Family Movie Night
By Karyn Bowman
The other night I decided to watch Rogue One because I hadn’t seen it yet.
The idea is great. It is the missing link between Episode III and Episode IV. It tells some important details and moves us to know the whys and hows of that all important fourth movie. For those of you over the age of 45 that would be Star Wars. Not A New Hope, not Episode IV but Star Wars, the movie that allowed people who are science fiction fantasy geeks to get their geek on out loud and in public.
That movie was amazing in its day. Star Wars was/is a Messiah story, the desire for the mythical hero who comes from no where special to save the day. It is a story told and re-told over the years. It is the battle of right over might and good versus evil.
Along with the heavy drama, we also had moments of laughter as Hans Solo and Chewbacca try to navigate getting Luke where he needs to be despite their reluctance. Through them we find something to laugh about and not get bogged down in the constant terror driven by the evil empire and the presence of Darth Vader.
Some might see that as a metaphor for modern times, some might see Vader as the power-crazed villain we need for any war movie to work. But as I watched Rogue One, I have to admit I was under-whelmed.
It is a movie I feel I have seen too many times in this genre. Our heroine is a girl who has lost her family to the evil empire. She has been cast out and lives in jail, her crime unknown to us although we think we know what it is. And then she gets a chance at freedom as long as she is willing to do something for the opposition, as long as she helps them her chance for freedom will come to fruition.
Now, I know there will be Star Wars fans who will be upset but I fell asleep during this movie. With all of the noise and the banging and the explosions and fights, I fell asleep. Not even the cool blind Jedi fighter was enough to keep me awake. And he was really cool.
When I woke up in time for the last 30 minutes, I tried to stay into it. I wanted to see the end. And when I did, I was highly disappointed. “You didn’t tell me about that!?!” I told my son.
“I didn’t want to ruin it for 
you,” he said.
Which is a good thing if I was a crazy attending conventions sort of Star Wars fanatic. No one wants the secret of the movie revealed. Even when a movie has been out for several years, there are still people who get upset when the secret is revealed.
So I won’t reveal it.
But I will say if you are a Star Wars fanatic, you are going to love this movie and have probably already watched it a gazillon times to get all the little references and easter eggs. For those of you who enjoy the series without going overboard I will say that this movie is good, has some compelling characters and some wish-they-weren’t-here characters. You can watch it with the kids, find a few laughs here and there, and find some great explosions.
However, if you fall asleep at any given part, I am certainly the last person who would kick you to the curb as a friend.
Notes from Rumbly Cottage 