December 16th in Chicago. So we've been waiting on this latest installment of the Star Wars franchise for awhile and I took the day off from work to catch that 8 am showing at the nearest cineplex. The basic premise of the film is the actual theft of the Death Star schematics that lead to the events in Episode IV: A New Hope.
Here are the main characters:
- Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones): Main protagonist and daughter of Galen Erso. Saw her mom killed by Krennic and his goons.
- Galen Erso (Mads Mikkelsen): Jyn's dad. He's the Imperial engineer who made the Death Star work.
- Cassian Andor (Diego Luna): Rebel intelligence officer who leads the mission to get the Death Star plans.
- Orson Krennic (Ben Mendelsohn): Evil Imperial engineer who is the father of the Death Star. It's his baby and he's very proud of it. He also travels with a badass group of guards known as "death troopers."
Also known as the goons who killed Jyn's mom.
- Chirrut Îmwe (Donnie Yen): Blind warrior who's not a Jedi but has a got a good relationship with the Force.
- Baze Malbus: (Wen Jiang): Chirrut's pal who has a pretty kick ass arsenal.
- K-2SO: (voiced by Alan Tudyk): Imperial droid that is reprogrammed by Cassian Andor. Think C3PO but less wimpy with the knowledge of how to use a weapon.
- Bodhi Rook (Riz Ahmed): Imperial freighter pilot who defects with a message from Galen about the Death Star.
- Saw Gerrera (Forest Whitaker): Surrogate father to Jyn after her mother is killed and father is forced back into service by Krennic. He is anti-empire and fights them on his own because the Alliance think he's a bit too extreme.
- Grand Moff Tarkin: Physically played Guy Henry but was digitally enhanced to look like Peter Cushing, with the permission from the estate. I honestly thought that they somehow were able to re-animate Cushing's corpse for the film. For a short time at least.
- Also back are Bail Organa of Alderaan and Mon Mothma (leader of the Rebel Alliance).
The film opens up with Krennic and his goons finding the Erso family on a distant planet. Erso isn't too keen on building a weapon of mass destruction so Krennic kills his wife in an attempt to persuade him. Jyn escapes but her dad is going back to work for the Empire. Jyn is rescued by Saw Gerrera and eventually is arrested and imprisoned by the Empire, she uses different aliases to hide her identity so she can't be used as leverage against her father. While on a prisoner transfer shuttle, she's rescued by Candor and brought to the Alliance High Council to assist on a mission, find Saw Gerrera. So Jyn agrees and goes off with Candor and K2SO to Jedha where it's reported that an Imperial freighter pilot has defected with information about a new weapon of the Empire. Jedha apparently was the site of an old Jedi temple that is now in ruin since Order 66.
In case you didn't make the connection between Jedha and Jedi, here's a ruin for you.
After taking part in an attack on Imperial forces, Cassian and Jyn are captured by Gerrera's faction along with Chirrut and Baze. Jyn and Saw exchange pleasantries and Saw shows her the message from her father where he tells her about the Death Star's weakness and where she can steal the plans. While in a holding cell Cassian, Chirrut and Baze meet Bodhi Rook, the defector, and spring him from his cell. Meanwhile on the Death Star, Tarkin give Krennic and chiding and wants a show of force. The Death Star's weapons are operational and Tarkin decides that destroying the city of Jedha is good enough. Cassian, Jyn and K2SO are joined by Rook, Baze and Chirrut as they escape Jedha and head to Eadu to find Galen. On Eadu, Jyn goes to get her father but he's confronted by Krennic about the security breach. Krennic executes Galen's team and out of nowhere a rebel squadron destroys the base. Jyn has a brief meeting with her dad but is forced to leave him behind.
Back on Yavin, Jyn tries to convince the council to go after the data plans and gives some speach about hope while rebel leaders discuss the merits of just quitting. Jyn says "screw it" and decides to steal the plans herself. Of course Cassian and the crew go with her. They even manage to pick up a group of volunteers to give them a hand (the amount varies depending on the scene, there were only about a dozen or so that volunteered on Yavin but there seemed like a lot more in the fight scenes). In a stolen Imperial transport (that sounds familiar doesn't it?) the team arrives at Scarif (the home of the Imperial data files and a potentially nice resort location.
Filmed in Maldives, in very nice vacation spot in real life.
In order to get down to the base the ship must submit a clearance code and go through the shield entrance (again, really familiar) to the planet's surface. Once they land, the rebels split up into groups to set up diversions to draw out Imperial forces so Jyn and Cassian can steal the plans from the data tower. Krennic arrives as things start to heat up and the rebels give a valiant effort but out of nowhere the rebel fleet arrives (more people that said "screw it" and went out there to help) and things are in full swing (again, very familiar premises). It turns out that the plans can only be transmitted when the shield is down. As the battle rages on the Death Star shows up, the shield is down and the plans are transmitted. As the rebels getting ready to make the jump to hyperspace, Vader shows up in a Star Destroyer. This leads to a seamless transition into Episode IV: A New Hope.
This film was good but not great. It was a lot of fun. There are a lot of easter eggs, some good and some unnecessary. Director Gareth Edwards does a real nice job here. Much like Abrams did in Episode VIII, Edwards sticks with the great aspects from the original trilogy. Jyn is pretty similar to Rey from Episode VIII, both female, who have a mysterious background and are quick on their feet (who knew that a major motion picture with a strong female lead would make for a good film, very weird). Solid acting all around here as if the cast and crew know that this is Star Wars and you have to be at your best. Now that we have had 2 films post prequels (both solid), those films are now viewed about as well as the plague. Let's face it, there was a lot of talent in the prequels but they were bad. Viewers were not emotionally connected to any of the main characters. That hasn't been the case in this film or in Episode VIII. The only real problem I had with any of the characters is the decision to have Whitaker play Gerrera like Frank Booth.
Remember this guy?
Whitaker is a great actor that would have a mantle full of awards if the world was a perfect place. I don't know if it was his choice or Edwards'. It seemed a little strange to me. That's all. The other minor issue I had was Vader's first appearance. In a scene with Krennic, he just didn't seem menacing enough (Vader's final scene in the film more than makes up it, believe me). Maybe it's because James Earl Jones is well into his 80's and his voice is different than it was over 30 years ago. There was a nice scene where different rebel characters make mention that they've done some morally questionable things while fighting against the Empire. These scenes are quick and may go unnoticed but I thought it was an interesting touch. Morality can get lost very quickly in war even when it's a war against tyranny. Good writing, good dialogue. Characters meshing well (something that never happened in the prequels). Well done. Good but not great. It's a little derivative but this is the new Star Wars formula and it's working. Why mess with it. This was a fun film to watch. If you are a fan of the franchise then it is a must see. If you have cursory knowledge of the franchise, then see the film. It's a good time.
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