Hey there, I hope all is well. Last time I talked about the parts of Star Wars: Rogue One that I enjoyed and thought highly of. Since the last post I’ve had time to really go over what I wanted to talk about and I thought of few more points to address. Again like my last entry, this is an asteroid field full of spoilers. You aren’t Han Solo, I’m telling you the odds and you will get hit with a spoiler….
One thing I’ve heard more than a few times is how the film felt very dire and hopeless. This is something I thought the folks at Lucasfilm did very well. They treated the subject of war with some weight and also remembered this was a Space Opera. The original trilogy and the prequels had it’s moments, mostly Empire Strikes Back and Revenge of the Sith, however they had a very lighthearted feel to them. The Phantom Menace, Anakin jumps around and is a Padawan Learner. In Attack of the Clones, Anakin and Padme gets married. After the Luke and the pilots destroy the Death Star in A New Hope, they get medals. At the end of Return of the Jedi, the Ewoks have a jam session and the Galaxy celebrates the fall of the Empire (given how the Empire controlled the HoloNet, I still give a side eye to the all the planets not only finding out about the death of the Emperor AND openly celebrating his death. Especially on Coruscant… but let me stop being an uber nerd…).
With Rogue One people die. The heroes die. The villains die. Civilians die. Planets die. Career ambissions die. Despite the heroic actions of the Rogue One team, much like in a real war, there was no happy ending for those fighting. It would have been easy for Disney to have Jyn and Cassin to find a U-Wing and fly off or K-2SO to have survived his gunfight to save one of the heroes. These events didn’t happen and it made Rogue One a more powerful experience.
The Thursday the movie released, many friends (shout out to them for not spoiling anything) and other people commented on how this was not a movie for young children. There were articles on this that made some great points. For having great behavior, being responsible, and doing well in school (He’s an A student, #humblebrag), I treat my son to “hooky days” when he and I can see movies on opening day. A ten year-old who plays Halo, watches all Star Trek shows, and such, I figured he would be able to handle whatever the film can throw at him. He stayed glued to the movie and even caught some Easter eggs in the movie. After we left the theater, I did the usual asking him about the movie. He loved the movie and was very sad when his favorite character died. K-2SO stole many scenes and pretty hilarious, his death did take a few breaths away from the viewers. It was dramatic and no one wants anyone to die.
However this was a war and with pretty impossible odds, the chances of survival was small. K-2SO knew it and still did his job. We had a great talk about guns, war, and death on the way home. Not that we haven’t had these conversations before, this movie helped nailed home that guns and war was not for fun and we don’t wish death on anyone. I wonder how many parents and adults had this kind of conversation with their children and the youth in their lives as they left the theaters? I would hope that this teachable moment wasn’t lost. We are so use to Call of Duty and videogames with its depictions of war and “respawning,” seeing people not getting up in this film might be a way to talk about a very serious subject.
Lastly I’m pretty excited about the continued diversity and what the future holds in the Star Wars films. The Force Awakens had it’s ups and downs for many people, however nearly everyone was able to recognize and enjoy the cast of the movie. Rogue One continues this forward movement in the right direction. Compared to other franchises, notably Star Trek, Star Wars doesn’t have the greatest record when it comes to it assortment in it’s cast. Granted Star Trek has five live action shows, countless movies, and an animated series, Star Trek has a MUCH greater variety when it comes to different cultures being seen (other than humanoid aliens). The Original Trilogy had a hand full of Black people, a small amount of Asian people in the films. The Prequels were better, however still people of color were secondary characters. Force Awakens and Rogue One has main characters that are people of color. I see this as a positive as EVERYONE loves the franchise and EVERYONE sees themselves as someone who can be a hero or villain (or in-between) in the Star Wars Universe.
Next up in the theaters we have Star Wars: Episode XIII, the continued saga of Rey, Finn, Poe, and Kylo Ren. I’m looking forward to seeing what will happen next. Then there is the “Young Han Solo” film (played by Alden Ehrenreich) that will have a “Young Lando” (played by Donald Glover), rumors of a Obi-Wan film, a Boba Fett film, and the amazing Star Wars Rebels show currently playing now on Disney XP. Add the comic books and the novels that ties everything together with the “new” continuity, this is a great time to be a fan of Star Wars. I am hoping we get a "X-Wing" or another space fighter centered movie, cross your fingers....
Keep rockin’ until next time.