FINAL - Rogue One (5) vs. Star Wars: A New Hope (2)

VS.

It is hard enough to come up with 12 categories, much less 16, so I have concluded my tournaments by totaling all 12 categories to determine the winner. I feel this is fair and it means I avoid leaning toward a favorite in the finals. In this case, I would not have predicted the winner at the beginning of the tournament.


PLOT: Rogue One = A Star Wars = A
STRATEGY AND TACTICS: Rogue One = A Star Wars = B
WEAPONRY: Rogue One = B Star Wars = B
SPECIAL EFFECTS: Rogue One = A Star Wars = A+
ACTING: Rogue One = B Star Wars = B-
ENTERTAINMENT: Rogue One = A Star Wars = A+
COMBAT: Rogue One = A Star Wars = B
ENEMY: Rogue One = B Star Wars = C
SETS AND SOUNDS: Rogue One = A Star Wars = A
DIALOGUE: Rogue One = C Star Wars = B
CHARACTERS: Rogue One = B Star Wars = A+
CLICHES: Rogue One = C Star Wars = A

Star Wars = 104 Rogue One = 100

So we come to the end of another tournament. Thank you for following. Hopefully you're not too upset about the results. You may disagree with result, but I think Star Wars is a worthy winner. I would not have pegged it as the best sci-fi war movie at the beginning of the tournament, but you can see that it was strong in all the categories except enemy. Amazingly, it is the oldest film in the tournament and I usually feel newer is better when it comes to sci-fi movies. Rogue One is an example of this. It is better than all but two of the Star Wars series. Unfortunately, it ran up against one of those movies.

Here are the other tournaments:
21st Century War Movies
War Comedies
WWII Combat
Vietnam War
Dogfighting
WWI Combat
Submarine

ALIENS (1) vs. ROGUE ONE (5)

VS.

SETS AND SOUNDS:  “Aliens” takes place mostly in the complex at Hadley’s Hope.  It is a haunted house.  Many suspense/action have their climactic scene in a factory setting.  “Aliens” adds the medical lab/control room.  This is different because of the alterations made by the aliens.  This definitely creeps things up, but the set is otherwise pretty standard.  It’s what you put in the set that makes the movie special.  The film won the Academy Award for Best Sound Editing and the sound effects are outstanding.  It also was nominated for Best Original Score for James Horner.  Interestingly, Horner had a bad experience with the film because Cameron gave him little time of help with the score.  This might explain why the movie has long stretches with no music.  One can only imagine what the pucker factor would have been like with a amped up score.  GRADE  =  B

“Rogue One”, like all the Star Wars movies, gives you a planetary tour.  The planets have radically different environments.  Jedha is like the Middle East, Eadu is rainy and rocky, and Scarif is a tropical paradise.  Nice variety.  In a nice touch, Jedha looks like Masada.  The score, by Michael Giacchino, is a typical Star Wars score.  He obviously channeled John Williams, which is not necessarily a bad thing.  Just not very original.  He treated the movie as a WWII action flick with an emotional core.  The use of music is almost the opposite of “Aliens” in that it backs every scene.  It does not manipulate or dominate, however.  The sound effects are outstanding and the movie was nominated for an Academy Award for Sound Mixing.  GRADE =  A

DIALOGUE:  “Aliens” has 114 entries in IMDB quotes.  Most of them are Hudson either being macho or whining.  The soldier banter is realistic, but breaks no new ground and the screenwriter does not throw in anything futuristic.  For instance, Apone uses the phrase “assholes and elbows” (work hard) which would be nostalgic.  Weirdly, one of the Marines tells another “when we get back without you, I’ll call your folks”.  Everyone who’s ever seen a war movie knows the line ends with them threatening to sleep with their buddy’s wife!  Overall, the dialogue is not why the movie is great.  It does finish with one of the greatest lines in movie history:  “Get away from her, you BITCH!”   GRADE  =  C

“Rogue One” is not a very talkative movie.  Even the inspirational speeches are terse.  There is no iconic line like in “Aliens”.  There is a comic relief figure (K-2SO) who gets some good lines, better than Hudson. It has 88 entries on IMDB.   GRADE = C

CHARACTERS:   “Aliens” has one of the great sci-fi characters – Ellen Ripley.  She morphs into an action hero which is one reason why the movie is different in a great way from the original.  AFI put Ellen Ripley at #8 on its list of heroes.  This is a movie that gives women some meaty roles.  Vasquez is the toughest of the Marines and served as the template for later alpha females like Dizzy in “Starship Troopers” and Chacon in “Avatar”.  Newt stands in for the audience and is a key to the film.  Hicks is a standard hero, as is Burke as the slimy suit.  Bishop also appears to be a stereotype as the evil android and the twist is one of the best plot developments.  Everyone keys in on Hudson (most of the squad is underdeveloped) as he serves as comic relief in an otherwise humorless horror movie.  GRADE  =  B

