Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

This was always my favorite Star Wars movie, even BEFORE Andor, just because of how ballsy it is. While Quentin Tarantino is sneering at "That Disney shit" he's too dumb to realize George Lucas would NEVER sanction a Star Wars movie where every single lead hero dies. And fuck, Vader's one-man-wrecking-crew in the second-to-last scene remains the most badass Darth Vader scene of all time. I SO wish the character had been like that in the Original Trilogy. But budgets, and unevolved fight techniques, make things back then seem quite boring in comparison.

The funniest bit was Chirrut complaining about the bag being put over his head. Dude's blind! What's the fucking point?

Set aside how awesomely hardcore and violent K-2SO is for a second. Set aside how funny Alan Tudyk is in the snarky role. I like the character so much because he was the first Droid in the entire franchise to talk like an actual person. Props to the film for that.

This is the only role I've ever seen Mads Mikkelsen in in which he wasn't the bad guy. The only other character he's played even CLOSE to Galen's moral nuance is.... Hannibal Lecter. Yeah, seeing him in a legit heroic role instead of a subversive protagonist role, is quite different than how he is usually cast.

I'll say this for Krennic. Unlike the other Empire suits (like Tarkin) he isn't afraid to get his hands dirty. Of course he DOES have a personal incentive to put himself in life and death situations. He knows DAMN well how the Empire treats incompetence and failures. His risking his life in a shoot-out on the tower is safer than waiting for Big Papa Darth to... scold him.

The Tarkin and Leia stuff is unconvincing CGI which frustrates me a little. 8 years later AI would have made them indistinguishable from Peter Cushing and Carrie Fisher from the 1970's. AI has done a lot of artistic damage, but this kind of thing is something it excels at. Not loving the Uncanny Valley of it all.

This is not the Best Star Wars Anything Ever (that's Andor). But if I might go out on a HUGE limb, but it's probably second-best. Come and get me. 5 stars.