OK, who's seen it and wants to discuss?
Overall, I give it a B+/A-. The last 1/3 of the movie is damn near perfect.
Also, I just like the idea that the Empire is this massive, sprawling entity and there are important people not named Skywalker.
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As a Vader fan, the main Vader scene was about as good as they could make it. And I now see how they are comparing the movie to ALIEN. Very suspenseful.
The Vader scenes were great, and yes, I was thrilled to see him at the height of his fearsome power DOING WORK
I would have gladly watched 30 more minutes of Vader going apeshit on some rebels.
test
(edit: didn't work, cue suspense and speculation, there will be no further comment from me)
They did a great job showing the control of the Empire. It really helped give you an idea of the scope of it's control.
I thought they did a great job making this movie flow right in to Episode IV. The CGI characters looked awesome and the little touches like some of the same pilots as Episode IV really brought it all together.
Totally agree with you except for the CGI part. Straight up uncanny valley, I think it's the mouth movements when they're talking that ruins it for me.
This. It was exceptionally well done, but it was still noticeable. Also Tarkin's eyes bothered me.
I don't think it was quite uncanny valley in this case. Hell, I've had 2 people tell me they were impressed with the movie pulling out the old Leia deleted scenes from the 1977 release. I had to tell them otherwise.
I think the cgi was definitely more evident for those of us that were expecting it. Tarkin suffered from just a little bit too much screen time. Otherwise I think there would be minimal discussion about it.
The last 45 minutes of this movie were pretty damn perfect. The ending action sequences were executed beautifully with pretty much constant excitement without going the route of fluff, all the action had a purpose.
The only real knocks on this movie are probably with a few underdeveloped characters, but in a movie like this, I think the individuals (outside of Jyn) are less important than their group as a whole. The depth of their sacrifice comes from what they accomplished in the bigger picture, not how sad each individuals death was.
The other thing that I think will cause a stir amongst some fans is the pretty major revisionist aspect that makes Galen Erso possibly the most important hero of the rebellion with the decision to make the Death Star's weakness an inside job. I think the explanation for how he did this, and why he chose to continue working on the death star was well thought out, but some people are not going to like the revisionist aspect and the importance it places on Galen. Personally, I don't really care, I thoroughly enjoyed the movie and am once again at full excitement for episode VIII.
Since there were many things I thoroughly enjoyed about the movie, I will just add to your knocks. I thought, while well placed and humorous at times, the K-2S0's comic relief was a bit over the top. I did not like how the troops on the ground in Scarif seemed to multiply to continue fighting after countless scenes of rebels being blown up. They only came with maybe a dozen men, and I know there was one ship that dropped off some reinforcements but I must have seen closer to a hundred rebels blown up in the final battle scene. (Side note, where did those AT-ATs come from, this is essentially an archipelago with one large structure in the middle and all of a sudden, BOOM, giant walkers on water.) Finally, I wish there was more reference to the emperor or at least a spoken line/shrouded silhouette. We know he's somewhere in the universe and they even mention him.
These are really picky because it was truly a great movie telling a darker story inside the star wars universe that George Lucas would have preferred left untold.
Also, her name is Jyn, just FYI.
I was hoping for a little more development of the blind staff wielding bad ass.
His order is probably elaborated on in Episode VIII, so you may get your wish in that respect.
this might sound weird but I appreciated the fact that all the major characters died. it really was a war movie and unlike the trilogies it felt more gritty and you could feel the desperation of the rebellion and what they were up against
Well when it comes down to it, with the story they were telling, there really was no way that any of them could have survived. It just wouldn't have made any sense.
It was kind of like the Dirty Dozen in space.
With the robot one liners, I was leaning more towards Ocean's Eleven in space.
Aye. You pretty well summed up my feelings. It really was more of a war movie set in the Star Wars universe instead of the "Skywalker Family Stories" we've been getting with the main episodes. I'll take more movies like Rogue One any day.
Little girl that was sitting behind me in the theater disagrees with you. During the credits she goes "That was the worst Star Wars movie ever, they all just died".
My only questions is, Why was Jek Porkins not in this movie? Gone but not forgotten.
The ending scene with Vader was literally jaw dropping...this was the Darth Vader I wanted at the end of the Episode III. Then from that it rolls straight into a familiar ship and a familiar princess running from the Empire going straight into Episode IV. This movie does start off slow I thought, but the whole third act was flawless.
