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ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY 2016. 129 min. 10-12PG V. Sci-fi action. R135* If you’ve always wondered why the Death Star had such a fatal flaw that Luke (Mark Hamill) could destroy it with one well-placed shot in Star Wars (1977), Rogue One is for you. This gritty, dour war film is the untold story of the rebels who sent the battle station’s blueprints to Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher). Criminal Jyn Erso (a bland Felicity Jones) has grown up a disillusioned orphan after her engineer dad (Mads Mikkelsen, sadly underused) was abducted by the Galactic Empire to complete its Death Star. Freed from prison by a rebel agent (Diego Luna) to help locate her father, Jyn is joined by a droid (Alan Tudyk), a pilot (Riz Ahmed), a mercenary (Jiang Wen) and a blind warrior monk (Donnie Yen).
As it’s a standalone story that doesn’t advance the plot of the main saga, Rogue One was an opportunity to tell a different kind of story in another genre but still set in the same universe. Unfortunately the results are dull and disjointed. After a terrifically tense intro, things slow down as we’re introduced to a refreshingly diverse but underdeveloped group of heroes it’s hard to care about. Several plot points rely on exasperating clichés and the editing is choppy, hinting at discarded subplots. Ironically the best part is the exhilarating final 30 minutes when the gloomy stoicism is dropped in favour of a spectacular old-fashioned space battle starring an iconic villain. If you’re nostalgic for more Star Wars and lower your expectations you should enjoy this watchable but ultimately unnecessary spin-off. – SANDRA VISSER MONSTER TRUCKS 2016. 100 min. PG. Sci-fi comedy. R129* What if monster trucks – those bakkies the size of buses with gigantic wheels – were powered by real monsters? That’s the genius premise of this adventure, which is far more entertaining than you’d expect. Teenager Tripp (Lucas Till, the new MacGyver) is desperate to get out of his tiny hometown. While assembling a monster truck from pieces at the scrapyard where he works he encounters a strange creature displaced by an explosion at a nearby oil-drilling site. Successfully emulating ’80s kids’ adventures such as The Goonies, this makes for a rollicking good time. – DENNIS CAVERNELIS THE EDGE OF SEVENTEEN 2016. 100 min. 13DL. Comedy drama. R129* Teenager Nadine Franklin (Hailee Steinfeld) believes her life is nothing but misery and confides in her history teacher, Mr Bruner (Woody Harrelson), that she plans to kill herself. Bruner, who’s heard it all before, lets her tell her story – all about her overbearing mother, the best friend who’s now sleeping with her brother, the hunk who broke her heart . . . The script is good and Steinfeld and Harrelson are excellent, but unfortunately Nadine is such an irritating, self-pitying whiner that it’s hard to have any sympathy for her. You might not make it to the end. – WILLEM MÖLLER EQUITY 2016. 100 min. 16L. Drama. R142* Investment banker Naomi Bishop (Breaking Bad’s Anna Gunn) tries to recover from a financial failure by handling a new online privacy company on the stock market, while her broker boyfriend, Michael (James Purefoy), is under pressure to deliver at work. Meanwhile, Naomi’s old school friend (Alysia Reiner from Orange Is The New Black) is secretly investigating Michael for insider trading. Unfortunately, besides focusing on women succeeding in a usually male-dominated business, this movie has little to recommend it. It’s boring, full of jargon and the performances are poor. Avoid. – CHEZ POOL