, he didn’t create any new one. That was hard and not won at all but he manages to do it.
The story is simple, there is no big plot twist, no surprise. But it’s well written. It’s dense but it works.
Galen Erso is not well written. It’s a really bad character, a big “cliché”. Mads is so talented and you don’t use this. That’s a Doctor Strange bis for him.
There are some surprises that I let you discover but it’s really interesting and well done.
I love the way they wrote the Rebellion. It’s not all white. It’s a really grey Rebellion with bad decisions, hard decisions, sacrifices. That’s really nice to watch. I see some good political criticisms through this Star Wars.
Directing: ★★★★★
Oh god. Oh god. Some plans are just unbelievable. Gareth took some risks and that pay. It’s really beautiful and different from other Star Wars.
Space battles are fantastic. Models for space ships are really nice. Death Star is filmed nicely and it’s a great addition to Episode IV.
The change to shaky cam is not bad. Sometimes, camera should have been more calm. The scene where Rogue One’s ship arrived on Jedha is really good for example. More scenes like that would have give a better rhythm to the movie.
Tragic moments are amazing. The camera takes some time at those moments and that’s great.
/!\ SPOILER /!\
Something really well done are CGI characters. Wow, that was impressive, technically a really great job.
/!\ END OF SPOILER /!\
Overall note : ★★★★★
For me, Rogue One is the second best Star Wars movie just behind Empire Strikes Back. It’s just so beautiful and tragic. Gareth Edwards, i want you for another Star Wars Story.
