Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016) review

I think it’s safe to say that Star Wars is easily the most famous franchise in pop culture history. Ever since George Lucas released the first film, Episode IV: A New Hope, back in 1977, the series has gone on to become one of the biggest global phenomena of all-time. While not every film in the series was well-received by critics and, particularly, audiences (i.e. a certain ‘prequel’ trilogy), they have all been huge commercial hits at the box-office. And when Lucasfilm was purchased by Disney in 2012 for $4.05 billion, that effectively led to the announcement that we’d be getting more Star Wars films. We got our first taste of this new run of films last year with the one and only critically-acclaimed, $2 billion grossing Episode VII: The Force Awakens, which continued the story that originally concluded more than three decades earlier with Return of the Jedi. We’ll be getting the next installment of the main saga next December, but until then, this December sees the release of the first major ‘spin-off’ of the franchise (not counting the 2008 Clone Wars film), which will pave the way for new films set within the world of Star Wars that stray away from the usual proceedings of the saga films. The first of these ‘Star Wars ‘Stories’’, Rogue One, takes place in between the events of Episode III, Revenge of the Sith, and Episode IV, A New Hope. Under the direction of Gareth Edwards, director of the 2014 reboot of Godzilla, Rogue One focuses on the events that were listed in the opening crawl of A New Hope; how the Rebel Alliance managed to steal the plans to the Empire’s planet-destroying superweapon, the Death Star. What follows is another exciting adventure in the Star Wars series that also affirms the great potential of future spin-offs.

Being set between Episodes III and IV, Rogue One takes place in a time where the Jedi Order has been extinguished and the Empire is now reigning supreme across the galaxy. The Rebel Alliance, now the only major force left that can combat the Empire, learns that a defecting Empire pilot, Bodhi Rook (Riz Ahmed), has been given a message to deliver to them from weapons designer Galen Erso (Mads Mikkelsen), who had been forced into working for the Empire, about the development of a superweapon. As a means of tracking down Galen, the Rebellion enlists the aid of his distant daughter, Jyn (Felicity Jones), who has been spending the last few years fending for herself after escaping from the Empire when they came for her dad. And thus, Jyn, along with Rebel Officer Cassian Andor (Diego Luna), Andor’s droid assistant and reprogrammed Empire enforcer droid K-2SO (Alan Tudyk), Rook, mercenary Baze Malbus (Jiang Wen), and blind Force-warrior Chirrut Ȋmwe (Donnie Yen), head off on a mission to find Galen and learn more about this new weapon. Of course, as they all find out, this weapon is the Death Star, a fully-operational battle station capable of destroying an entire planet in one fell swoop. Recognizing the magnitude of what the space station can do, and learning about a secret in regards to its design that was implemented by Galen himself, Jyn and company take on the risky venture of trying to find the plans for the Death Star, all while dealing with the sizable threat of the Empire’s forces, particularly Imperial Director Orson Krennic (Ben Mendelsohn) who was an old acquaintance of Jyn’s father.

While Rogue One does start off on a rather slow note, it immediately begins to pick up once the main characters are brought together. What follows is the usual exciting action of Star Wars combined with the stylings of a war film, a genre that the filmmakers have been alluding to frequently in interviews when it came to describing the film. And you can see that with this, particularly in its epic third act battle on the paradise-like planet of Scarif. In fact, I’d argue that Rogue One has the best action sequences to date in regards to Disney’s new line of Star Wars films. The whole third act, in general, is practically worth the admission price alone. And while I would still give the edge to The Force Awakens when it comes to the overall story and characters, Rogue One also deserves some major credit when it comes to its overall execution. For being a ‘Star Wars prequel’ (stay with me, folks…), it does a much more conservative job of serving as that. Sure, there are references to A New Hope here and there but they’re definitely subtler in execution compared to the references made in the prequel trilogy. And, of course, the film deserves much credit for its effective recreation of the world of Star Wars (as seen in the original trilogy) through its production design. From using the appropriate Empire/Rebellion era outfits to the practically seamless replication of the Rebel Base on Yavin IV, you’d swear that this film was made around the exact same time as A New Hope.

