I just got back from being aboard the Rogue One and I must say:
I went out with a hell of a bang. This was a beautiful merger between the end of ROTS and ANH.
All of the characters, on both sides felt like real and actual people, which is something the PTs and TFA missed, having relatable characters and not clichéd archetypes.
Seeing OG Vader catch those bodies
For my Easter egg brehs...
- OG Rogue Squad Members in the final battle
- Vader in that Bacta tub on Mustafaar
- Crazy dudes from Mos Eisley that got chopped up by OG Obi-Wan
- Actual data tapes, Vader wasn't lying outchea
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Interesting parallels:
Saw Guerra (sp) being "too extreme" with dudes in Middle Eastern garb and music detonating suicide vests and RPGs to the Empire, I did do:
So be prepared for that backlash brehs.
But it they also had the Rebellion look like WWII Marines, right down to the cigarettes on the helmet.
There are so many things great about this movie, PTs are redeemed after this gem and it is funny how TFA was more of a ripoff an unoriginal than R1 even though R1 used a good amount of the source material of ANH? Answer is better writing.
Oscar Nom definitely for the work on certain characters, couldn't tell the real from CGI.
Well thought out and executed plot - Almost everything we see on screen has a purpose. While it should be expected since it's a story that transitions to ANH, the actual details of how everything went down hadn't really been discussed before, so it left a lot up to the imagination, and this could have been a total shytshow. However, it's obvious that the writers, Witz and Gilroy, wanted to create an epic, gritty, and spellbinding war story fitting of these heroic martyrs. They did. I know some people are complaining about the first act being slow, but I thought it was absolutely necessary in terms of grounding the film in the context and predicament the rebellion and empire were in before ANH. It also gave us fantastic background on the creator of the Death Star, which, excluding Vader and now Han Solo's story arcs, is one of the most tragic stories in this universe. I also think it was necessary towards Jyn Erso's character development. Speaking of....
Great protagonist- Jyn is no Mary Sue. She's much realer than Rey. She is badass, and there were maybe two instances that stretched plausibility in terms of her fighting skills. However, she's not so badass or altruistic that she comes across as Disney perfect. Her reasons for resisting the rebellion in the beginning make sense given what we saw of her background. But when she finally joins the rebellion, it's not out of character or too abrupt of a turn because given her background, the reason why she makes the turn also makes perfect sense as well.
Great script, great acting- in terms of dialogue, character interaction, and acting, this is the best prequel of the SW films. One of the major problems with the prequels is the weak ham-fisted and often corny dialogue. Almost everything felt forced and unnatural, and some of the primary actors looked like they were either struggling or bored with their lines. Not the case here. The dialogue was very realistic and natural for the most part, and some of the lines I was most worried about from the trailer weren't even in the film. I guess they did some final cuts, and thank god because I hated that "I rebel" line from the previews. And almost everyone brought their A game, especially Ben Mendelsohn (who kinda plays the same character he did in TDKR, IMO), Mads Mikkelson, Diego Luna, and Felicity Jones. I really love Forest Whitaker, but hmm, something was off, it may have been the script's fault though. I'll talk about that in bit.
Moral ambiguity - I think this is the first time a SW film has really shown the rebellion for what is and had to be. It's not just about the good fight to take down the evil Empire. This movie shows us the dirty side, the means they had to take to infiltrate, cripple, and fight. So the rebellion has assassins, spies, and soldiers who kill when someone no longer serves a purpose or poses a threat to the rebellion.
I was shocked when one of the main characters, Cassian, who is supposed to represent the good fight, got information out of a rebellion spy, and then just shot him. That was so fukking G. We also see that Mon Mothm and Bail Organa, who are in leadership, publicly supporting the consensus vote not push forward with Jyn's proposal to steal the Death Star plans, but then privately support and cheer her team on when they do it.
.
This is war- Empire Strikes Back is my favorite SW film because it's so dark and so many of the situations just don't work out for the protagonists. The distraction battle scenes and the struggle to infiltrate the base at Scarif were so well done, and visceral, I literally was on the edge of my seat.
The third act in this movie really shines because we know these characters won't make it, but we don't know how they won't make it. So outside of Jyn, no moment is promised for any of them.
VADER! - I'm hearing that people were disappointed at the lack of Vader, but OMG, I was not expecting to get this much Vader.
That fukking tank scene got me excited, but then he had an entire scene chewing out Krennic and choking him out. I'm not sure how I feel about that pun he used though. But that hallway scene Vader doing what he does, cutting fools done and choking them out. It was glorious.
CGI, set designs, cinematography - really great job on the CGI, nothing looked CGI to me. Even when they warped the ships into battle and they just popped up, it looked like it was supposed to look when something warped into a new place. The de-aging special effects were amazing.
