Rogue One : A Star Wars Story

3D Movie Review Written By: Adolph Vega

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3D

The 3D presentation of this movie is pathetic and a total waste. I honestly forgot about the 3D visuals for about 90% of this movie. Occasionally, the barrel of various rifles will pop out of the screen, but the focus is on the character holding the rifle and not the actual rifle itself. This makes the popping out 3D rifle look blurry, and it
becomes a distraction within the specific scene. The movie only uses two or three layers of 3D depth, and it's entirely forgettable except for one scene. This five-second scene has a few characters look down from a tall structure, and the 3D visuals helps to give the illusion of depth. Overall the 3D presentation is totally worthless and adds
nothing to the viewing experience. Under no circumstances can I recommend watching this movie in 3D.

Final Verdict : Terrible 3D, Watch in 2D

Movie

This is a difficult movie to review and discuss without spoilers or direct references to the other Star Wars movies. Technically this movie is a stand alone movie, but it is also dependent on your
understanding of the events from the other movies within the Star Wars saga. The plot follows the efforts of the Rebel Alliance as they
attempt to defeat the galactic empire. The empire has created a new massive weapon called the Death Star. This movie is focused on a motley crew of rebels as they work together to take on the empire.

This movie takes place immediately before the events of the forth Star Wars movie, " A New Hope", but after the events of the third movie "
Revenge of the Sith". So you can't really call this movie a prequel to "A New Hope" because "Revenge of the Sith" is already that movie. This
movie isn't exactly a sequel to "Revenge of the Sith", and is more of a side story that indirectly attaches itself to both movies within the
time line. The Star Wars time line can be confusing to explain, because the release order and narrative order ae not the same. Sadly, the movie doesn't clear up this confusion and has a sub-par first act that overloads the viewer with too much information. Don't get me wrong, I was able to enjoy and understand the story elements to this movie, but it felt too convoluted for it's own good. I also found the story to be predictable and a little cliché.

The movie has a large cast of characters and is set on several different planets and moons all over the galaxy. About 70% of the characters within this movie are only exist within this movie and are not in the other Star Wars films. The main cast is very likeable, but they come and go so quickly that it's hard to get attached to any individual character. What you see is what you get with these characters and they all are basically one dimensional and don't have screen time to really develop or grow. I liked this group of characters, but I didn't care about them. The robot K-2SO was my favorite character, and it has some fantastic dialogue. It's kind of a shame that the robot steals the show from all the other humanoid characters within this movie. Overall I do really like the main cast of characters, but I wish they had more time on screen to develop.

Fundamentally, this movie is a science fiction war movie from the perspective of the scrappy Rebellion. The story is a tragic tale and a
much darker movie than any other Star Wars movie. I give the movie credit for handling these mature themes and making a compelling story.
The movie balances a gritty narrative with a underdog, inspirational theme. One plot element toward the end of the movie I found extremely
ridiculous and infuriating. This scene includes one character assisting another character at a critical moment of the movie. This assistance feels tacked on and robs the first character of a satisfying conclusion of their character arch. I can't really discuss this scenario any further without spoilers, but needless to say I found how this scene to be poorly handled.

The movie has stunning cinematography with many beautiful shots. The special effects are top notch and the use of computer generated
characters works fairly well. I was aware that certain characters were computer generated, but it wasn't a huge distraction to my enjoyment of the movie. I do want to warn any parents reading this review that this movie might be too dark for younger children.

Overall, I enjoyed Rogue One: A Star Wars story and found it an enjoyable movie. I liked the characters but I ultimately didn't care about them. I give credit for the bold decisions the movie makes but I still found the movie lacking.