A franchise can earn certain goodwill where no matter what the reviews say, the audience will still go out in droves to see the newest entry. The marvel cinematic universe has almost earned this peak, the Harry Potter franchise arguably hit that point, but the real king of this is phenomenon is Star Wars. Regardless of the words I type below, or anyone critiquing the film, you’ll most likely see it no matter what, and you definitely (DEFINITELY) should.
In a time of conflict, a group of unlikely heroes band together on a mission to steal the plans to the Death Star, the Empire's ultimate weapon of destruction. This key event in the Star Wars timeline brings together ordinary people who choose to do extraordinary things, and in doing so, become part of something greater than themselves.
The biggest pitch for this first anthology film was using a war-like feel within the Star Wars universe.
Rogue One hits this premise almost perfectly; particularly the third act, and feels incredibly grounded. The story is more contained than the saga films despite the large scale and numerous worlds and characters. It’s a stand-alone film through and through that will satisfy casual and hardcore fans alike, including a few classic characters like a certain dark lord that gets a truly chill inducing scene at a certain point.
Star Wars, while known for big sweeping battles and action, is about characters.
Rogue One has interesting characters that don’t get a lot of development and that’s really the biggest flaw in the film. They're interesting enough characters but the only one to get any focus or backstory is Jyn Erso. Played wonderfully by
Felicity Jones, Erso is clearly the main character of the team and thus Jones has the most to work with. But others like
Diego Luna,
Riz Ahmed, and
Donnie Yen all get their moments to shine in one way or another. The real standout, however, is
Alan Tudyk as the voice of K-2SO. The newest droid to the galaxy manages to get laughs time in and time out, entering the realm of great Star Wars characters with ease.
By getting
Gareth Edwards in the director’s chair, the heads at Lucasfilm and Disney knew they’d get something with a focused and appropriate scale for the epic nature of the film.
Rogue One does this particularly well by showcasing the battles and size of things from the perspective of those fighting on the ground. Not only does it illustrate the scope of events but it also shows the life of the people in this galaxy unlike any other Star Wars film.
Overall,
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is precisely what a film outside the normal Skywalker saga should be, expansive yet contained. The story is extremely interesting and the third act is impressive and satisfying, in action and emotion. With great performances and stunning visuals, minus some issues with the uncanny valley,
Rogue One delivers on everything one could hope for.
So what did you think of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story? Have you seen it and where does it rank among the other 7 films? Subscribe, share, comment below, and as always return to I Am Sam for weekly reviews and insight.
In a genre that
feeds on using darkness for their scaring needs, it’s a wonder how horror films
have never truly utilized darkness as the true horror itself. Lights Out does exactly that and reminds
everyone why they kept those night-lights on or ran down a dimly lit hallway
when they were younger, feasting on that fear and turning it into a feature
length, and quite effective, film.
Never has a film
received so much scrutiny, and some hatred, before the actual film has been
released than the newest Hollywood reboot, Ghostbusters. Ultimately, the
outrage isn’t shocking in the age of so many lackluster reboots recently, and
the horrible marketing campaign certainly didn’t help, but the logic behind the
hate was faulty through and through. Now that the newest entry in the comedy
franchise is out, what’s the final verdict?
The raunchy comedy
is a frequent endeavor for Hollywood these days, placing characters into any
awkward situation they can conjure up.
They have a very small window to succeed without crossing the line into
eye-rolling territory and ultimately becoming unfunny. While Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates
features a large number of comedic and truly funny moments, it toes that line
of raunchy comedies.
Tarzan of the Apes is
one of the longest running heroes in books and film, making his debut back in
1914. There have been so many different portrayals of the character of the
years including a Disney animated film, so it’s highly unlikely that someone doesn’t
know Tarzan in some form or another. But the story this time around goes beyond
the classic tale, to Tarzan’s years after the jungle and his time going by John
Clayton. Though it may be another Tarzan iteration, it’s with a different
perspective for a new era.
If anyone would’ve
said that a concept such as The Purge would make it to three films back when
the original came out, no one would’ve believed you. Yet here we are at the
third entry in the franchise, and they’ll likely be more as the years go by.
The first two differed so much in tone, but the third follows in the second’s
footsteps, following the on-street tension throughout the runtime.
Very rarely are
there directors that produce a consistent line of products like Steven
Spielberg has over the years. Covering everything from aliens to dinosaurs to
sharks, the 69-year-old director has graced the screen with classics big and small. It
should come as no surprise that whenever his name is attached to a film, the
anticipation skyrockets. This film was no different, as a beloved children’s
book set in a magical world in his hands sounds like the recipe for success.
The nostalgic
sequels are all the rage these days. Some are good with hits like Jurassic World and Star Wars: The Force Awakens while others fall way off from the
past success of the franchise like Terminator
Genisys or Zoolander 2.
Independence Day: Resurgence gets to join the latter as it falls completely off
the rails from its predecessor.
The Video Game
movie is such a rare occurrence that a GOOD video game movie is almost
non-existent. But with the release of Warcraft, the potential is there for
video games to break through to Hollywood in a big way. The video game
renaissance has to begin somewhere and maybe it will start here, in Azeroth.
There is no bigger
name in the horror genre right now than James Wan. He has given the world the
only good Saw film (the first one), two great little horror films with
Insidious, and arguably the best film from the genre in recent years, The
Conjuring. The follow-up comes to us three years after the first and looks
continue the winning streak Wan has been on.
The Lonely Island
has finally made it to Hollywood! The comedy trio is making their film debut
with their mocumentary look into the life of a popstar. And while the group’s
comedy may not be for everyone, the continued success of their music and their
brilliant digital shorts on SNL have shown that they’re here to stay. But the
question remains, can they take that success to the film industry?
There are very few
franchises that have had the continuous success of the X-Men universe. Bumps in
the road have occurred along the way with films like X-Men: The Last Stand and
X-Men Origins: Wolverine, but for the most part the mutant universe has entertained
the world for the better part of a decade and a half. But when the children of
the atom are tasked with their biggest threat yet, does the film measure up?
Comedy sequels have
been historically bad. Everyone knows this and yet they are still released on
an almost yearly basis. The comedy becomes, most of the time, repetitive and
often feels stale, using the same or similar comedic beats to the first. Luckily
there may be another film to add to the list of good comedies and that is
Neighbors 2.