Spin-off, which connects the third and fourth episodes. The story of the first "Villain" (Roque) who saves the galaxy beyond and steals the Death Star plans from the Empire.
From the in-between movie, I expected Star Wars quality, not much worse than the first cursed installment. A dark story that won't just be about the force and the battle between the dark and light sides.
Unfortunately, the film doesn't do a good job at all, we don't get to relate to every character, which should engage fans. A story about the heist of plans could certainly have been handled better.
Starting with the director, Gareth Edwards had only made a few films before Star Wars. He made a name for himself on Godzilla, so producers were hoping to make a successful film with the skilled director. Unfortunately, under the weight of his famous brand, all his work fell apart, and half a year before the premiere, he had to reunite to finish filming a few dozen scenes. It wasn't just a few scenes, it was a couple of weeks of filming, which are unfortunately on display in the cinema.
Hollywood stars were to lead the film to success, and so Mads Mikkelsen and Forest Whitaker were cast. The two acting matadors were joined by young acting star – Felicity Jones (this is about the film to film). The cast of stars and young actors failed to advance the film qualitatively. And there were a couple of cameos - C-3P0 and R2-D2, for example, can check off their 7th film.
Some of the failure lies with the writers; the pair, Chris Weitz and Tony Gilroy, didn't craft a decent story. The scenes may look good on paper, but in the film, much of the dialogue was lengthy. Even the action scenes didn't save the day; they were terribly cluttered on the ground and chaotic again in space.
The film isn't just about actors and old analogue tricks either. Unfortunately, CGI has gone so far as to feature long-dead actors in the film. I'm not going to spoiler, you can guess since it's a story about the Death Star and secret plans.
I don't approve of the idea of creating real CGI actors, unfortunately, because their digitalness is still visible. They didn't invite Andy Serkis to create them at all. I also have to be very critical of Darth Vader's performance. In the following episodes, where he is the main negative character and is recognizable even by his gait, it is simply obvious that he is played by a much younger actor, characterized by a nimble and fluid gait. Not even the last action scene, which makes the film stand out, can save it. At least James Earl Jones saves it.
I thought the composer (Michael Giacchino) could elevate the film to tolerable heights. I liked the music for the opening shots, but beyond that it was just a bore that left no memories compared to the composer who has been composing Star Wars for the last 40 years.
It's just a flop. The director's film fell apart under his hands and even the touches didn't save the day. The other installments in the Star Wars franchise are much better, even though they may have featured the much-maligned Jar Jar Binks. My expectation that this could have been a different, but still pretty good, movie was not met. The director just isn't even a routinist who can make a mediocre movie. I gave him a chance after Godzilla, but his glory days probably began and will end with Japanese Monster.
Photo: Walt Disney Pictures
Original release of this article July 11, 2020 – Kritiky.cz