Especially seeing Tarkin and Leia like that wild. I was surprised at how much Tarkin was in this movie, considering the guy who played him originally is probably dead.
THE OK
The Humor- A lot of the humor was good, and it was mostly a good balance. However, there were a few duds, mostly by Jyn and K-2SO. I actually liked the K-2SO character, he was definitely an asset, but he didn't need to be funny all the time. But that's a minor complaint because of most of his jokes were funny. I just wish they had shown a bit more restraint with his use of humor.
Saw Gerrera/Forest Whitaker- I don't know what happened here. I'm not saying it was a terrible character, or that Forest did terribly as the character. I'm saying something was off, and it didn't quite work. It may have been his dialogue or it may have been his delivery of the dialogue, but I didn't really buy it. Of all the actors in this film, I was most looking forward to Forest, and so that's why I was surprised that of all of the actors, I was most aware that he was acting. It just didn't come across as natural or believable, IMO. And I really don't understand
why he sacrificed himself at the end. Why didn't he try to escape? It was like the whole Kevin Costner/Clark Kent's Dad moment in Man of Steel. Like WTF dude?
THE BAD
Character development- Jyn's character is constructed wonderfully. And Cassian was mostly developed, although he could have been developed more, IMO. But everyone else? They're pieces in the game. They're expendable, collateral damage. And maybe that's what they were supposed to be because this is war, but this is supposed to be a story about the rebellion's heroic martyrs, but we only really get to know Jyn and Cassian. It made everyone's else death less impactful. I really wish I could have gotten to know Bodhi, Chirrut, and Baze a lot more. But maybe that was the point, they just joined the fight and made it their own without any preamble or goal of glory. One of the many who sacrificed. If that's the case the movie did its job, but I don't think that was what the movie was going for, and so it missed the mark in making us really care about most of the people who helped Jyn pull off the mission.
And that's it. Nothing else bad about this movie. It's awesome. My SW list has officially been rearranged. It's now:
1. Empire Strikes Back
2. Return of the Jedi
3. Rogue One
4. A New Hope
5. Revenge of the Sith
6. The Force Awakens
7. Phantom Menace
When the dude runs to tell Mon Mothma there's an attack on Scariff, you can see him
Another Easter Egg was Red Five getting murked. That's why the position was open. Fat pilot got shot down too, lol. A nod to Porkins(lol at that name for the fat dude)
can't forget the T-14 talk with the stormtroopers. Stormtroopers discussed the T-15 while Obi Wan was sneaking around. In TFA they were talking about the T-17
Two writers of "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" used the film's symbolism and storyline to take an apparent jab at President-elect Trump and his supporters.
Since Trump's victory earlier this week, there has been a rash of physical attacks on people thought to be immigrants or Muslims, as well as online vitriol aimed at them. Many of the attackers have reportedly cited Trump's election.
"Please note that the Empire is a white supremacist (human) organization," screenwriter Chris Weitz tweeted on Friday.
This was followed up by another writer on the film, Gary Whitta, quoting Weitz's tweet saying, "Opposed by a multi-cultural group led by brave women."
The two also changed their photos on Twitter to the "Alliance Starbird," a symbol of the heroic Rebel Alliance from the films. The two altered the symbol by including a safety pin attached to it.
Please note that the Empire is a white supremacist (human) organization
Since Trump's election earlier this week, many online have taken photos of themselves wearing safety pins as a sign of solidarity with refugees, immigrants and others who are victims of abuse.
Weitz debuted the new symbol along with the words, "Star Wars against hate. Spread it" on Twitter Friday.
"Rogue One," Disney (DIS)'s first "Star Wars" spinoff, details how a band of rebels led by Jyn Erso, played by Felicity Jones, stole the data plans for the Death Star.
The film hits theaters in little over a month on December 16.
"Star Wars" is one of Disney's most important and popular franchises. The first film of the series by the studio, "Star Wars: The Force Awakens," has made more than $2 billion worldwide since being released last December.
Disney did not immediately have a comment on this story.
I'm just gonna go out and say while Vader's presence in this movie was everything I could ask for, I must say JEJ's noticeable age in his voice threw me off just a tad. having said that still beats getting someone just trying to do an impression so I'm glad JEJ was able to give this final performance
** FYI im seeing his castle was actually on mustafar which didn't even occur to me as I was watching it since they didn't reveal the name of the planet like the other ones. Nice nod to prequel fans but as someone who ignores the prequels in canon I'm glad they did that. This movie really can act as an accompanying piece to the OT without any ties to the prequels whatsoever.
One of the best things I can say about this movie is that I think it pays real homage without cheapening the things we love. This movie treats Vader with the respect he deserves and almost elevates him to an even greater level... and I never thought I'd see the day where I'd see tarkin again but even he feels like more of a character now.
This movie EXPANDED on the OT instead of exploiting it. Loved it loved it loved it.
