Commence Primary Ignition: Review of Rogue One

Rogue One

Director: Gareth Edwards

By Alex Watson

Venturing into Star Wars spin-off territory seemed like a dangerous thing at first but Rogue One shows us what wonderful nostalgia these tales can bring. Director Gareth Edwards directs this piece with a lot of love and affection and his control of the final act will warm Star Wars fans hearts. Losing none of its magic or its ability to give us characters we deeply care for, having stand-alone pictures could be a glorious thing. Set right before the events A New Hope, the questions fans were dying to find out are superbly brought forward and Edwards brilliantly joins the dots.

Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones) is the wayward daughter of Imperial scientist Galen Erso (Mads Mikkelsen). After learning of an upcoming weapons test, the Rebellion soon learns that their new space station The Death Star is capable of destroying entire planets. Anxious to find the key to destroying this station, Jyn is forced into the path of Rebel Captain Cassian Andor (Diego Luna), Imperial defector Bhodi Rook (Riz Ahmed) and their sharp-tongued robot K2S0 (Alan Tudyk).

Perhaps the strongest element to Rogue One is its premise, early on Jyn sees her mother murdered and father reclaimed by villainous Director Orson Krennic (Ben Mendelsohn). She is not for the rebellion and is just a criminal floating through life. When she is coerced by Mal Mothma (Genevieve O'Reilly) to join the Rebellion she begins to see the bigger picture. Originally tasked with convincing Rebel extremist Saw Guerrera (Forest Whitaker) to aid their risky venture- Jyn is trust into the path of Cassian. During this sequence, we see a whole new side to the Rebels. Guerrera is a man who believes in making Imperial cooperators suffer and his approach makes him a feared man. There are no lightsabers drawn (well thats not exactly true but I will avoid spoilers) and most of the battles take place on the ground. Particularly when blind warrior Chirrut Imwe (Donnie Yen) gets involved in a thrilling shoot-out on the planet Jedha. Edwards isn't concerned with stretching the story out and his no-nonsense approach works wonders for Chris Weitz and Tony Gilroy's well-paced script.

The new central cast is remarkably likeable, but have their limelight stolen by the hilarious K2SO. Coming off as C-3PO's sardonic relative, his calm and assured tone and clever wit is endlessly hilarious. A reprogrammed Imperial droid, KS20's is blunt and observant with a love of stats, but surprisingly deep in some places. Cassian and Jyn but heads almost immediately as their missions differ on many levels. Jyn merely wants to rescue her beloved father, while the Rebels perceive him as a big threat to their safety. Both have paid the price to get to this point, but neither can succeed without the other. Bhodi is a likeable character, but his risky move to defect from the Empire is not fully explained. Lurking in the shadows, Krennic comes across as a smug overachiever that is desperate to be recognised. The Empire merely views him as a nuisance, but unfortunately, his creation of the Death Star has been key to crushing rebel scum. Gareth Edwards makes the reappearance of Darth Vader a chilling and memorable one. Only on-screen for a matter of minutes, hearing James Earl Jones' iconic voice will send shivers down your spine.

Rogue One's mightiest achievement comes during its beautiful and exhilarating third act which is a love letter to all Star Wars fans everywhere. Stunningly recreating an X-Wing/Tie Fighter dog fighter during the film's climax and the reintroduction of several forgotten characters will have us all punching the air in joy. The effects are a visual treat for the eyes and we are transported back to that happy and joyful feeling we once had watching AT-AT's reigning havoc upon Hoth. All the answers we ever wanted are there and they feel utterly conceivable. While the story might dip in places and the decision to digitally recreate some treasured old characters might not appear particularly wise, we never feel short changed in this saga. Many narrow-minded fans whined about having a female hero, but Jyn feels worthy of anchoring it. Cool under pressure and willing to go the extra mile, she gives Rey a run for her money. truth this one is a team effort and how they combine to repeatedly stump Empire attacks is smartly put together.

As Jyn Felicity Jones shows her blockbuster potential. Before you would never have considered for this type of part, but through a gutsy turn Jones fits well into this universe. Diego Luna is equally impressive as the conflicted Cassian, but this is very much Alan Tudyk's picture. Sporting a brutally honest sense of humour, KS20 provides much more than the comic relief. After his excellent voice work as Sonny in I-Robot, Tudyk should just voice every robot in cinema from now on. Ben Mendelsohn makes for a good villain to play off against and Krennic is like watching a spoiled child in charge of the most powerful weapon in the Galaxy.