“Rogue One” has a strong female character in Jyn Erso.  She’s your modern heroine.  She leads, she inspires, and she can fight.  Cassian is seemingly a stereotyped hero, but early on murders an informant without blinking.  An early sign that this Star Wars will not be aimed at 14 year-olds.  Plus the romance between the two is not pushed.  The motley crew has some appealing characters – especially K-2 and Chirrut.  K-2 is refreshingly different from C3PO.  Chirrut, the blind warrior, gets the Force into a movie that avoids advancing the Jedi warrior mythology.  The character was very popular with audiences.  The villain (Krennic) is adequately dastardly, but he pales in comparison to Darth Vader (and the alien queen).  GRADE  =  B

CLICHES:  The aliens are superior and should win.  There is a key person (Ripley) who the humans can not win without.  Tactics by the Marines are simply frontal (the aliens are less predictable). The aliens have a “brain” in the alien queen.  The Marines are a heterogeneous small unit that includes an ass-kicking female.  5 out of 10  GRADE  =  C

In “Rogue One”,  the Empire is superior in power to the rebels and should win.  There is a key person (Jyn) that the Rebellion must have to be successful.  K-2 serves as the movie’s side-kick and provides comic relief.  The Death Star has a weak spot.  The movie is all about getting the plans that reveal that weak spot.  Jyn leads a motley crew to get the plans.  5 out of 10  GRADE  =  C

ANALYSIS:  I love both these movies and it was not surprising that this match was close.  They both are excellent representatives of the subgenre.  “Aliens’ is a small unit skirmish movie.  “Rogue One” climaxes with a huge battle that involves infantry, air, and “naval”.  I could make a case for either one and I am sure some will be upset that “Aliens” did not make the final (I am upset, too).  I do feel “Rogue One” is more of a war movie.

ALIENS  =  30

ROGUE ONE  =  31

EDGE OF TOMORROW (4) vs. ROGUE ONE (5)

VS.

ACTING - "Edge of Tomorrow" is a Tom Cruise movie, but he is ably helped by the cast. Cruise is good in one of his best performances. The film is something of a buddy pick with Emily Blunt more than holding her own. Her Vrataski is not just a bad-ass soldier, she is the most bad-ass soldier - male or female. Blunt is awesome in the role. She trained three months for it and the result was one of the best female action heroes of the 21^st Century. She was nominated for the Saturn Award for Best Actress and won the Critics' Choice Award. Bill Paxton plays a typical cinematic sergeant, but he is perfect as Farrell. The rest of the squad is generic, but well-played. GRADE = A

"Rogue One" is not an all-star epic. Most of the cast is not well-known. The main star is Felicity Jones as Jyn. She is your typical feisty sci-fi heroine. Jones is good, but not great. Diego Luna plays the roguish Casian. They have some chemistry. They were both nominated for Saturn Awards for acting. Mads Mikkelsen and Forest Whitaker bring some gravitas. The rest of the cast is fine, but it is really the characters that you remember, not the acting. GRADE = B

ENTERTAINMENT - EOT is a looper movie. This means the characters are reliving events over and over. So you get to see Tom Cruise get killed many times and in creative ways. The movie takes the small unit, mission behind the lines into sci-fi territory. It is entertaining to see how the screenwriter handles this. The clichés (ex. Cage is in need of redemption) would have been tiresome in a regular war movie. Although the film has some cracking action and suspense, this is leavened with some humor. The aliens are scary and worthy adversaries. The movie builds well to the conclusion, but then tacks on a happy ending that keeps it from being a great movie. It's still damn good, though. GRADE = B

After a long string of disappointing Star Wars movies, "Rogue One" was a very pleasant surprise. It jettisoned the elements aimed at tweens and went back to what made the first two movies great. As a prequel to the original, it taps in to the mythology and brings that story full-circle. There is a romance that is not fun-sucking. The villainy of the Empire is firmly established and the appearance of Darth Vader is a kick. The good guys are a heterogeneous crew that are easy to root for. The movie finishes with a great battle that mixes infantry combat with aerial combat and meanwhile a heroic trio is infiltrating enemy headquarters. But what sets it apart is the realistic ending that does not insult the audience. GRADE = A

COMBAT - The opening invasion scene is among the best in war movie history. It is very intense with the shocking appearance of the aliens and the shocking death of the main character early in the movie. The scene is repeated in smaller chunks as Cage tries different moves to survive. The movie finishes with the squad assault on the alien brain. GRADE = B

