With the new Disney launch of the Star Wars cinematic universe, there was much speculation as to how they will handle production of the movies. Now it's clear that there will be a new trilogy every few years and in between there will be these "stories" interwoven into the narrative. It is pretty much a dream for a die hard Star Wars fan to see great storytelling not bound by the current trilogy's constraints. The first example of that is Rogue One, trying to tell the tale of those who have stolen the Death Star plans essential to the Episode IV's climax.
This movie had a lot to prove, as the anticipation was at very high levels. Would it ruin the Episode IV or complement it in a nice, gracious way? I think that it did neither - fans will definitely be thrilled, but some concepts and cameos can turn off the viewer. It did address a particular problem in the IV's script, but at the same time attacked with unnecessary quotes and characters that made no sense, in order to please long-time fans. But they did not want that! I myself were cringing through some of the scenes where characters reference something from the original trilogy and try to play it off as something normal. You could almost hear the stock sitcom laughs and that's a problem if you have the most serious Star Wars movie on your hands.
You can say that I'm bashing the movie, but in reality I really liked it. It's just that a movie you had a lot of fun watching doesn't have to be perfect and pointing out it's shortcomings is a sane thing to do. Let's talk about some of the positives - and there were many. This is Disney's peak achievement when it comes to technical execution of a movie. Numerous talented people from Lucas Films and other places, combined with never ending stream of cash resulted in a cinematic marvel and an eye candy. Special Effects nomination is a must here, as there were so many scenes and shots where I simply went still in awe. This is how you do space battles, not to mention terrific action scenes on the ground.
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| Look at that charming smile! |
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| Recreating Grand Moff Tarkin required extensive computer mapping and prosthetics on an actor with similar face structure and voice. |
It features very good practical effects, which are blended with CGI to form a good looking and well balanced image. There are, however, some areas where the amount of money got someone on the decision-making chain drunk. Bringing back characters from the original trilogy is fine, but at what cost? Recreation of the Grand Moff Tarkin was the single most expensive CGI undertaking in the cinema history. To what effect? He looks acceptable, but still takes the viewer out of the experience. The same thing happens to Princess Leia and I cannot help it but think that it was a bad idea. Still, it was better than the crappy Tarkin we got at the end of Revenge of the Sith, so there's that.
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| This guy was funny. Alan Tudyk, who voiced him, is also known for a fan-favourite show Firefly. |
So what's the future of Star Wars Stories? I must say that it looks bright, as there are a lot of great talents working on them, backed by enormous amounts of money. After several of them closely related to known characters and events from the trilogies (for example young Han Solo, which I'm not particularly looking for), there will come time for some crazy ideas and exactly those will expand the universe in the best way, at least in my opinion.
QUESTIONS:
1. What are the other Star Wars Stories projects in the works right now? Are you excited for any of them?
2. Do you like the idea of a new Star Wars movie coming out every year?
