The Star Wars Universe is Strangely Tangible in "Rogue One"
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| Rogue One (2016) |
In previous releases in the Star Wars franchise the audience has been subjected to witnessing the drama unfold within the Skywalker family, which was an entertaining (phenomenally so) experience, but felt distant and turned the audience into a sort of third party. Rogue One, however, transforms the audience into a part of the film through its fantastic and sometimes horrifying or grotesque cinematography.
Rather than being given passing shots of city streets and the aliens which occupy the Star Wars universe, the camera weaves through crowded streets as though the audience is stumbling past these creatures first-hand when it isn't panning upwards to reveal intimidating shots of the massive spaceships soaring up above. This intimacy within Rogue One's cinematography is closely tied to its plot as well, which focuses on the common people rather than the Skywalker family as previous releases did.
While Star Wars took audience members through a family lineage, Rogue One shows the struggles of the common people and removes any romantic notions of the rebellion which Star Wars fans may have harbored in the past, instead providing the realistic vision of a very broken and struggling group of people who are fighting tooth and nail to achieve the freedom from the Empire which they loathe.
That being said, Rogue One is phenomenal in its ability to simultaneously act as a piece in the Star Wars franchise while also floating outside of the saga as something else entirely with its unique pacing, intimate cinematography, score done by a composer other than John Williams (which is fantastic and helps further emphasize the fact that Rogue One exists in a bubble of its own), and wonderful cast of brand new characters who are all endearing in their own right.
It's difficult to find many faults with this film, which is entertaining from beginning to end and feels short despite its slightly lengthy runtime. Perhaps one who entered the theater expecting a more traditional installment of the Star Wars franchise might be disappointed by the fact that it instead acts more as a war movie than it does a science fiction film flicking from location to location, however given the subject matter at hand that would most likely be expected by any fan of the series who goes into the theater knowing what they're getting themselves into.
Admittedly, this is a difficult film to review due to my determination to refrain from revealing anything about its plot, however I will say this - Rogue One is not a traditional Star Wars movie, but it is still an absolutely fantastic and necessary installment to a wonderful franchise which I was blessed to grow up watching. The film Rogue One is currently playing in theaters, and if you are familiar with the Star Wars franchise and have seen its other installments I highly encourage you to go see it immediately (assuming you haven't done so already)!
Rather than being given passing shots of city streets and the aliens which occupy the Star Wars universe, the camera weaves through crowded streets as though the audience is stumbling past these creatures first-hand when it isn't panning upwards to reveal intimidating shots of the massive spaceships soaring up above. This intimacy within Rogue One's cinematography is closely tied to its plot as well, which focuses on the common people rather than the Skywalker family as previous releases did.
While Star Wars took audience members through a family lineage, Rogue One shows the struggles of the common people and removes any romantic notions of the rebellion which Star Wars fans may have harbored in the past, instead providing the realistic vision of a very broken and struggling group of people who are fighting tooth and nail to achieve the freedom from the Empire which they loathe.
That being said, Rogue One is phenomenal in its ability to simultaneously act as a piece in the Star Wars franchise while also floating outside of the saga as something else entirely with its unique pacing, intimate cinematography, score done by a composer other than John Williams (which is fantastic and helps further emphasize the fact that Rogue One exists in a bubble of its own), and wonderful cast of brand new characters who are all endearing in their own right.
It's difficult to find many faults with this film, which is entertaining from beginning to end and feels short despite its slightly lengthy runtime. Perhaps one who entered the theater expecting a more traditional installment of the Star Wars franchise might be disappointed by the fact that it instead acts more as a war movie than it does a science fiction film flicking from location to location, however given the subject matter at hand that would most likely be expected by any fan of the series who goes into the theater knowing what they're getting themselves into.
Admittedly, this is a difficult film to review due to my determination to refrain from revealing anything about its plot, however I will say this - Rogue One is not a traditional Star Wars movie, but it is still an absolutely fantastic and necessary installment to a wonderful franchise which I was blessed to grow up watching. The film Rogue One is currently playing in theaters, and if you are familiar with the Star Wars franchise and have seen its other installments I highly encourage you to go see it immediately (assuming you haven't done so already)!
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