"Rogue One" has three combat set pieces. The first is an urban ambush that reintroduces us to just how ineffective Stormtroopers are. The second is the "Dambusters"-like assault on the research facility. Neither of these is special, but the attack on Scarif is a masterpiece. It combines WWII infantry combat of the commando variety with Korean War jet combat with Napoleonic War fighting ships combat. It's probably the best battle in sci-fi war movie history. GRADE = A

ENEMY - The mimics come in two forms. The vast majority are Drones which are shape-shifters who can hide underground. They can fire explosive projectiles and are very fast in their movements. They remind a bit of the bugs in "Starship Troopers" and they are equally hard to kill. Rarely an Alpha is encountered. They are bigger and badder than the Drones. If an Alpha is killed, time restarts and the enemy learns from its mistakes or adjusts to human strategy and tactics. There is some real creativity here. GRADE = B

In most sci-fi war movies the enemy is aliens whose "soldiers" are either vastly superior to Earthlings or their vehicles are. The Star Wars universe is more of an insurgency. So, while the enemy is not some scary creatures, the bad guys do have personalities. For instance, Darth Vader is #3 on AFI's Greatest Villains list. The main villain in this episode is Krennic and he is above average, but he ain't no Xenomorph queen. If you like your enemies with the ability to threaten you verbally, this movie stands out in the tournament. GRADE = B
ANALYSIS - This was a close match, but I think the better war movie won. "Edge of Tomorrow" is more of a sci-fi movie than a war movie and so is "Rogue One", but Rogue has more of a traditional battle in it and it takes up a large amount of the running time. It is one of the greatest prequels ever made.

ROGUE ONE = 34
EDGE OF TOMORROW = 33

ROGUE ONE (5) vs. ATTACK OF THE CLONES (12)

VS.

PLOT - "Rogue One" is a prequel to "Star Wars: A New Hope". It attempts to show how the Rebel Alliance got the plans to the Death Star. It turns out a lot of heroes gave their lives to get those plans. The protagonist is a feisty female named Jyn who is the daughter of the main scientist developing the Death Star against his wishes. Jyn hooks up with a heterogeneous squad for a commando style raid to get the plans in the lair of the beast. The Rebel fleet participates so we can have aerial combat mixed in with a land battle. The movie has three extravagant set pieces that are very entertaining. The characters are appealing, the romance is not cloying (like in "Attack of the Clones"), there is a dastardly villain, and plenty of action. It also has an ending that is the opposite of "Return of the Jedi". This is the movie that broke the long run of bad "Star Wars" movies.  GRADE = A

"Star Wars: Attack of the Clones" is the second in the prequel trilogy. It consists of dual arcs. Obi Wan is on the hunt for an assassin (Jango Fett) which leads him to a developing clone army being created by a separatist movement. Meanwhile, Anakin is tasked with protecting Princess Padme. Romance ensues. The trio eventually meet up again for the final battle which involves the Jedi and a droid army versus the clones. Although the plot does advance the series, it does not rise to the original trilogy. The romance is necessary, but a big weakness. The dual story-lines just emphasize how lame Anakin is. The movie cribs too much from the other movies and is not ashamed of it. Within itself it is repetitive. There are two chase scenes and two battles. But on a positive note, Jar Jar is minimized. GRADE = C

STRATEGY AND TACTICS - In "Rogue One", The Empire's strategy is to destroy the Rebel Alliance with extreme prejudice, hence the Death Star. Tactics are bludgeoning with a energy beam that can destroy planets, but can be dialed down to simply destroy cities. The Rebel plan is to get the Death Star's schenatics so "A New Hope" can happen. In the first battle, Saw Gerrera's insurgents ambush Imperial Stormtroopers in an urban setting. They take advantage of the notoriously inaccurate Stormtrooper shooting. The second battle, which involves making contact with Jyn's father, features a Rebel aerial bombing of the research facility. The scene shows the influence of "The Dam Busters" (a movie that influenced the final attack in "A New Hope"). Luckily, the research facility has no radar to warn of the attack. The big climactic battle is tactically sound with the rogue group infiltrating enemy territory in a Trojan Horse. While Jyn and Cassian sneak into headquarters, the rest of the unit provides a diversion. The small unit tactics are realistic. The Rebels get air support against Imperial Walkers. Meanwhile, the typical melee dogfight is taking place for control of the gate through the force field. The solution to opening the gate is a novel one, but smashing. Literally. The movie reminds of an over the top WWII combat movie. GRADE = A

"Clones" is not big on strategy. As in almost every sci-fi war movie, the good guys are simply reacting to the nefarious schemes of the bad guys. There is little discussion of plans. It's like the audience does need to worry about the details. Both battles are typical frontal attacks that result in melees. One of them takes place in an arena where the enemy could have simply occupied the high ground and pummeled the Jedi, but what's the fun of that? GRADE = C

