I have mixed feelings about the Star Wars Rogue One movie trailer.
Yes, it went viral a few days — or was it a week or two ago? — and I’m late to the party, but two things about it irk me.
- The shitty writing (so far). “This is a rebellion, isn’t it? I rebel.” Seriously? Is that the best of dialogue that the screenwriters can showcase in the trailer? If so, I can imagine the characters making, similar, insipid remarks.
- Seriously?
Another Death Star? I honestly think that the screenwriters have run out of ideas because having a Death Star be the prime focus of yet another movie is too much. The Force Awakens deployed the same thing–hello, it was essentially a compressed version of the original trilogy updated with a female protagonist and too much fanservice, so why should we rely on the writers to come up with something original?
Update: A friend of mine told me told me this was the origin story of the Death Star. But my point still stands. After the release of The Force Awakens, the Death Star has become a cliché. I am not interested in what happens before Episode Four if we’re going to obsess over a glorified sphere. There are more compelling stories that can be told, and if the video game Star Wars: The Old Republic, or the expanded universe are anything to go by, this means we can still tell compelling stories in this universe without using its clichés.
What I like about it:
- OMG it’s a female protagonist! Moviemakers, please don’t mess it up for me. Make this a good one.
I’m always for movies that have strong (and by strong I mean fleshed out, well-rounded) female characters,but I think good writing matters when it comes to movies. Despite deploying yet another Death Star (how are fans not sick of the franchise and holding its creators to task with this?), I’m hoping that the plot will be better developed than The Force Awakens.
But given how expanding the Star Wars universe in the name of capitalism has harmed and crippled the franchise, I am not getting my hopes up. Unlike The Force Awakens, I will not be at the premier holding my lightsaber and wearing my Captain Phasma t-shirt. I will wait for the DVD version and watch it to see if it measures up.