Now given the fact that this does take place before A New Hope, Rogue One has the challenge of dealing with the potential predictability of its plot. I promise that I’m not going to spoil anything that happens in this film but let’s just say that if you’ve at least seen A New Hope, you probably have a good idea about how this all ends. But, even with that in mind, the film does succeed in establishing a solid amount of emotional depth through these characters. I wouldn’t say that it’s ‘as strong’ as Force Awakens in that department but it’s still solid. There were some legitimately effective emotional moments in this film and you really do see the commitment that the ‘Rogue One’ crew have when it comes to completing their mission. And part of this solid characterization does come courtesy of the excellent ensemble cast. As Jyn, Felicity Jones brings a great combination of the spunk that Daisy Ridley brought to the role of Rey and the roguish nature of Han Solo to the role, resulting in her becoming yet another great Star Wars lead heroine. She’s matched well with Diego Luna who, as Cassian, gets a solid arc in which we see how he contrasts with Jyn as a loyal soldier to the Rebellion. The rest of the film’s diverse cast is excellent as well, with major standouts including legendary Hong Kong action star Donnie Yen as the badass warrior Chirrut and Alan Tudyk, who provides the vocal/mo-cap performance for K-2SO, easily the most sarcastic droid that Star Wars has ever seen. And of course, I’d be remiss if I didn’t bring up the much talked about return of Darth Vader. He’s not in the film that much (probably about four minutes or so) but, without giving anything away, I assure you that we can now forget about the time when he once said that he didn’t like sand… or the time he screamed “NOOOOO!!!!!” after learning about the death of his wife.

I was excited by the announcement of Star Wars spin-offs because it meant that this would lead to new possibilities in terms of stories within the massive world of Star Wars. And Rogue One starts this new line of spin-offs on a high note. Obviously, there’s been a lot of talk about the film having to go through reshoots, apparently to primarily fix the ending. But, ultimately, this didn’t negatively affect the film in any way. Thanks to the solid direction of Gareth Edwards, Rogue One is a well-matched mix of the usual Star Wars escapades with the war film esque nature of its plot. It also manages to overcome its status as being a film set in-between Episodes III and IV with its solid handling of teases, cameos, and fan-service. Going into this film, anyone who’s at least seen Episode IV could probably guess the way in which this film’s story ends. Though, to the film’s credit, it does manage to elicit a solid amount of emotional depth, especially considering this story’s place in the overall Star Wars lore. All that, as well as a solid cast and incredible action sequences, shows that Rogue One: A Star Wars Story will no doubt pave the way for more great spin-offs in a galaxy far, far away. In short, for a film that is the most dreaded word amongst Star Wars fans, a ‘prequel’, it ends up being the best Star Wars prequel to date, though obviously for most Star Wars fans that is not saying much.

Rating: 4.5/5

Doctor Strange (2016) review

For nearly a decade now, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has continuously expanded its, well, ‘Cinematic Universe’ with every new film that comes out; not just in characters but also the world in general. When the franchise first started in 2008, the action was restricted to Earth as primarily seen in the first two Iron Man films and The Incredible Hulk. But then came Thor in 2011. That film was the first in the MCU to go off Earth (not counting the parts of it that WERE set on Earth) and start to explore the cosmic side of the Marvel Universe, namely the Nine Realms which include Thor’s home world of Asgard. And then the cosmic world of Marvel was explored even further, past the Nine Realms, in Guardians of the Galaxy. It just goes to show that Nick Fury’s speech about ‘being part of a bigger universe’ from the first Iron Man was very much true. But for their latest endeavor, Marvel Studios now delves into the mystic side of the MCU with Doctor Strange, starring Benedict Cumberbatch in the title role of a famed neurosurgeon whose life changes when he discovers a group of mystic warriors and subsequently becomes one in the process. The film is brought to us by director Scott Derrickson, who to some may seem like an odd choice to direct a superhero film given that he’s mainly been known for his work in the horror genre with films like Sinister and The Exorcism of Emily Rose. However, this is Marvel Studios we’re talking about, who have an extensive history of ‘out of left field’ choices when it comes to directors (e.g. James Gunn, the Russo brothers, etc.). And once again that method pays off in what is another highly entertaining MCU flick with the usual things you’d come to expect from the franchise at this point along with some of the most impressive visuals that the superhero genre has ever seen.

Dr. Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) is a world-renowned neurosurgeon living in New York. However, one night he ends up in a severe car crash that affects him in the worst way possible; by crippling his hands. Being the self-absorbed perfectionist that he is, Strange begins to invest in various forms of surgery in the hopes of fixing his hands, but they all prove to be fruitless endeavors. With no other options left, Strange learns of a man named Jonathan Pangborn (Benjamin Bratt) who became a paraplegic but then somehow regained the use of his legs. When Strange seeks out Pangborn for answers, he ends up directing him to Kathmandu, Nepal to find a place known as ‘Kamar-Taj’. Once he gets there, Strange learns that this is the site for a ‘school’ of mystics led by a sorcerer known as the Ancient One (Tilda Swinton), who shows him the full extent of their powers. Sorcerers like them can control their environment and travel across dimensions, including the ‘astral plane’, and whereas the Avengers protect Earth from physical threats, they protect it from inter-dimensional threats. And so Strange begins to train under the Ancient One alongside other students like Karl Mordo (Chiwetel Ejiofor), eventually proving to be quite gifted in the mystic arts. But soon Strange finds himself having to combat a dangerous threat in the form of Kaecilius (Mads Mikkelsen), a former student of the Ancient One who has stolen vital information from Kamar-Taj’s archive to summon magic, and a certain dark force, from the dangerous realm known as ‘the Dark Dimension’.