WEAPONRY - The basic fire-arms used by the Rebel Alliance are blaster pistols. They fire plasma energy, but not accurately. Most Stormtroopers are armed with blaster rifles. For aerial combat, the rebels have X-Wing fighters that are equipped with four laser cannons and proton torpedo launchers. Their companions are the Y-Wings which are fighter-bombers armed with proton torpedoes. These are equivalent to P-51s and P-47s. The Imperial Fleet is defended by TIE (twin ion engines) fighters which are strictly fighters armed with two laser cannons. They rely on speed and quantity. They are equivalent to Me-109s. The Death Star is your standard doomsday weapon, armed with its super-laser. Naturally, we see nothing significant that was not in "A New Hope" with the surprising twist that light sabers are rarely seen. GRADE = B
Since "Clones" is a prequel to "Star Wars: A New Hope", the creativity of the weapons is limited. We're basically stuck with light sabers versus blasters. There are some tank-like vehicles. There is some strafing by aircraft. Nothing we haven't seen before. GRADE = C

SPECIAL EFFECTS - Astounding, as you would expect. The picture won the Oscar for Best Special Effects. Although the CGI was cutting edge, some complained that it was too groundbreaking. The recreation of the deceased Peter Cushing to reprise the role of Grand Moff Tarkin creeped some critics out. They have a point, but the movie is still a visual marvel. GRADE = A+
This is the fifth Star Wars movie, so the special effects are amazing. The creatures are improved and less cheesy looking. It was nominated for the Oscar for Best Special Effects. GRADE - A

ANALYSIS - If one were comparing the two movies based on their being sci-fi movies, or if you were comparing them based on them both being Star Wars movies, or if you were comparing them just purely on entertainment value, clearly "Rogue One" is the better movie. The fact that this tournament emphasized the war aspect of the movies means that the superiority of "Rogue One" is even more pronounced. "Clones' clearly qualifies as a war movie because of its battle scenes, but those scenes were put in the script mainly to sate the audience's desire for big set pieces with a lots of "pew pew". In this case, quantity does not mean quality. On the other hand, "Rogue" has a plot that could fit a WWII combat film. There is little original in the plot elements (e.g., the squad going behind enemy lines to change the course of the war), but it is given a nice sci-fi setting. The screenwriters clearly had some knowledge of military tactics, at least movie military tactics. This was not a close match.

ROGUE = 36
CLONES = 30

2016 WAR MOVIES

It always seems like there are not very many war movies coming out these days, but when I looked back at 2016, it turns out there were more than twenty that were released. In fact, most of them I had not even heard of until I started this project.  I saw #10, 9, 8, 3, 2, and 1 in theaters when they came out.  Granted, most of them did not make it to theaters, but that is still an acceptable amount of war movies.  It’s just a shame that more of them were not good and only one of them was very good.

18.  Dad's Army -  “Dad’s Army” is a sequel to the beloved Britcom.  In this extended episode, a comely German spy masquerading as a journalist (Catherine Zeta-Jones for God knows what reason) is determined to ferret out the location of a D-Day preparation site.  This could change the outcome of the war.  All she has to do to ensure that Germany wins the war is to dupe the Home Guard of Walmington-on-Sea.  She does this by flirting with the two leaders of our bumbling crew of geezers and geezer-brains.  Comedy hijinks ensue and guffaws result if you are a septuagenarian who refuses to admit the original series was not all that funny and thinks a remake was an excellent idea.  Sorry, elderly Brits, this movie is a steaming pile of crumpets.  F-

17.  U.S.S. Indianapolis:  Men of Courage -  If you watch a movie starring both Nick Cage and Tom Sizemore, you are an “Audience of Courage”.  This “based on a true story” flick attempts to do justice to the men of the ill-fated USS Indianapolis.  As anyone who has seen “Jaws” knows, the Indy was sunk by a Japanese sub after delivering the atomic bomb to the “Enola Gay”.  Sharks feasted on the survivors.  The movie feasts on our eyes.  While fairly accurate, the acting and pitiful effects dilute the historical significance.  F  Netflix Instant

16. Beyond Valkyrie-  “Beyond Valkyrie” has one thing in common with the Tom Cruise movie.  I’ll give you a hint – it’s not Tom Cruise.  If you want to see Cruise’s excellent take on the attempted assassination of Hitler, make sure you do not put the word “beyond” on the front of your Netflix request.  This “sequel” has something to do with a mission behind enemy lines to rescue a plotter.  Straight-to-DVD action and acting take your mind off the mindless plot.  The reason why this movie is slightly better than USS Indianapolis is it has only Tom Sizemore in it.  F

