Finally saw Rogue One today. Wow what a good movie, with standout work by an international cast headed by Felicity Jones, Mads Mikklesen, Forest Whitaker, Diego Luna, Ben Mendelsohn, Riz Ahmed, Wen Jiang and Donnie Yen. And Alan Tudyk as the robot.
Thumbs up...but (no spoilers intended) did anyone besides me NOT like the ending?
WARNING: Do not read any further! Spoilers ahead!
Let's talk about that ending. All the heroes die. Come on, Disney. Come on, George Lucas.
You can't do that to us, the fans. We want to see more of Jyn Erso the plucky heroine of Rogue One. Cassian Andor the dashing but dark rebel captain. And Chirrut Imwe the blind yet dangerously skilled monk who trusts in the powers of The Force. Plus the rest.
Rogue One fits comfortably in the same movie genre as the Dirty Dozen and the Magnificent Seven, films where a ragtag bunch of misfits melds into a unified team to do something good. Yes many die, but typically a few walk away to fight another day.
Director Gareth Edwards does wonders with creating another side of the Star Wars universe and we care about the team that he has assembled to accomplish their "do or die" mission.
They do it, but must they all die?
Somewhere in the reshoots and re-cuts, a committee hatched a very bad idea and put it into theaters.
I'm sorry to say, but I walked out of Rogue One angry. After such an excellent set-up, the end is a let-down.
