Okay, super long post of all aspects of the movie coming up:
I've looked forward to Rogue One since the teaser came out some time ago, to me it looked like an interesting take on the Star Wars Universe; action-filled, a large-scale epic. The trailers showed a true sense of gritty, brutal and unforgiving fighting that held true when the movie eventually hit theaters; and I welcome that take on the whole thing, it provides more insight as to how the rebellion operates, and how much of a struggle it really is to fight an enemy such as the Empire.
Relating to the timeline, it's a very important movie within the large scape of the Universe - In Episode IV the details as to how the rebel alliance obtained the Death Star plans were very vague, and so this movie provides a lot of insight into the specifics; and therefore is useful into the insight of the rebel uprising and how it all came to be.
The movie also provided a lot more ethnic diversity than any previous titles, and really provided to an all-star cast in my opinion- Every actor to me felt like they were perfectly chosen for their specific character, not once did in the theater audience did I go 'This actor is a disappointment to the role'. Specifically characters such as Cassian Andor; if you can overlook the sometimes shabby accent relating to the pronunciation of words, or a few mumbled sentences, he really was one of the best characters in the script.
Touching on characters, in my opinion, every character had their pro's and con's, some more than others, for now I'll only study on what I'd consider the two main protagonists and the outstanding and immediate antagonist:
Jyn Erso
Alright, so Jyn Erso was supposed to be the 'main protagonist' of the movie, well, besides that of Cassian Andor which is met a little while later into the film. Star Wars has been pushing out their trend of 'strong female protagonists' lately, and Erso definitely fits into this category. Overall, she was a good character, and was played by arguably the most outstandingly professional and experienced actor/actress in the entire cast; Felicity Jones' character provided a cocky bravado, a sense of suppressed anger towards those she was around, and also an emotional experience when it was called for (One of her best scenes being that of when she saw the holographic message from her father, which provided a good show of development to the character, and how altering their personality really was for the audience- It was a moment to connect with the character more for the audience, and didn't disappoint in my opinion). However, what really was lackluster for me was the neglect of history to her character; only really being touched upon when Erso reunited with Forest Whitaker's character; Saw Gerrera (Speaking about something relating to Jyn being part of Gerrera's crew in her teens, however left for herself at 16), it was a really brief scene, and almost felt awkward where Erso and Gerrera had the confrontation, yelling at each other about backstory the audience didn't even know about, then, it was just kind of.. Dropped; it felt so out of place, and frankly it should only be included if you're going to provide a full backstory to Erso, not just drop it in during one line of conversation in the movie and never speak about it again and expecting the audience to fill in blanks that aren't even established to begin with.
In summary, a good character with a rather lacking amount of backstory, which I hope is touched upon in some way at a later date - However, whilst still keeping that negative in mind, it really was an intriguing character to me, and my favourite all-in-all due to the outstanding acting on Felicity Jones' part, she really brought the character alive for the audience, a protagonist to bond with and like, to feel something for when they met their demise at the end of the movie.
Cassian Andor
The other real 'main protagonist', beside that of Jyn. Diego Luna provided a good character, which you could easily get along with during the entirety of the film. He wasn't really a funny character, more that of a serious one to be looked up to as the 'figure head', the 'commander' - But, although viewed as this, his character mostly answered to Jyn for a lot of the film, mostly following her without question even when she'd do dumb things (E.G. Going off on her own to see her father, shortly before his death, indirectly caused by Cassian). It would've been interesting and provided another aspect to the movie, the whole idea that the whole Rogue One crew isn't going to agree on all things, and will undoubtedly butt heads due to their differing personalities and characters - But it never really shows this, the closest we get is when Jyn has a minor argument with him and they part ways for not even fifteen minutes, before being fine friends immediately after and acting like there were never any issues; there should've been, and it would've been interesting to see for the movie's development and how the issues would have to be resolved before the climax of the movie. Andor was no doubt a good bad guy in his own right, murdering that Rebel informant early-on in the movie to prevent any leaks within rebellion infrastructure to the Empire - That also was the whole idea which I approved of very much so, the whole idea of 'How far are you willing to go for something you believe in', this applies to the Rebellion, and how Andor is loyal to stop at nothing, and do anything for a triumphant victory of the ideals he believes in, the Rebellion.
Another thing that could've been expanded on more ever so slightly is that of Andor's relationship with Erso, at the end it is very vague as to their feelings for each other, and no substantial evidence provides an answer to the idea of if they loved each other or not, clarification and evidence of this would've been a nice addition, in my opinion.