Obviously, the big thing that everyone’s been talking about in regards to this film are its visuals. And yes, all that hype is warranted. While the MCU films have always done an excellent job with visual effects, this film easily outshines them all. All the ways in which the characters utilize magic, especially the ways in which they manipulate the environment, produce some truly eye-catching, surreal, and in some cases, very trippy visual effects. As some have described it, they have quite the Inception vibe to them and they lend themselves well to some truly epic action sequences. As for the rest of the film, it’s pretty much exactly what you’d expect from an MCU film at this point. It’s got great humor, with a lot of the best jokes coming from how characters react to the surreal nature of the mystic arts, but said humor never overshadows the plot and the overall story. On that note, admittedly this story may seem a bit familiar to some people (I’ll delve into the majorly implied comparison momentarily) but the execution by Marvel and director Scott Derrickson is just as great as any other Marvel Studios film. Even better, it’s becoming more and more clear that the decision to ditch the controversial Creative Committee, which was responsible for a lot of the studio’s most polarizing decisions in the past (e.g. the Edgar Wright-Ant-Man incident), is starting to pay off. Before, Marvel tended to get a lot of flak for allegedly limiting the control that directors had over their films. But now that the committee’s gone, I think it’s safe to say that we won’t be hearing any more issues of ‘creative differences’ anytime soon.

This film features arguably one of the best ‘character arcs’ of any MCU film to date. As some will no doubt point out, Dr. Stephen Strange has a lot in common with Tony Stark. He starts off as an arrogant celebrity who must dial back on his ego to become the hero he’s meant to be. Benedict Cumberbatch is excellent in the role and the fact that the film kind of speeds through his origin story helps keep the whole experience from being too much of a case of ‘been there, done that’. Chiwetel Ejiofor is arguably a bit underused as Mordo but he does have one of the biggest character arcs in the entire film that will no doubt pave the way for future MCU films. Rachel McAdams, who plays Strange’s co-worker/ex Christine Palmer, does have solid chemistry with Cumberbatch and gets some of the best bits of ‘interacting with weird stuff’ humor but overall she’s just the love interest. Benedict Wong as Kamar-Taj’s archive keeper Wong… is one of my favorite MCU side characters ever. Just watch the film to see what I mean because he’s brilliant. And then there’s the controversial casting of Tilda Swinton, a white actress, in the role of The Ancient One, a traditionally Asian character in the comics. Anyone who follows me knows that I don’t like to address ‘whitewashing’ controversies in film so I’ll just say that Swinton does do a great job in what is a very layered role. And finally, of course, there’s the one part of any MCU film that gets the most attention, and not always in a good way, the villain. I’m pleased to say that Mads Mikkelsen’s Kaecilius is one of the better MCU villains. Granted, he’s still not exactly the franchise’s best but Mikkelsen does get decent enough material to work with and, at the very least, he plays off his foil, Dr. Strange, quite well.

Well, at this point anyone who knows me as the MCU fan that I am probably predicted that I was going to love this film without even having to read much into the review. And yeah… you’re right. But at the same time, this just goes to show how Marvel Studios has continued to deliver quality content time and time again. And sure, technically some parts of this film’s story are a little standard at this point given everything that’s happened in the superhero genre. But, at the same time, the things that this film introduces into the Marvel Cinematic Universe open up a whole world of the one thing that the Ancient One sees in Dr. Strange’s future… ‘possibilities’. From a visual perspective, this film features some of the most eye-popping visuals that the superhero genre has ever seen. I mean, it’d be a genuine shock if this film doesn’t get an Oscar nom for Best Visual Effects. And of course, as with any MCU film, the humor is well handled, the action sequences are amazing, the story is solid, and the characters are excellent as portrayed by the always great MCU ensemble. Again, to some people this may come off as being a bit too familiar in certain parts. This is, after all, the 14^th Marvel Cinematic Universe film. But at the same time, that also means that Marvel Studios is now 14 for 14 when it comes to their filmography. I think it’s safe to say that this is a streak that is practically unmatched by any other film franchise, past and present.

Rating: 4.5/5