I figure the shorter I keep this review, the more likely you'll believe me that there are indeed no spoilers here so I'll be brief. Let's star here: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is the second-best Star Wars movie that I have seen. Ever. Phenomenally done on so many levels. Let's dive in.
Rogue One is the story of a band of heroes, led by Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones), who come together to steal the plans to the Death Star, a planet-killing machine. There are a lot of characters and multiple planets introduced in the beginning so it's somewhat easy to get confused early on. I personally lost focus somewhat at the beginning, but it's beyond worth it to hang in there.
The stakes are high in this film, higher even than in the preceding films. As a result, you find yourself completely invested early on because you realize what the failure of this mission ultimately means for the good guys. High stakes means desperation, doing things you aren't necessarily proud of but you know those actions are a must for the cause. That's another thing I loved about this film, the fact that it shows you when choosing a side, everything is not always black and white. War is dark and unforgiving. You can't always play fair or nice. You need people willing to get their hands dirty. Rogue One touches on this quite a bit.
The action sequences are grand in scope aided by beautiful visuals. Rogue One gives you the crisp originality that comes with the sci-fi genre while really capturing the brutality of war. Think Saving Private Ryan with aliens and spaceships. Fans will get a kick out of quite a few moments throughout as the film did an excellent job of maintaining the nostalgic feel of the originals. You can trust me on this one, but I won't elaborate. My lips are sealed...
The characters are both fun and well-developed. I went to see Rogue One with three other people and each of us walked out with a different favorite. I especially liked the way Felicity Jones handled Jyn's character. Jyn grew up mostly without her parents so she had to learn independence at an early age. In spite of her talent for doing things on her own, she knew when she was overwhelmed and when she needed to ask for help. She understood that teamwork was her only path to success.
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story pleasantly surprised me. It has me excited to see more of the Star Wars one-offs that will be showing up in the next five years. I give it a 94.
It's been a few days since I saw Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. I'm so glad I sat on this one for a bit because my initial thoughts weren't the most positive. As the days drew on, however, I started to think more and more about all the things the film did well and what made it so special. Sometimes you have to step away from something to fully appreciate its value.
It's not as if the things I didn't like about Fantastic Beasts just went away. My biggest issue was the fact that the film never really gave me a chance to settle in. It was light-hearted then took a sharp turn and became extremely dark. It was almost as if I was watching two different films at times.
The dual storyline also detracted from the overall enjoyment of the film at times. Wizard Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) makes a pit stop in New York on his way to Arizona to release one of his beasts into the wild. Meanwhile a terrible, dark force is destroying everything it comes into contact with in the city and a magical wizarding task force has to figure out what's going and eliminate the threat. The two storylines do cross paths...but not really.
The title definitely lives up to itself as creatures of all shapes and sizes abound throughout the film. I was extremely impressed by not only how many different species there were, but how different each and everyone of them were from each other. I'm hesitant to spoil things by going into too much detail, but prepare to see everything from massive, griffin-type creatures to tiny insects that look more like trees than bugs. You can tell that JK Rowling really had a strong hand in this film as the innovation goes hand-in-hand with Harry Potter universe. My personal favorite beast was Dougal, a pudgy, rodent-like creature that can't seem to stop stealing things. The movie would not have been the same without Dougal who manages to steal many of the scenes he's involved in.
Even beyond the beasts, the visuals are amazing. Newt's magical location where he keeps his animals has an array of climates respective to each species and its cool to see them all mesh together. Typical Harry Potter style, magic scenes abound with disappearing acts and various wizarding duels that get your heartrate going. Definitely an array of eye candy to maintain your attention.
As a whole Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them succeeds with multiple layers that will appeal to all types of people hoping for a relevant experience. Looking forward to what this franchise brings next. I give the movie an 83.