Rogue One has produced the best outcome we could wish for in this new era of Star Wars prequels. We now have hope for the upcoming Han Solo picture because if all spin-offs are like this one, we can breathe easy. Start counting the minutes to December 15, 2017 everyone! Episode VIII is coming.

The Blacklist: Review of Trumbo

Trumbo

Director: Jay Roach

By Alex Watson

Although it doesn't quite grasp its subject quite like we hoped, Jay Roach's Trumbo still brings a fine and ambitious turn from Bryan Cranston. Dalton Trumbo's blacklist during the McCarthy trials was a notable event in Hollywood because it led to one of its true greats being shunned. Roach effectively nails the man well but although this a slick and polished piece, it never thrills us like it should.

Screenwriter Dalton Trumbo has just become Hollywood's high paid writer, he is also a long-time campaigner for more pay for studio workers. During the McCarthy trials, his communist beliefs see him blacklisted and jailed along with nine other writers including Arlen Hird (Louis CK). Desperate to make a living, Trumbo will be forced to write scripts under false names in order to make a living.

Trumbo is a movie where Jay Roach wants to combine both fun and serious together. Dalton Trumbo is a man of great eccentricities such as his long cigarette holder and writing whilst in the bathtub, His biggest vice though is his big mouth and despite the fact he is happily married to Cleo (an underused Diane Lane) he still believe his perfect US could be better. "You talk like a radical, but you live like a rich guy!" mentions Arlen at one stage to his friend. Trumbo lives off the Hollywood dime and has some big name friends such as Edward G Robinson (Michael Stuhlberg) but is quickly making enemies in the wrong places. Anti-commie columnist Hedda Hopper (Helen Mirren) is one who wants him sent down the river. Early we see a clash of ideas between Trumbo and John Wayne where he respond to Duke's challenge about World War II "If you're going to talk about World War II as if you personally won it, let me be clear where you were stationed- on a film set!"

His subsequent trial for his communist beliefs sees him risking everything to protect his beliefs. Being called out before the committee sees Dalton simply playing a game and daring his nine other friends to do the same. Friendships are tested, particularly when his friend Robinson crumbles and names people. John McNamara's script calls out Hollywood on one of its darkest periods, but we never really feel the full effect. Forced to churn out B-movie scripts for lousy pay, rather feeling down the man gets creative. During his long banning from the Hollywood scene, he will write such Oscar winners as Roman Holiday which friend Ian McKellen-Hunter (Alan Tudyk) is credited for. Linking up with shady executive Frank King (John Goodman) is where the movie does have its funny moments. King mass produces forgettable pictures, which coincidentally have lots of writing jobs available for banned writers.

There is a great sense of injustice throughout Trumbo that his banning went on for so long (Trumbo wasn't credited with his Oscar win until 2011). Despite some neat direction from Roach, this picture cannot grab our attention like it should. It's the uneven mix of comedy and drama are one are which makes it fall down. His relationship with his suffering family is one area that feels underdeveloped along with his friendships with his nine other comrades. Trumbo's later revival under such important stars such as Kirk Douglas (Dean O'Gorman) and the hilarious Otto Preminger (Christian Barkel) do warm the heart because he was finally credited for the movie Spartacus. Though impressively we feel the sacrifice that the man makes, especially during his final scene when accepting an award. In one speech his denounces the blacklist and powerfully denounces those who compromised their beliefs.

Bryan Cranston at long last makes the transition across to big screen star and as Dalton Trumbo, he exemplifies the brave stand that this man took. Demonstrating a keen wit along with a heavily plagued conscience, Cranston is the glue that holds the picture together. Truly now, he is the who knocks. Helen Mirren is memorably nasty as the glamorous columnist, Heddy Hopper and is able to turn from charmingly cute to the wicked witch in an instant. John Goodman is also scene-stealing in a brief role as Frank King and watching him respond to Hollywood intimidation with a baseball bat is pure funny "You wanna call me a pinko in the papers? Do it, none of the people go to my fucking movies can read!"

Trumbo was left off the majority of the big Oscar nominations because even though this is well produced film, its lack of depth is obvious. Cranston alone is one reason to see this picture, but this is also a heavy reminder of just how Hollywood got it wrong.