No, no, and no: this is not a review of today's big release, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. But I wanted to take the occasion to offer up a few words. (NOTE: I will offer up a review once I've seen it, but I'm so busy with the holidays that won't be for a week or so.)
For all intents and purposes, I think the real experiment in Walt Disney's purchase of Lucasfilm from George Lucas truly begins today with the opening of this film, and I'll tell you why. Star Wars: Episode VII: The Force Awakens was a bit of a continuation, building on characters and circumstances some of which had already been established; this gives storytellers some greater foundation upon which to build a story and flesh out newly incorporated characters. By comparison, Rogue One seeks to carve out a piece of that galaxy far, far away that will understandably bring familiar names and places to the table while potentially "trying something different."
The reviews have been on-the-web for a few days now, and it seems to me that there's some minor controversy about just how well Rogue fits into the greater Star Wars universe. Certainly, many who've seen it have pointed out (positively and negatively) that the Gareth Edwards' picture feels more like a 'war movie' than it does a 'Star Wars movie,' and it's those sentiments I tried to express in my own way above: I could be wrong, but I've said before that the Prequel Trilogy alone demonstrates that all you have to do is slap "Star Wars" in a title and people will come, but Rogue One really seeks to show once and for all that there's more than one way to skin a Bantha ... if one were indeed crazy enough to attempt such a feat.
Here's hoping that Rogue One really does stake out new territory as I think that will always be the future for not only good storytelling but also for a franchise that felt a bit too familiar for my tastes with A Force Awakens. (Sorry, JJ, but I wasn't much a fan of your fan film.)
As always, thanks for reading ... live long and prosper ... and May the Force be with you!
For all intents and purposes, I think the real experiment in Walt Disney's purchase of Lucasfilm from George Lucas truly begins today with the opening of this film, and I'll tell you why. Star Wars: Episode VII: The Force Awakens was a bit of a continuation, building on characters and circumstances some of which had already been established; this gives storytellers some greater foundation upon which to build a story and flesh out newly incorporated characters. By comparison, Rogue One seeks to carve out a piece of that galaxy far, far away that will understandably bring familiar names and places to the table while potentially "trying something different."
The reviews have been on-the-web for a few days now, and it seems to me that there's some minor controversy about just how well Rogue fits into the greater Star Wars universe. Certainly, many who've seen it have pointed out (positively and negatively) that the Gareth Edwards' picture feels more like a 'war movie' than it does a 'Star Wars movie,' and it's those sentiments I tried to express in my own way above: I could be wrong, but I've said before that the Prequel Trilogy alone demonstrates that all you have to do is slap "Star Wars" in a title and people will come, but Rogue One really seeks to show once and for all that there's more than one way to skin a Bantha ... if one were indeed crazy enough to attempt such a feat.
Here's hoping that Rogue One really does stake out new territory as I think that will always be the future for not only good storytelling but also for a franchise that felt a bit too familiar for my tastes with A Force Awakens. (Sorry, JJ, but I wasn't much a fan of your fan film.)
As always, thanks for reading ... live long and prosper ... and May the Force be with you!
RSS Feed