In summary, a good character with no real cons, other than that of vague character plot and backstory, he sure was a loyal and efficient fighter, even saving Erso from Director Orson Krennic whilst she was at gunpoint; a relentless man for something/someone he cares for, stopping at nothing despite the odds.
Director Orson Krennic
Krennic was a likeable antagonist, due to that of his superb acting within the movie, there was not a single boring nor dull moment when he was on screen, it was lively and energetic, yet dreadful and fearful due to the character's 'bad guy' status. He was similar to Andor in many ways, most outstandingly that of his whole ideal of 'How far he is willing to go for what he believes', Krennic believes in the Empire, and shows his loyalty via some of his most dark scenes (Ordering the death of Galen Erso's engineers just to name one) - However, this could be due to the fact that he lives in fear of Vader, most evident during the first of his only two scenes (Krennic backing off in fear and stuttering as Vader approaches him, eventually force-choking him). He had one of the best antagonist deaths I've personally seen in a long while, a bittersweet feeling was felt as his demise was caused by the death star, killed by the thing he lusted for control over so much in the end, giving a slight smirk to the faces of some audience members that could see this fact.
His weakest moment was almost certainly at the very start of the film, during Erso's childhood flashback. Whilst the use of cinematography was simply stunning at this part in the film, the acting was lackluster, and felt almost entirely rushed for all parties. The fact that the main antagonist that was to be featured throughout the rest of the film was featured so early completely took away from their compelling ominous factor, and the idea that they should be feared - Being in it so early made them felt like any normal Empire Admiral featured in earlier movies. I really didn't want to feel this way, but the fact of such an early introduction and rushed acting left only this feeling to me as I watched them during the early stages of the movie.
Whilst it provided some interesting early story development and plot points that were expanded upon for the rest of the movie, it was disappointing. Although I say disappointing, it was still incredibly interesting and fun to watch such points in the movie, myself not getting bored or disinterested even during one of the weaker parts of the movie - Whilst I say it was one of, if not the weakest parts in the movie, it was still very good, and that shines the movie in a good light considering that, throughout all of the run-time, this slightly rushed segment was the
worst of the entire movie, that's still an incredibly positive feat for the entire film.
It was intended as a fan-made esque movie, and for the first of it's type to branch off from the main Star Wars saga, it was an incredible display for the care of directors, and how they don't want to let down fans of the movies. I was at enjoyment for the whole film, the sly nods to previous movies via easter-eggs and references provided an even more fun and enjoyable experience, showing that many people can relate to the film in both major and minor ways. It definitely out-performed The Force Awakens in my opinion, and is probably my
favourite to date, out of all the films. The scape of the action was incredible, the characters interesting and without a dull moment, the story easy to follow yet fun, easter eggs acting to nostalgic factors, and most of all, it was realistic. The death of Krennic was a pleasant one, all antagonist's deaths should be, that's why they're the antagonists. However, the death of all Rogue One members one by one, as they're picked off by the overwhelming odds of the Empire, was gritty, it was a down to earth movie not afraid to illustrate the point that many have to die for a large victory, and that's exactly what the death of the Rogue One squad and all rebel fighters left on Scarif meant. Because of that, I appreciate the film more than any other.
Also, the CGI effects of Grand Moff Tarkin and Leia Organa were astounding to me, although sometimes shabby whilst beside another actor (Mainly the Krennic and Tarkin interactions during those few brief scenes). Furthermore, the Darth Vader massacre of the rebel fighters making their way to the blockade runner with the Death Star plans introduced a real sense of urgency, you'd be sat on the edge of your seat as the rebels knew they had to sacrifice themselves to buy time for the plans to be carried down the line - That's another reason I appreciated the film, the fact that these rebels know they'll have to die for a large victory, and they accepted it without hesitation, it really added to the whole sense and atmosphere of the movie, the whole idea it was really trying to drive home to audiences. Rebel soldiers placing themselves between Vader and the man carrying the Death Star plans to the blockade runner, only himself to pass them off through the gap in the door to another soldier when it doesn't open fully, further sacrificing himself to buy just a more few seconds for the plans to make their way down the line. In the end, of course the plans make it to Leia, and the movie ends directly where Episode IV picks up. Overall, a good movie and an enjoyable ride to watch in cinemas imo.
tl;dr: Good movie, probably the best one to date, watch it.
