So this is it! We’ve looked through all eight of the previous films in the Star Wars saga and finally arrived at the much anticipated Last Jedi. Hope you’ve enjoyed the journey and like the following review!
RELEASED: December 15th 2017 DIRECTED BY: Rian Johnson WRITTEN BY: Rian Johnson PRODUCED BY: Ram Bergman & Kathleen Kennedy MUSIC BY: John Williams STARRING: Daisy Ridley, Mark Hamill, Adam Driver, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Carrie Fisher, Peter Mayhew, Kelly Marie Tran, Domhnall Gleeson, Gwendoline Christie, Andy Serkis, Lupita Nyong’o, Laura Dern & Benicio del Toro
Compared to The Force Awakens, this film is phenomenal. Compared to most Star Wars films, this film is phenomenal. Is it one of the best Star Wars films ever? Maybe. It’s definitely one of the most original (and that’s what I’m all about).
The story is one of survival. Fresh off the heels of destroying Starkiller Base, the Resistance is forced into a hasty retreat as the fleets of the First Order find them. As Poe and Leia clash about the best way to survive, Finn and newcomer Rose hatch a plan to keep the First Order off their trail, while Rey ventures to the faraway Ahch-To to confront former Jedi Master Luke Skywalker, learn the ways of the Force and recruit him to the Resistance’s plight.
RELEASED: December 16th 2016 DIRECTED BY: Gareth Edwards WRITTEN BY: Tony Gilroy, John Knoll, Chris Weitz & Gary Whitta PRODUCED BY: Kathleen Kennedy, Allison Shearmur & Simon Emanuel MUSIC BY: Michael Giacchino STARRING: Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, Ben Mendelsohn, Donnie Yen, Jiang Wen, Alan Tudyk, Riz Ahmed, Mads Mikkelsen, Forest Whitaker, Genevieve O’Reilly, James Earl Jones, Guy Henry & Jimmy Smits
Much like Revenge of the Sith and later, The Force Awakens, had unenviable expectations set against them, so too did Rogue One. However, instead of starting or ending a trilogy like the aforementioned films, Rogue One instead had to show audiences what a Star Wars spin-off film could be like. If it had failed, it could have thrown Lucasfilm and Disney’s future plans into disarray. And if you were following the news on the film’s production, you may have expected that the film was indeed going to fail. The end of production was riddled with issues, with word being that writer Tony Gilroy was brought in to re-shoot a large part of the film.
The edits and reshoots are definitely evident when it comes to watching the final film, not because it’s choppy or anything, but because the content in the marketing material and the actual film differs at numerous points.
It’s that fact that holds the film back from greatness. Instead of a longer run time or perhaps numerous films to set up these characters, we’re instead given one film that jumps around a lot at the start and fails to hit some of the more emotional beats because they’ve been cut or reshot, and thus feel undeserved.
That isn’t to say Rogue One is a bad film. Production issues aside, it’s pretty fantastic. It has its own unique feel that makes it a different experience to the Saga films, and tackles some more serious and important issues; such as the fact that not all Rebels are heroes – as a rebellion, the side we’ve always rooted for is filled with just as many mercenaries, murderers and terrorists as the Empire; it’s just that the Saga films have never shown us (aside from Luke and Lando blowing up the two Death Stars, but that’s a discussion for another day).
A recent trend I’ve noticed is that a lot of Star Wars fans have been turning against The Force Awakens, and in response, a lot of others who are still loyal to the film have dubbed them as toxic, with both sides seemingly oblivious to the fact that it’s the rivalry itself that is truly toxic. I only preface my review with this because my opinion, if anything, has got more positive over time, however, it’s still not the gleaming beacon of praise that some expect the response to The Force Awakens to be.
I wasn’t a big fan of the film two years ago, and I’m still not a big fan of the film now. I’m not ‘following a trend’, ‘trying to be cool’ or being critical for the sake of being critical. It’s just my opinion, as is everything on this blog. That’s how all film reviews work. You just need to find a critic whose opinions are in line with your own and follow them.
(I was going to link to my original review here to prove my point, but it looks like I either removed it or it’s on my other blog, which is currently offline, when it comes back, I’ll link to it here).
HOWEVER, that doesn’t mean I’m not inviting discussion. If you want to comment and debate this or any other films I review, please do! Just don’t label me a ‘hater’ because I don’t think The Force Awakens is the best film since Empire.
RELEASED: December 18th 2015 DIRECTED BY: J.J. Abrams WRITTEN BY: J.J. Abrams, Lawrence Kasdan & Michael Arndt PRODUCED BY: J.J. Abrams, Bryan Burk & Kathleen Kennedy MUSIC BY: John Williams STARRING: Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Peter Mayhew, Domhnall Gleeson, Gwendoline Christie, Andy Serkis, Lupita Nyong’o & Max von Sydow
I’ve said this many times before, and I’ll say this many times again, but I have never been more excited for any movie (and probably never will again) than I was for The Force Awakens. The promotional campaign was splendidly done, building up anticipation for over a whole year! Each trailer made me feel like my inner child had reawoken, and filled me with love and nostalgia for the franchise that always held a special place in my heart.
And that is how The Force Awakens gets you.
Saying that, it didn’t (and still hasn’t) got me.
The film is set thirty years after the end of Return of the Jedi. Luke Skywalker, the last Jedi, has gone missing, and in his absence the Empire has been reformed as the First Order. Opposing them is General Leia Organa’s Resistance, who have the backing of the New Republic. But when the Resistance learns of a map to Skywalker, the two factions come to a head, and young scavenger Rey, rogue stormtrooper Finn and loveable veteran Han Solo are caught in the middle.
The main issue I take with this film is that, as a story, it’s fundamentally lacking. In an effort to wipe away the bad taste the prequels left in everyone’s mouths, Disney pushed out a film that is like a ‘greatest hits’ compilation of the Original Trilogy. It gives you everything it knows you love, resetting characters to their original roles, and essentially, re-instigating the age old conflict between the Rebellion Resistance and the Empire First Order.