15.  Sniper:  Special Operations -  Continuing the trend of bad actors making bad movies, this movie stars Steven Seagal.  Part of the venerable “Sniper” franchise (try saying that out loud at a film festival), this episode has our heroes trying to rescue a Congressman being held hostage by the Taliban.  Meanwhile, a laconic sniper (Seagal) is holed up behind enemy lines in need of extreme rescuing.  Bang! Bang!  Boom! Boom!  USA!  USA!  You get what you expected.  D

14.  Guernica -  A cynical, hard-drinking journalist (how original) hooks up with a government censor (opposites attract) for a romance set in the terror bombing of a Spanish city during the Spanish Civil War.  Tragedy and romance – a war movie staple.  Supersize to love triangle.  Evil Soviet (not Nazi, at least) and the Red Baron’s son.  Plus plenty of bombs!  The actual bombing inspired Picasso to paint a famous mural that is on the opposite end of the artistic spectrum from this movie.  But it does set the tropes in an obscure historical event and Nick Cage, Tom Sizemore, and Steven Seagal are nowhere to be found, so it is not the worst war movie of the year.  D

13.  Operation Chromite -  If you weren’t so focused on America’s role in the Korean War, you would be aware of a mission by South Korean commandoes to steal the plans to the mine fields off Inchon.  By watching this movie, you will still be totally in the dark about Operation Chromite, unless it was slap-ass crazy.  This is a below average Korean combat-porn movie.  What makes it stand out is the usual gonzo Korean leading man has been replaced by a Liam Neeson as Douglas MacArthur.  He actually does an acceptable overrated military genius.  Unfortunately, the movie does not do an acceptable rendition of Korean combat-porn.  You don’t have to be drinking to be drunk by the end of the movie.   D

12.  Sniper:  Ghost Shooter -  How does the Sniper franchise manage to put out two movies in one year?  That is like two Star Wars in one year.  In this entry, our snipers (plural because more is better and essential at this stage) are tasked with defending a pipeline in the Middle East.  There is a jihadi sniper who is better than all of them and he has their coordinates somehow.  Don’t worry, their plus/minus will be reversed big-time in the climactic snipe-off.  And our designated focus sniper has gone through his redemption arc from refusing to shoot a kid to killing for our cause.  And he gets the hot spy babe.  Stick around to the end to get your fill of jihadi slaughter.  C-  

11.  Billy Lynn's Longtime Halftime Walk -  How genius is it to contrast the home front to what went on with our troops in Afghanistan?  How about if we throw in a what-really-happened-in-the-incident scenario?  Okay, but what if we film it in some radically different cinematography that distracts from the plot?  To tell the truth I was not distracted from the plot because I saw this movie in the boring regular format that forced me to concentrate on how lame the plot is.  If you don’t want your movie to be a disappointment, why would you set it in a Dallas Cowboys game?   C-

10.  Allied -  “Allied” is a high wattage WWII espionage/romance that greatly improves on “Shining Through” but still requires a lot of suspension of belief.  It is a movie for the masses who want to watch two beautiful people (Brad Pitt and Marion Cotillard) ooze sexual chemistry.  The plot developments deftly connect the dots in ways unknown to the real world.  Not bad, just forgettable.  C

9.  The Free State of Jones -  “Free State” is another sincere effort to bring a forgotten historical event to the nonreading public.  During the Civil War, a county in Mississippi refused to go along with secession.  They were led by a charismatic anti-planter named Newton Knight (Matthew McConaughey).  The movie is more of a biopic than a war movie.  It is competently done and relies a lot on McConaughey’s star power to overcome its piousness and civil rights activism.  And it is admirably accurate.  The big problem is it is too long and insists on covering the anticlimactic Reconstruction period.  C

8.  Hyena Road -  This is a movie that highlights the involvement of the Canadian army in Afghanistan.  Did you know the Canadians killed a lot of evil jihadists there?  Paul Gross (of “Northern Exposure” fame) brought this “based on several incidents that could have happened” story to a couple of screens in Canada.  The action is decent and the romance is female-appealing, but the movie is average.  C  Netflix Instant

7.  Jarhead 3 -   The third in the series and the second to not grace a theater.  “Jarhead 3” is not a cult classic.  It is a competent actioner and better than could be expected.  It is not in a league with the similarly plotted “13 Hours”, but if you have seen that movie and want more ass-kicking and a happier ending, see this one too.  C+   Netflix Instant

6.  Siege of Jadotville -  It was a good year for obscure incidents.  This movie highlights the heroic efforts of a green unit of Irish peacekeepers in the Congo when it was going through the usual African turmoil.  The men are led by a commander who is unflappable and a quick learner.  Unfortunately, they are besieged by a horde of warriors tempered by French mercenaries.  Throw in slimy politicians and you have a movie that is micro (the siege) and macro (the United Nations efforts).  The action is cyclical and similar to “Zulu” although clearly inferior.  The historical accuracy is high.  B-  Netflix Instant

