First of all, I'd like to say that Rogue One does an admirable job of slotting itself onto the wider context of the Star Wars universe and its story is pretty solid and definitely engaging.
However while the plot and action sequences in this film were good there was very little in the way of character development and in my opinion this is where the film falls down. On the whole the characters were very likable and interesting but unfortunately (and ironically considering I watched it in 3D) they were also pretty two-dimensional. This wouldn't be so much of an issue if there were going to be more films in which to develop the characters but considering they all die at the end that seems unlikely.
I have to admit, I've never been a huge fan of war movies, so perhaps I'm just not the intended audience for this film. But as a lover of Star Wars and someone who places a strong value on characterization, I have to say I was a little disappointed. As I said, there was a strong plot and some amazing action sequences but the film was also oddly paced at times and personally I don't think Felicity Jones was a particularly strong or compelling lead. While the rest of the cast were able to bring their characters to life despite very little to work with, I feel that Jones failed to do this and so I never really warmed to her character.
All that said I very much appreciate the racial diversity of the cast; it's very unusual to see a Hollywood blockbuster where the main cast consists almost entirely of people of colour and I'm hoping it's demonstrating a move towards more diversity in the film industry (I can only hope that the next Star Wars film will feature some WOMEN of colour in the main cast as well!)
Review by DeletedBlockedParent2017-01-03T17:51:32Z
First of all, I'd like to say that Rogue One does an admirable job of slotting itself onto the wider context of the Star Wars universe and its story is pretty solid and definitely engaging.
However while the plot and action sequences in this film were good there was very little in the way of character development and in my opinion this is where the film falls down. On the whole the characters were very likable and interesting but unfortunately (and ironically considering I watched it in 3D) they were also pretty two-dimensional. This wouldn't be so much of an issue if there were going to be more films in which to develop the characters but considering they all die at the end that seems unlikely.
I have to admit, I've never been a huge fan of war movies, so perhaps I'm just not the intended audience for this film. But as a lover of Star Wars and someone who places a strong value on characterization, I have to say I was a little disappointed. As I said, there was a strong plot and some amazing action sequences but the film was also oddly paced at times and personally I don't think Felicity Jones was a particularly strong or compelling lead. While the rest of the cast were able to bring their characters to life despite very little to work with, I feel that Jones failed to do this and so I never really warmed to her character.
All that said I very much appreciate the racial diversity of the cast; it's very unusual to see a Hollywood blockbuster where the main cast consists almost entirely of people of colour and I'm hoping it's demonstrating a move towards more diversity in the film industry (I can only hope that the next Star Wars film will feature some WOMEN of colour in the main cast as well!)