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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
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