How to Fill the Hole ‘Rogue One’ Leaves in Your Heart
There is a bit of contention in the fan community as to whether or not the first installment of Disney’s much-touted stand-alone anthology is The Best Star Wars Film Ever Made, or if it’s good at all, (the argument itself is half the fun)but there are a few stone cold facts that are hard for anyone to contradict. The first, is that the movie is a big ol’ financial success, and the second (almost counterintuitivley) is that it is also a big ol’ bummer.
We don’t need to spoil anything to get across that this is a “darker” Star Wars movie, (everything is “darker” nowadays, even Power Rangers) and on top of that are the bitter-sweet pangs of longing that come from being torn away from a beloved fantasy world. No more Star Wars, not for a whole other year. So how do we fill the hole that this movie leaves in our heart? With genuine human connection, and also more movies. Here are a few things you can stream right now to help come down off Rogue One.
- The Man in the High Castle — Amazon
Stone-faced brunette heroine? Check. Rebellion sabotaging a fascist occupying force? Check. The moral ambiguity of participating in said rebellion? Backstabbing power-grabs from power-hungry military leaders eager to climb the rungs of said fascist occupying force? Sci Fi?? Check! Check! and…kinda check! Alternate history is a subgenre of scifi, so we’ll count it. Chances are you’ve heard of this one, but if you haven’t, — or if you haven’t given it a chance yet, now is the time. It’s got all the elements of Rogue One, just swap out the space ships for 1950’s Volkswagens, and the thinly veiled allusions to Nazi Germany with actual Nazis.
2. Colony — Netflix
One of the drawbacks to living in the golden age of television is that there is simply too much good television to watch. If you haven’t heard of Man in the High Castle then chances are very slim that you’ve heard of Colony, which originally aired on USA network to little fan-fare and recently came to Netflix. It’s surprisingly good, if disappointingly similar to other surprisingly good TV. We’ve got another brow-furrowing brunette woman fighting in another rebellion against another occupying force (Don’t get us wrong though, we’re all about ass-kicking, brow-furrowing ladies). Colony, however is more of a family centered drama, focusing on the loving, yet duplicitous relationship between the heroine and her husband, played by Josh Holloway and his hair. Also this one is scifi in a more classical sense. We’re talking aliens (or at least the vague threat of aliens) However the line at the end of the trailer “no one ever sees them” is true. Don’t watch this if you’re expecting a creature feature. The aliens are more of an idea used to explore the many things that a population in fear will do to itself. But we like it that way.
3. The Great Escape — Google Play/Starz/Youtube
Rogue one is a Science Fantasy, but it’s also a war movie, in a way many of the previous Star Wars films had not been. It’s also, in less blatant ways, a heist film. And it’s awesome for that. So why beat around the bush and watch alternate history and distopian fantasy when you can just go straight to the source that inspired all of them. Watch REAL (fake) Nazis and a REAL (fake) war as a newly formed band of comrades-in-chains work together to escape a prisoner-of-war camp in The Great Escape. Instead of Jyn Erso or Han Solo, we’ve got the original, Steve McQueen. It’s a heist movie and a war movie wrapped up in one, and there’s a reason it’s a classic. It’s a hell of a lot of fun.
4. Pete Holmes: Faces and Sounds — HBO
Sometimes after an emotionally draining cinematic experience, what you really need is a complete about-face. Pete Holmes’ new comedy special has about as little in common with Rogue One as anything can, but that’s the point. In addition to being an infectious laugher in his own right, Holmes is a staunch proponent of empathy, self-love, and unabashed silliness. This special is his way of giving you a big squishy hug, and you deserve it. Watch, laugh, recover.
5. A New Hope — Google Play/Amazon
You know when we said there wouldn’t be any more Star Wars for a year? Well that’s not exactly true. You can always go back, and in the case of A New Hope it makes it even better after seeing Rogue One. This latest film does a nice job of tying itself into the very first of the Star Wars franchise, and after watching the mission that gave the rebellion the plans to the death star, A New Hope takes on a new light when viewed in context. The stakes are higher, Darth Vader is scarier, the struggle of the Rebellion is all the more real. And not to mention one of the most groan-worthy plot holes in the series is now a heart-breaking act of love and defiance. It makes that final explosion all the sweeter. Now if they could only have given Chewie a medal.
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