Rogue One: Graphic Novel Adaptation
Rogue One: Graphic Novel Adaptation, adapted by Alessandro Ferrari, character studies by Igor Chimisso
Again this is not a trade paperback of the "Rogue One" comic short-run series which was fantastic, but is an entirely new retelling. While it's always fun to get back into the awesomeness of Rogue One, so much was skipped and nothing really was added (like in the short-run comic series) such that this felt more like an overview than a retelling. Some of the scenes were even changed in their meaning because of what was left out. Definitely didn't fulfill my exciting expectations before cracking it open.
The scene on The Ring of Kafrene where Cassian is talking to the Rebel guy who's so jittery he just can't wait to leave the conversation becomes a very normal conversation between two level-headed people. Cassian's killing of the man is even left out. This whole scene set the stage for us understanding Cassian more as a person and what lengths he has to go through to do his job. Leaving the meaning of this scene behind leaves out so much that we need to know to get deeper into Cassian's psyche.
Dialogue bubbles discussing "Liana Halik" and all her crimes in the Rebel briefing room go to the wrong person. They have Dodonna saying this instead of Draven. Couldn't they have fixed that in editing?
The battle in the streets of Jedha with the Partisans against the Imperials nearly isn't there at all. And they leave out the funniest scene in the movie--"I'm taking them...to imprison them...in prison." The conversation between K2-SO and the stormtroopers is completely left out. So sad. Luckily Chirrut's wailing on the stormtroopers is included.
When Chirrut, Baze, and Cassian are in the Partisan prison cell, they don't show Chirrut praying or Baze nearly strangling Bodhi, they just go straight to introducing who Bodhi is. Again, an important piece of a character's personality is left out as we don't see the rage and anger boiling within Baze.
We don't see Jyn climbing the super crazy tall ladder to get up to the landing platform on Eadu. She's just suddenly there. This leaves out the determination so central to her character.
Vader's Force choke of Krennnic on Mustafar is lackluster at best. This could have been done so well in a comic book format but it leaves us guessing as to whether a Force choke is actually what happened at all. It was cool though how Vader's dialogue bubbles were in black, much like Kylo Ren's in the Force Awakens graphic novel--gives an ominous flair to their words.
In the data vault on Scarif, we don't see Jyn list out all the different projects the Empire has on their docket, thus skipping over Hyperspace Tracking which was an awesome connection to The Last Jedi. Later, when Krennic and his two troops appear to attack Cassian and Jyn in the data vault, they have Jyn standing on a beam she is never on in the movie...really weird.
Melshi's death is completely overlooked as the book goes straight to Chirrut going after the master switch. That's two deaths skipped over--two deaths that add meaning and gravitas to the story.
The scene where the two Star Destroyers collide after the Hammerhead Corvette does its damage is not drawn out and magical like in the movie. Instead it just sort of dully happens and left me desperately wanting more. This could have been an absolutely amazing scene in a comic book format...but no.
And lastly, Darth Vader's scene at the end of the movie when the data file is going from Rebel soldier to Rebel soldier was not drawn out enough and skipped at least one step. I definitely did not feel the same urgency and horror I feel when watching this scene in the movie.
As for the art, character caricatures were wonderful and I was definitely drawn in by their depictions. Except for Jyn's--she looks like a little girl throughout the book which threw me off as she's courageously doing all the things she does. They could have worked on making her at least a little bit older looking.
So all in all, not so great a retelling. Too much was left out that was important to both the story and character development. It felt like a bland version of something that is truly special, leaving me feeling uninspired.
The scene on The Ring of Kafrene where Cassian is talking to the Rebel guy who's so jittery he just can't wait to leave the conversation becomes a very normal conversation between two level-headed people. Cassian's killing of the man is even left out. This whole scene set the stage for us understanding Cassian more as a person and what lengths he has to go through to do his job. Leaving the meaning of this scene behind leaves out so much that we need to know to get deeper into Cassian's psyche.
Dialogue bubbles discussing "Liana Halik" and all her crimes in the Rebel briefing room go to the wrong person. They have Dodonna saying this instead of Draven. Couldn't they have fixed that in editing?
The battle in the streets of Jedha with the Partisans against the Imperials nearly isn't there at all. And they leave out the funniest scene in the movie--"I'm taking them...to imprison them...in prison." The conversation between K2-SO and the stormtroopers is completely left out. So sad. Luckily Chirrut's wailing on the stormtroopers is included.
When Chirrut, Baze, and Cassian are in the Partisan prison cell, they don't show Chirrut praying or Baze nearly strangling Bodhi, they just go straight to introducing who Bodhi is. Again, an important piece of a character's personality is left out as we don't see the rage and anger boiling within Baze.
We don't see Jyn climbing the super crazy tall ladder to get up to the landing platform on Eadu. She's just suddenly there. This leaves out the determination so central to her character.
Vader's Force choke of Krennnic on Mustafar is lackluster at best. This could have been done so well in a comic book format but it leaves us guessing as to whether a Force choke is actually what happened at all. It was cool though how Vader's dialogue bubbles were in black, much like Kylo Ren's in the Force Awakens graphic novel--gives an ominous flair to their words.
In the data vault on Scarif, we don't see Jyn list out all the different projects the Empire has on their docket, thus skipping over Hyperspace Tracking which was an awesome connection to The Last Jedi. Later, when Krennic and his two troops appear to attack Cassian and Jyn in the data vault, they have Jyn standing on a beam she is never on in the movie...really weird.
Melshi's death is completely overlooked as the book goes straight to Chirrut going after the master switch. That's two deaths skipped over--two deaths that add meaning and gravitas to the story.
The scene where the two Star Destroyers collide after the Hammerhead Corvette does its damage is not drawn out and magical like in the movie. Instead it just sort of dully happens and left me desperately wanting more. This could have been an absolutely amazing scene in a comic book format...but no.
And lastly, Darth Vader's scene at the end of the movie when the data file is going from Rebel soldier to Rebel soldier was not drawn out enough and skipped at least one step. I definitely did not feel the same urgency and horror I feel when watching this scene in the movie.
As for the art, character caricatures were wonderful and I was definitely drawn in by their depictions. Except for Jyn's--she looks like a little girl throughout the book which threw me off as she's courageously doing all the things she does. They could have worked on making her at least a little bit older looking.
So all in all, not so great a retelling. Too much was left out that was important to both the story and character development. It felt like a bland version of something that is truly special, leaving me feeling uninspired.
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