I finally watched Gareth Edwards’ new film and it’s really breathtaking—the designs and visuals and texture. It’s like right out of a fantasy comic book I would have read in the 1980s, but so real and grounded, as well as immersive and, above all, believable.
I see a lot of Rogue One in it, and Edwards’ really does have a vision.
That said, I think it’s a classic case of a script that had too many ideas and needed simplification. If it’s a movie about a guy who hates robots and then becomes their biggest champion, the events that shape his outlook need to happen in the movie, not as backstory. The set-up was way too busy, consequently the plot was a lot of going from place to place, but without the kinds of character turns that we would need to stay invested. And I think this is why it just didn’t make more of an impact.
But what a vision!