5.  Anthropoid  -  If people still don’t know the story of the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich, perhaps this seventh rendition of the story will do the trick.  The movie tells the tale of the two Czech special operatives who took out the Nazi bigwig in the streets of Prague.  Naturally , the two have to find romance.  Although the strained attempt to appeal to the female audience is a weakness, the movie is noteworthy for its recreation of the assassination in real time.  Then it adds the siege of the assassins in a church that sates your need to see many Heydrich peons blunder into bullets.  B

4.  Whiskey, Tango, Foxtrot -  This is a Tina Fey vehicle set in Afghanistan.  It is based on the experiences of Kim Barker.  It is our most recent addition to the war journalist subgenre.  In that respect, it maintains the usual clichés of hard-partying, cynical reporters trying to scoop each other.  The film is surprisingly not political and actually is pro-military.  If anything, its message is that the war is just a mess.  The cast is top notch and has Margot Robbie as a slutty news bunny.  Fey is very good. There is some good action and interaction between the journalists and the military.  It is a dramedy with the snarky humor you would expect from Fey.   B

3.  13 Hours-  This is a Michael Bay film that is not a load of hooey.  It tells the story of the military contractors that defended the State Department and C.I.A. personnel in Benghazi after the killing of Ambassador Stevens.  It falls into the “last stand” subgenre.  The action is intense and although the body count is enhanced, the movie sticks to the facts for the most part.  Amazingly, it does not weigh in on the controversy and did not become a Republican propaganda film.  It is red meat, not for Hillary-haters, but for war movie lovers.  B

2.  Hacksaw Ridge -  Why did it take so long for Hollywood to tell the story of Desmond Doss?  Doss was a conscientious objector who won the Medal of Honor for his efforts in saving the wounded during the conquest of Okinawa in WWII.  It is better as a biopic than as a war movie.  Andrew Garfield is fine as Doss (although not worthy of an Oscar nod) and his religiousness is not overplayed.  The movie is an accurate take on Doss’ life, but that is diluted by the ludicrously over the top combat.  The juxtapositioning of standard biopic with combat porn is whiplashing.  The action is Korean style and has some LOL moments for anyone familiar with what combat is actually like.  But that is what the public wants and at least they learn about a legit war hero.  B

1.  Rogue One-  The latest Star Wars movie is the best in years and ends a string of disappointments.  I consider it to be the third best installment after the first two.  It is also the most war movieish of them all.  In fact, the final battle is one of the greatest ever filmed.  The plot has a variety of well-worn themes like the vengeance-minded lead (refreshingly a female this time), the quest by the motley crew of rogues, the multi-faceted battle.  And the return of one cinema’s great villains.  What’s not to like?  A

There were several movies that I was not able to track down.  I am confident none of them would have made the top five.  If anyone wants to make a case for any of them, feel free.

The Yellow Birds

Railroad Tigers

The King’s Choice

Alone in Berlin

Sand Castle

Land of Mine

Chosen

Kamp Holland

Harlem Hellfighters

BEST REVIEWED: 2016

                It is time for my annual list of best movies that I reviewed this past year.  At this stage in my blog, I would have thought that I would have seen every war movie of consequence, but that is far from being true.  I still have many movies on my to-be-watched list for this year, so I think I’ll be able to do one of these lists next January.  This particular list is a combination of movies I have never seen before, movies I saw in the theater, and some older favorites that I was reviewing for the first time.

10.  Son of Saul (2015)  Just when you think you have seen every good Holocaust movie, you run into another one.  This movie is a Hungarian film based on an incident where a child was found alive in the gas chamber at Auschwitz.  A sonderkommando takes it upon himself to give the boy a decent burial.  The cinematography is the highlight as the lens focuses on Saul throughout.  The sound effects also stand out.  This is a movie for anyone who is interested in the Holocaust and who enjoys outside the box filmmaking.

9.    The Ascent (1977)  This is a black and white Soviet film set in WWII.  Two partisans go off on a foraging expedition and are captured by the Germans.  They both face the dilemma of collaborating and living or being patriotic and dying.  This is another movie with eye-popping cinematography.  The acting is great and the dialogue, although sparse, is thought-provoking. 

8.  Sharpe’s Rifles  (1993)  I am a huge fan of the Sharpe series of historical novels set in the Napoleonic Wars.  I recently rewatched the movie based on the first novel.  Although made for TV, it is an excellent recreation of the novel and introduces Sean Bean as Richard Sharpe.  Because of the low budget, it does not have a sweep to it, but it is excellent at character development and the story has several well-meshing arcs.  It includes a strong female character, which is rare for a war movie.