I'm seeing ppl ask if they can watch this before seeing the OT.
I would say definitively to that the answer is no. This is clearly a movie that is built on the foundation of the viewer already being versed in the Star Wars lore. It only works if you understand the importance and ramifications of what's happening. It's an accompany piece to the OT... not a chronological chapter.
I'm seeing ppl ask if they can watch this before seeing the OT.
I would say definitively to that the answer is no. This is clearly a movie that is built on the foundation of the viewer already being versed in the Star Wars lore. It only works if you understand the importance and ramifications of what's happening. It's an accompany piece to the OT... not a chronological chapter.
Completely disagree with this. For me, it's obvious the care they took to make sure this fit into the sequence. I think it works as a stand alone. Now, it's much more powerful if you have seen the OT, but if you walked into this film with no knowledge of the OT, I think it lays out everything clearly - the state of the Empire and its hold on the galaxy, the purpose of the rebellion, and what destroying this weapon will mean for freedom. That's all people need to know. If someone doesn't understand The Force, or Jedis, or any of the lore we love, it's a nice hint and teaser to lure them into watching the next film to learn more.
This movie is solid, feels like a Extended Universe addition to the original.
That said, none of the characters are memorable at all, they needed someone that people cared about from the prequels to be the bridge.
Just not enough care of anyone involved in the story, and definitely made the rebels less heroic or noble as to why anyone would even want to support them.
Also it was strange to hear non-jedis talk about the force. Modified starkiller story could have been used here to tie in better and make it more epic.
That said lightyears better than bullshyt ass Force Awakens.
Completely disagree with this. For me, it's obvious the care they took to make sure this fit into the sequence. I think it works as a stand alone. Now, it's much more powerful if you have seen the OT, but if you walked into this film with no knowledge of the OT, I think it lays out everything clearly - the state of the Empire and its hold on the galaxy, the purpose of the rebellion, and what destroying this weapon will mean for freedom. That's all people need to know. If someone doesn't understand The Force, or Jedis, or any of the lore we love, it's a nice hint and teaser to lure them into watching the next film to learn more.
Agree to disagree then. I would never tell someone to watch this before the OT. For one it would ruin some of the reveals in the OT and second I think if you don't already know the outcome, Rogue One would feel like a very inconsequential film. The stakes are there imo because we know what this all eventually leads to.
Yes it definitely makes me want to watch ANH immediately after it which is a testament to how good it is but having Leia appear out of nowhere and without introduction makes no sense to the unitiniated.
Agree to disagree then. I would never tell someone to watch this before the OT. For one it would ruin some of the reveals in the OT and second I think if you don't already know the outcome, Rogue One would feel like a very inconsequential film. The stakes are there imo because we know what this all eventually leads to.
Yes it definitely makes me want to watch ANH immediately after it which is a testament to how good it is but having Leia appear out of nowhere and without introduction makes no sense to the unitiniated.
The movie also heavily relies on people knowing that the Jedi have been purged, without explaining what happened. Same with the force, it assumes we know what Donnie Yen is talking about. At one point Krennic brags to Hannibal that in blowing up the Jeddha temple as "the last remnants of the Jedi" or sth.
None of that makes sense without knowing more about the universe, taking away the gravity of what they're referring to.
It would still be a good movie, bit definitely not as rewarding as it is now.
Agree to disagree then. I would never tell someone to watch this before the OT. For one it would ruin some of the reveals in the OT and second I think if you don't already know the outcome, Rogue One would feel like a very inconsequential film. The stakes are there imo because we know what this all eventually leads to.
Yes it definitely makes me want to watch ANH immediately after it which is a testament to how good it is but having Leia appear out of nowhere and without introduction makes no sense to the unitiniated.
I can see the point about Leia. But you could also argue that it raises the question of "Who is that?", which we know becomes a complicated answer throughout the entire OT. What reveals does it really ruin in the OT? The Death Star still hasn't destroyed an entire planet yet, and we don't know if the transmission of the plans will lead to anything actually being done. But OK, agree to disagree. I wouldn't recommend anyone watch SW in sequence anyway just because I really disliked the prequels so much.
The movie also heavily relies on people knowing that the Jedi have been purged, without explaining what happened. Same with the force, it assumes we know what Donnie Yen is talking about. At one point Krennic brags to Hannibal that in blowing up the Jeddha temple as "the last remnants of the Jedi" or sth.
None of that makes sense without knowing more about the universe, taking away the gravity of what they're referring to.
Well if they had just watched ROTS, the Jedi purge would be fresh in their mind. So in that sense, it works. But as a stand alone, I can see what you're saying about it being confusing to a new person. Good point.
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It was like the whole Kevin Costner/Clark Kent's Dad moment in Man of Steel. Like WTF dude?