I (obviously) knew that the rebels would somehow get the plans off before Vader got them, and still I was on the edge of my seat watching to see how it ended. Amazing closing scene
The final scene with Vader was fantastic, but I thought it was pretty corny when he made a pun after Force choking director Krennic.
It was just forshadowing that Vader was a father, by telling a dad joke.
I'm prepared to be down voted to oblivion, but did it bother anyone with how "good" Vader was with his saber and use of force? If it wasn't supposed to be days before the start of Episode IV I would get it, but not even a week after Rougue One Vader fights Obi-Won and has to use two hands on the saber. I mean it was badass and I loved it, but it bothered me a little.
Maybe he just tore a rotator cuff during his badassery.
(But yes, I chuckled to myself about this, as well.)
Don't ask me to try and find the link because I will have to search forever, but I did read a "theory" (probably just someone trying to explain it away) that said because he just came out of the Bacta tank in Vader Castle he was very well recharged and healed for awhile, and by the time he got to Obi Wan he had been out of the tank for a bit and wore himself out going apeshit on those rebels in Rogue one. Once again, probably just people thinking, but it was an interesting take.
Could also have something to do with the quality of the opponent. Real easy to mow down a bunch of redshirt Rebels, so he doesn't need to be as careful with the saber. He knows that Obi Wan can be a formidable opponent, so he takes the extra precaution of using two hands.
I buy this
Even if he is old, it's hard to forget that the last time you fought this guy you lost both legs and an arm.
Gave you a leg, but the nerd in me disagrees some.
In RO, we do get that scene where an obviously older Anakin is in the bacta tank. So here it is revealed that the great Vader is slipping.
In ANH, the Battle versus Obi-Wan is more of a formality than a last man standing, all out slug fest. That's the geek in me trying to justify this. The other side, to me, is that we really haven't seen the dark terror of the galaxy on film and this was the perfect chance to display him.
Not really. Choreography was never a strong point in the 70's.
Loved it. Enjoyed some things about it more than Force Awakens, and enjoyed some things about Force Awakens more than Rogue. Liked how it showed some of the old fighter leaders from New Hope and it was great to see them actually kicking some ass vs getting their asses kicked (until Death Star and Vader popped up).
May be getting ahead of myself, but I'd rank this one third in the franchise behind Empire and A New Hope. I really liked the way they pulled back the curtain a little on the workings of the rebel alliance, the focus on the rebel intel apparatus, and the moral ambiguity of the characters.
Two things bothered me though:
1. The rebels have an apparently impressive SIGINT collection ability, yet they only leverage it once. If you can intercept empire comms, you have a major tactical advantage in battle, especially since the empire is so reliant on apparently unencrypted radios to coordinate their operations.
2. The most powerful organization in the universe seemingly lacks an air surveillance apparatus. How many times in the franchise do they get totally caught off guard by rebel aircraft? It's a big gaping hole in their defense, and yet they never invest in addressing that weakness. Throw up some early warning radars, and the empire wouldn't have fallen.
Haha I'm glad I'm not the only one who wonders about Star Wars intelligence. I'm guessing that the main intercept leading to the fleet arriving at Scarif was a less secure, alert style broadcast. It would make sense that if a major base was under attack there would be an "oh shit" transmission. More covert calls like the signals to Vader or the Death Star were NOT intercepted, and the rumors about the defecting pilot were heard through Cpt. Andor's intel network.
I think you can't monitor/track hyperspace: this has been fairly consistent throughout the series. Any time a ship has been followed, it had a special tracker attached to it. Without that, we have the Death star, Vader's destroyer, and the rebel fleet all arriving without prior knowledge. The Empire having TWO powerful force users should help their awareness, but the rebels keeping Leia and Luke far away probably helps their observability. Vader and the Emperor can't even find the rebel base on Yavin 4 until A New Hope.
On point 2 we do see it addressed at times. When the U-Wing is making its run towards the facility Galen runs, we see them having to stay below the sensor horizon to avoid early detection. Even though this is basically right out of one of the missions in the first Rogue Squadron.