7.  Admiral:  Roaring Currents  (2014)  This is a South Korean film based on a naval battle in the late 16^th Century.  The Korean navy took on a Japanese fleet, but the movie is not so much a history lesson as an excuse for some of that gonzo Korean action.  Your ass will be sore from the kicking the battle scene delivers.  It lasts 61 minutes!  There is an outstanding main character and a loathsome villain.  The music is epic and the cinematography matches it.

6.  Wooden Crosses  (1932)  This is the French answer to “All Quiet on the Western Front”.  A replacement joins a seasoned unit and witnesses the horrors of war and the comradeship that makes it tolerable.  The movie is a realistic depiction of trench warfare.  There is a quantity and quality to the combat scenes.  It’s real strength is in its portrayal of soldier behavior.

5.   The Grey Zone  (2001)  A second movie about the same incident – the discovery of a living soul in the gas chamber at Auschwitz.  Before you say “what an amazing coincidence!”, I watched “Son of Saul” as a companion to this.  This movie is less micro as it also covers the rebellion by the sonderkommandoes.  It is an excellent history lesson and very well-presented.  The acting is excellent, even by David Arquette.  It has a blend of cinematography.  Most importantly, it gives you a lot to think about.  What would you do?  This is one of the best Holocaust movies.

4.  The Execution of Private Slovik  (1974)  It took me a long time to find this gem.  I had seen it when it first appeared on TV.  It tells the story of the only American soldier in WWII to be executed for desertion.  In that respect, it tells a story that needed to be told and it does it quite well for a low budget effort.  It helps that the lead is Martin Sheen who is outstanding in the role.  The nonlinear flash backs to Slovik’s past work well in setting up his “crime”.  The movie does not preach, but it is excellent at taking us through the court-martial procedure that led to Slovik’s death.

3.  Hornblower:  The Duel  (1998)  Here is the second movie on my list that is based on a series of historical fiction.  Horatio Hornblower is in some ways the equivalent of Richard Sharpe when it comes to Napoleonic naval warfare.  This made-for-TV film introduces the character, played by Ioan Gruffudd.  The movie uses scenarios from several of the novels with the central arc of Hornblower’s conflict with one of the greatest war movie villains.  The production values are quite good for a television movie.  The acting is stellar and the characters are vivid and well-developed.  The movie is an excellent tutorial on the life of tars.  There is also some good action and not one, but two duels.

2.  Star Trek:  Rogue One  (2016)  I recently reviewed this so you know I was thrilled by it.  I treated it as a war movie and it works as such.  The motley crew gathering and subsequent questing is an entertaining lead-in to the kick-ass multi-battle finale.   I had fun finding references to famous battles.  The reason why it did not place first is I can’t be sure I did not overrate it because there hasn’t been a good Star Wars movie since Empire.  Relatively speaking, it is a masterpiece.

    

1.  All Quiet on the Western Front (1979)  Here is the third made-for-TV movie to make the list.  When I eventually get around to compiling my 100 Best War Movies list, it will include a number of television productions.  Most "best of" lists do not include this type of war movie, but I feel some of the best of the genre are made for TV.  In this case, I would argue that a television movie might even surpass the cinematic original.  The 1979 version is sadly forgotten by many, but it is an excellent retelling of the novel.  The battle scenes cannot match the original, but the acting is better and it obviously has a more modern feel to it.  This movie brought the greatest war novel to the “I only watch color movies” audience.  And it brought it in a remarkably underrated package.  My review is of the extended version.  That review will be my next post.

NOW SHOWING: Rogue One (2016)

                Usually when a new war movie is released, I try to get to the theater as soon as possible to review it so all my fans (both of them) will know whether to go see it.  In this case, I waited until everyone else in the country had seen it.  The reason is I had a gut reaction against it.  After having been burned by all the Star Wars movies since the second one, I was not exactly going to camp out over night for this one.  The belatedness was not due to it not being a war movie.  While certainly firmly in the sci-fi genre, it does fit secondarily into the war genre.  In the future, I will be compiling my top ten sci-fi war movies.  (One of many projects that will keep me semi-retired.)  Let’s see if this one will make the list.

                “Rogue One:  A Star Wars Story” is the first in a proposed trilogy of Star Wars stand-alones.  Someone at Lucasfilms had a discussion with their boss and convinced him that although the last five Star Wars films were fantastic and not at all pieces of shit, maybe a different approach might be fun.  Coppola bought it, thankfully.  Gareth Edwards was tabbed to direct and he decided to develop immediate good will from the non-Koolaid drinkers by jettisoning the opening crawl that even people from Outer Mongolia associate with Star Wars movies.  He got the green light to populate the movie with two outstanding actors and the ghost of another and then fill in the cast with unknowns.  And most importantly, he decided to Hell with four year olds.  Sorry Jar Jar Binks and Ewoks fans.

