I would love to pull out the soapbox to scream and complain about Disney and the Ever-Expanding Do-Over. I’ve done it before and I hate, hate, hate to be a broken record.
Regardless, I could spend this brief time with you pointing out that around 40% of the U.S. studio releases of 2016 were either remakes, sequels, re-imaginings and/or Universe Expansions. The Original Thought has become a near-extinct beast rarely witnessed roaming the Hollywood Hills.
And Disney is the worst culprit. A sequel for everything. 2 Marvel movies a year. Remaking all of their old cartoons into live action moneymaking machines. And now, an annual Star Wars film. New sagas, and prequels and sequels and stand-alone flicks.
And while the Disney Business Model goes against every synapse in my system aching for “art” I must say Disney knows how to crank em out. Rouge One is near perfect, dammit. And we can sit safely in our chairs knowing that Pop Cinema continues to thrive thanks to the House of Mouse.
Rouge One is a thrilling addition to the Star Wars Universe. A tiny side story that plays directly into the Big Picture. What the film does that is truly impressive is it establishes its own “feel,” not relying on the Star Wars template (something that many say “The Force Awakes” did way too much). While the movie has a uniqueness to it comparative to what we’ve seen before, it fits with all the other movie parts at the same time. Massive feat.
The film looks like it was filmed in the summer of 1976, butting the action right up to “The New Hope”. The effects are amazing although there are a couple of surprise characters in the film that rely a little too heavily on computer graphics. That said, one of the other critics I watched the film with was very impressed by these effects. Trying not to spoil. You’ll know when you see it.
The Nerd Boy inside me is absolutely ecstatic that we are going to get an annual Star Wars film. The quality level is right up there with the Marvel Movies. And while Original Thought is going the way of the dodo, at least we can watch a lot of killer action as our brains continue to shrink.
