In case you have not heard, and how can you not? "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" has hit movie theaters.
The makers of the latest installment have come up with an interesting concept. Namely, take the iconic opening crawl from the first Star Wars movie in 1977, which describes what happened before that film unfolds, and make an entire movie about it. We know what is eventually going to take place, but it is sort of fun to watch it happen.
The star of the film is Felicity Jones, who plays Jyn Erso. She has joined the rebel Alliance and along with another rebel, played by Diego Luna, try to steal the plans of the Death Star away from the evil Empire.
From a visual standpoint it's stunning, as the production values are a real knockout. Plus the battle scenes are really well executed. That said the plot is not always that engaging.
For my taste, there's way too much action, especially towards the end, over character development. Plus, there's way too many characters. A blind man who's guided by the Force, for example, is not fully fleshed out.
The first half is filled with lulls and with so many characters to follow; the storyline becomes confusing and at times uninvolving.
But Felicity Jones is quite good as the heroine.
I also like the forerunner to C-3PO, a robot named K-2SO who provides the only comic relief in the movie.
Plus it's fun to see the return of Darth Vader. There are some cool cameos with the help of motion capture technology, but I won’t say any more about that. .
If you’re not familiar with the original Star Wars you might be a bit lost at times.
But if you like strictly action, you’ll think the last 40 minutes are great, even though it lacks much of the joy and fun of the original, or even "The Force Awakens" from last year. But I do believe it will more than satisfy diehard Star Wars fans.
Neil Rosen’s Big Apple Rating:
Three Apples