                The movie opens on some backwoods planet named “who cares?”  Galen Erso (Mads Mikkelson) is a genius scientist who is needed by an evil less genius scientist named Orson Krennic (Ben Mendelsohn) to finish their big project – a weapon that can destroy planets.  Galen has been hiding for years, but Hollywood finds him.  In the process, his daughter Jyn decides to postpone her well-rehearsed escape long enough to see Krennic kill her mother.  Revenge motive established, the movie jumps fifteen years.  Fifteen years of feist-developing.  She is rescued from a labor camp because the rebel Alliance needs her to make contact with her father.  A defector pilot named Bodhi Rook (Riz Ahmed) has been sent by Galen to clue them in on a weakness in the Death Star he has helped Krennic complete.  A hot shot rebel named Sans Holo, actually Cassian Andor (Diego Luna), and his wise-cracking robot K-2SO (think C3PO with a ‘tude) are to accompany Jyn (Felicity Jones) on a mission to locate her father.  Cassian has the corollary secret order to eliminate Galen.  Their stop at Jehda City results in a nifty bout of urban combat, but the end result is not positive for Jehda City.  Evil weapons gotta be tested. On the plus side, the massive explosion sets Jyn and her rapidly growing gang of rogues free from internment.  (I hope the screenwriters feel guilty about this plot device.)  Now it’s off to Eadu to rescue Daddy (or assassinate him).  When they return, the rebel council has a decision to make.  With the threat of the Death Star confirmed, some want to cave and others want to go down in a blaze of glory.  Although the comments are divided evenly between the wimps and the kamikazes, the tribal council decides to surrender without a vote.  This is in spite of a spirited call to arms by Jyn.  She does convince some of the braves to leave the reservation to kick and receive kicked asses. And get the plans to the Death Star. It’s a suicide mission behind enemy lines – did I mention it’s a war movie? Our original motley crew is supplemented by some nameless (the screenwriters having run out of super cool names) equivalents of Colonial Marines (“Aliens” reference).  What follows is a mash-up of the Battle of Leyte Gulf,  the Battle of Britain,  Omaha Beach, and the Raid on Telemark. And Hiroshima.  Something for everyone (above the age of four) – sabotage, espionage, dog fights, infantry vs. tanks, ships colliding, etc.  The tactics are acceptable, considering Dale Dye was not on the set.  The screenwriters must have researched the Battle off Samar and copied the moment when a tug boat was used to shove the Nagato into the Yamato. 

                In an interview, Edwards stated that he looked upon the project as a war movie.  He was not kidding.  It has elements of several war subgenres.  It appears that if you want to combine those subgenres into entertainment that does not defy reality, you can set it in a galaxy far, far away.  Ironically, the movie actually starts with a standard Western trope.  The old “you killed my ma” theme.  The main template is the motley band on a quest.  The core unit is heterogeneous, naturally.  (But no one is from Brooklyn.) This includes the hot shot, the feisty female, the spiritual blind monk, his Vikingish mercenary buddy, and the wise cracking robot.  I have to admit I am a sucker for these quest groups.  And I have learned to not get too attached to the members.  I advise the same to you.  Don’t expect some dysfunctionality.  The film is all black or white, there are no greys.  Speaking of black, the villains are worthy of the white hats.  Darth Vader has his best performance since “Empire”.  The movie makes perfect use of him.  It is not a stunt like you would have expected.  But even the stunts work.  Peter Cushing’s face appears as Governor Tarkin.  Before you overdose on umbrage, it is amazingly seamless.  Spoiler alert:  Cushing has been dead since 1994.  Normally I would make a crack about his winning the acting honors, but the living cast is good, too.  Felicity Jones is great as Jyn.  She and the rest of the heroes should be in for some big pay days in the sequels.  (Those of you who have seen the movie will be laughing at that prediction.)  For you war movie fanatics, that’s Jiang Wen of “Devils on the Doorstep” as the bearish Blaze Malbus (who wins name honors).  He and the others make you forget that the two real actors (Mads Mikkelson and Forest Whitaker) are barely used.  Maybe they will have bigger roles in the next film.

                “Rogue One” is an outstanding movie.  If not for nostalgia and the desire to not get beaten up by a mob of pocket-protecting geeks, I might argue that it is the best Star Wars movie.  It is undoubtedly better than all but “New Hope” and “Empire” and much better than the last one.  It does not pander to its audience.  The nods to the other films are subtle and not ham-fisted like in “The Force Awakens”.  The closing scene is a perfect lead in to “A New Hope”.  If you ever wondered “who had to die to get those plans?”, now you’ll know.  But it’s the action that will be remembered.  The last half hour has everything but the kitchen sink thrown in (and blown up).  The film manages to intercut between the “naval battle”, the ground support air battle, the foot soldiers, and the infiltration.  You’ll wish you had Saw Gerrera’s air tank.

 

GRADE  =  A