Throughout the decade, many films have been produced. However, time and time again, many of these films being released are just sequels, remakes of prior movie releases. Most notably,
Ghostbusters and Finding Dory were released in 2016, both movies considered as remakes. Although making a sequel or remake of a prior movie isn’t necessarily dreadful, it’s the fact that these movies lack creativity and satisfying storylines that audiences would rather see. Better yet, it would make people want to spend the average eight dollars for a movie ticket. When Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, was announced, many fans were divided on whether or not this “remake” of an iconic franchise would be worthwhile for the saga itself. After viewing this movie more than once, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is by far the best movie remake that will keep audiences entertained with a powerhouse of a storyline, special effects, and an ending that ties right into the events of a previous Star Wars episode...
As the movie was entering its final phases of production, teaser trailers were released to excite audiences in April 2016. However, Rogue One’s movie trailer had some weird things going for it. Following the trailer’s debut, Lucasfilm and Disney announced that Rogue One was in the process of reshooting scenes, including the fact that most of the shots in the trailer would not make it in the final cut. From these reshoots, this also meant that from the time constraints, the original composer, Alexandre Desplat, would not be able to work on the film due to Desplat having another project that he was working on. It was later announced that Michael Giacchino would take Desplat’s place, with Giacchino only having a month to complete the final score of the film after he was finished composing the music for 2016’s Doctor Strange. Many fans were torn on what these circumstances meant for the movie as a whole and if these reshoots would be worth it for the movie’s final release. after all, many people did not know what to expect. Director of Rogue One Gareth Edwards describes the movie as being a colossal of multi-tasking. While filming was taking place, rewrites of the script were being produced as well as editing of footage that was already filmed. Gareth Edwards did say that the teaser trailer was based on several shots that were meant to engage viewers, hence making them want to see the final product.
Yes, the first half of Rogue One’s storyline was kind of a drag. The reason was the characters and their lack of emotion throughout the entirety of the film. I do believe this was intended. After all, Rogue One was designed to lead up to the events of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. This explains why the “good guys” do die in the end, and although it’s bitter-sweet, it made sense, that way people are not attached to the characters in the same way iconic characters Luke Skywalker or Darth Vader did in the original movies.
The second half is what really makes this movie enjoyable. In Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, audiences experience several characters that are iconic to the movie. One in particular is Grand Moff Tarkin, commander of a space battle station, the Death Star. Grand Moff Tarkin was played by Peter Cushing back in 1977. Although Cushing passed away in 1994, Rogue One developed its story around the Death Star, and producers thought it was necessary to have Tarkin in the movie. The question was how could they pull it off? Turns out, a hired actor, Guy Henry, played the role as Tarkin. Time and time again, the actor would go on set and do live performances. When the performances were captured on film, Special FX artists then used CGI (computer-generated imagery) to make Henry’s performance become one of Cushing’s. This was also the same for Ingvild Deila’s performance in Rogue One, playing the part of another iconic character, Princess Leia. The original actress, Carrie Fisher, managed to see Rogue One a week before her death in December 2016. Her initial reaction was that she loved it! Besides these two roles being reprised, Darth Vader’s voice was acted by the man himself, James Earl Jones. Familiar locations were recreated as well in the film.
Of course every film has its flaws and they all aren’t perfect, but Rogue One definitely has something going for it. From the way the story and cinematography were crafted, there’s this feeling that all of the special effects are real. It also shows how technology is advancing, and shows the possibilities of what can be done in future movies; that’s a beauty in itself.
By Nicholas R.
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| Photo credit: Foter.com |
As the movie was entering its final phases of production, teaser trailers were released to excite audiences in April 2016. However, Rogue One’s movie trailer had some weird things going for it. Following the trailer’s debut, Lucasfilm and Disney announced that Rogue One was in the process of reshooting scenes, including the fact that most of the shots in the trailer would not make it in the final cut. From these reshoots, this also meant that from the time constraints, the original composer, Alexandre Desplat, would not be able to work on the film due to Desplat having another project that he was working on. It was later announced that Michael Giacchino would take Desplat’s place, with Giacchino only having a month to complete the final score of the film after he was finished composing the music for 2016’s Doctor Strange. Many fans were torn on what these circumstances meant for the movie as a whole and if these reshoots would be worth it for the movie’s final release. after all, many people did not know what to expect. Director of Rogue One Gareth Edwards describes the movie as being a colossal of multi-tasking. While filming was taking place, rewrites of the script were being produced as well as editing of footage that was already filmed. Gareth Edwards did say that the teaser trailer was based on several shots that were meant to engage viewers, hence making them want to see the final product.
Yes, the first half of Rogue One’s storyline was kind of a drag. The reason was the characters and their lack of emotion throughout the entirety of the film. I do believe this was intended. After all, Rogue One was designed to lead up to the events of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. This explains why the “good guys” do die in the end, and although it’s bitter-sweet, it made sense, that way people are not attached to the characters in the same way iconic characters Luke Skywalker or Darth Vader did in the original movies.
The second half is what really makes this movie enjoyable. In Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, audiences experience several characters that are iconic to the movie. One in particular is Grand Moff Tarkin, commander of a space battle station, the Death Star. Grand Moff Tarkin was played by Peter Cushing back in 1977. Although Cushing passed away in 1994, Rogue One developed its story around the Death Star, and producers thought it was necessary to have Tarkin in the movie. The question was how could they pull it off? Turns out, a hired actor, Guy Henry, played the role as Tarkin. Time and time again, the actor would go on set and do live performances. When the performances were captured on film, Special FX artists then used CGI (computer-generated imagery) to make Henry’s performance become one of Cushing’s. This was also the same for Ingvild Deila’s performance in Rogue One, playing the part of another iconic character, Princess Leia. The original actress, Carrie Fisher, managed to see Rogue One a week before her death in December 2016. Her initial reaction was that she loved it! Besides these two roles being reprised, Darth Vader’s voice was acted by the man himself, James Earl Jones. Familiar locations were recreated as well in the film.
Of course every film has its flaws and they all aren’t perfect, but Rogue One definitely has something going for it. From the way the story and cinematography were crafted, there’s this feeling that all of the special effects are real. It also shows how technology is advancing, and shows the possibilities of what can be done in future movies; that’s a beauty in itself.
By Nicholas R.