I am an ardent fan of the cinematic arts. Although I have certain genre preferences, I don’t let that stifle my curiosity and close myself to different flavors of entertainment. That said...I am a huge fan of science fiction, super hero and action movies! Typically an review like this would be on my other blog The Boxed Office, but please enjoy this slight change.
The Cast:
Jones plays Jyn Erso, daughter of the man responsible for building the Death Star seen in the original film in 1977, Star Wars: A New Hope. This is the first time a Star Wars film has had a female lead and Jones does a great job carrying this film (and us) further into the Star wars mythos.
Luna plays Cassian Andor, a rebel loyal to the cause and willing to do whatever is necessary to defeat the Empire. Not having really seen him in anything else, I had no real expectations from him…but early in the film I realized Luna was a very capable actor as he sold me on his role just on his execution (pun intended) alone.
Mendelsohn has always been a good actor (imo) and didn’t disappoint here. He seems to be very comfortable playing a villain, as well he should, since he plays them so well. In this film he plays Orson Krennic, a commander for the Galactic Empire tasked as the director in charge of building the Death Star. Mendelsohn seems to gravitate to characters with questionable authority issues as Krennic was unsure if he was in charge, dealing with Vader, in this film, and Dagget (The Dark Knight Rises) had a similar complication with Bane (lol).
The Plot:
The Rebellion is in full swing and the Galactic Empire has developed a new super weapon that will end it. To that end, they require Galen Urso (Mads Mikkelsen) leaving his daughter Jyn on her own, to be cared for by the infamous Saw Gerrera (Forest Whitaker).
When the Rebels find out that the Empire is nearly done with this new super weapon, they acquire Jyn in hopes that she can lead them to the whereabouts of her father. Together with Andor and a reprogrammed Imperial security droid K-2SO (Alan Tudyk), they travel to a moon called Jedha seeking out Gerrera since he has pertinent information and the Imperial pilot (Riz Ahmed) that delivered it.
While on Jedha, they are helped and joined by Chirrut Îmwe (Donnie Yen), a blind former Guardian of the Whills and his partner-in-arms Baze Malbus (Wen Jiang), a man with a rapid fire file that can’t seem to miss. The five rebels succeed in escaping Jedha with the defected Imperial pilot as the Death Star destroys the capital city (and Gerrera).
As a traitor within the Empire is revealed the Rebels race to find galen Orso. Not reaching him in time, our unlikely heroes take it upon themselves to steal the plans to the Death Star and exploit the weakness Orso built into it. What follows is a mesmerizing and exciting adventure full of explosions and blaster fire that will leave you stunned and clamoring for more.
The Verdict:
This is one of the best Star Wars films….ever.
Now before we have a huge clamoring of dissented voices, think about it for a second. There have been seven films before this one. This one is certainly better than the three prequels. It’s better than the last sequel (“Force Awakens”). It’s better than “Return of the Jedi.” It’s on par with “Empire Strikes Back” and “A New Hope”…so, that makes it one of the best. Don’t believe me, ask George Lucas:
“George Lucas loved the film so much that Director Gareth Edwards posted on his Twitter "it was the most important review to me he's kind of like God, I will take that conversation to my grave, his opinion means the world to me”.”
The third act alone is better than the entirety of some of the other Star Wars films.
Before I get into all the good, let me discuss the bad. The CGI of certain characters could have been better. The first two acts were a bit slow. On that second one though, it could be that the third act is so action packed and filled to the brim with awesomeness that it just seemed like the other acts were slow when in actuality, they may not have been.
Chirrut Îmwe (Donnie Yen is a badass) and K-2SO were the stand out characters that will have a lasting impression on you…until the end of the film, when the only thing that will matter is that dang door that did not open all the way.
This film is a Star Wars story. It tells us exactly how the Rebels got the plans to do what they did in “Star Wars: A New Hope” and while some may feel it didn’t need to be told, I am very glad it was as it burned four and a half (4.5) cinnamon sticks into the side of my cup of tea with laser-like precision.
Rating 4.5 / 5
No comments:
Post a Comment