While apparently the sensors operated by both sides can have impressive range. For instance in EP IV it is Yavin Base that informs the strike force about incoming Tie Fighters not the force itself. It does seem though that there is no Growler or AWACS equivalent on either side, which might be because having a droid for the rebels on board makes it irrelevant. While the suite aboard a Star Destroyer is sufficient since its air wing seems rarely to be used as anything but self defense.
The only problem I had with this movie was Forrest Whitakers character. What was his purpose beyond getting a well known actor into the movie? It felt like Cranston in Godzilla all over again
Well I never watched it, but that character is fairly important in the expanded universe and Star Wars: the clone wars/ rebels or whatever it is.
Ah that makes much more sense. It's too bad I'll never watch the clove wars stuff, I've heard it's good. I just don't have the desire to watch it
aside from being a key character in some of the supporting media (clone wars, books) his presence in the film shows that there are other anti-Empire factions involved that aren't necessarily pro-Alliance. Having a big-name actor lends weight to the character's importance in the overall story, even if he's basically just a cameo in this film.
I'm currently pondering whether this movie is the first one you show someone when introducing them to Star Wars 4-6, or do you still show that original trilogy first?
I think you still have to go with 4,5,6 first. Just to get them the full eperience and not overwhelm them with terms and words they will never here again. Like Kyber Crystals. If you show them this one first, they are just going to be wondering why nobody talks about that shit anymore.
Nerd alert: insert Episodes 2 and 3 between 5 and 6. Also known as "Machete Order", this is probably the way to go when introducing somebody to the series. Summary: you see Luke struggling with separating his emotions from his work as a Jedi, and then after the big reveal of his relation to Vader you take a trip to the past and see that the path Anakin took from Jedi Apprentice to Sith Lord, and how Luke seems to be starting down the same path. Then Episode 6 happens, and the parallels continue to grow right up until the end, except Luke still ends up a Jedi.
As for Rogue One, I'd offer it as "supplementary viewing" after watching the main series. And then maybe watch Episode 4 again for kicks.
I've heard this and understand the reasoning behind it, but the quality difference in 2-3 compared to the original trilogy makes this viewing order very strange. You go from 4-5 which are excellent, to trash with lots of added weird shit, back to excellence. I prefer to just show people 4-6. Then 1-3. Then FA
The link does a good job of explaining a lot more than I did, but another part is that many (most?) fans feel that Episode 6 is by far the weakest of the three original movies, and that watching 2 and 3 first helps to set up the story a bit better and make the conclusion that much more epic.
And honestly, a lot of the "weird shit" that happens in the prequels is in Episode 1, which is one of many reasons why it is left out in this instance. Midichlorians, Jar Jar, pod racing, Anakin's "virgin birth", the big subplot of "trade disputes" (seriously? who cares?)... all of that is taken out when you remove 1, never to be seen again for the most part (Jar Jar makes an appearance or two, but it's very minor and not nearly as annoying).
I'm not saying you're wrong, just that there's a lot more to it than you might think at first glance.
I don't think it's a bad way to do it, but if I were to show someone SW, which I got to do last year, I would show them 4-6 and 1-3, then he saw FA. I just like to let people experience the original (best, almost unanimously) trilogy uninterrupted the way most people originally saw it.
Also, I may be in the minority, but 6 was one of my favorites (I saw the original trilogy as a very young kid) and it's nostalgia has carried well into my older years. I still love the 6th one and hold it in much higher regard than any prequel. The script of the prequels was just so bad. I mean Natalie Portman is one of the greatest female actresses of all time, and they make her say things that nobody could make sound serious. The shining moment of the prequels is probably Ewan MacGregor at the end of III lamenting the loss of his friend, dealing with the collapse of the jedi and all he has known, knowing evil has won. That moment feels real, you can sense the unimaginable frustration with everything in that moment.
Don't get me wrong, 6 is good, still better overall than any of the prequels. However, watching 2 and 3 help by showing you that Luke is following very closely in his father's footsteps in terms of slowly drifting towards the dark side, but as his father sees the light (heh) he saves Luke from the same fate.
My point is that the prequels offer another way of watching that comes with its own improvements on the story, which I believe are bigger and better than any detriment they introduce. That being said, the original trilogy stood on its own for many years before the prequels, and watching them in the order 4, 5, and 6 offers the same experience as those who saw them before the prequels were released. It is still perfectly valid and a fine way to watch them.
WHAT???? RoTJ is my favorite and it's not even close. The opening scene is amazing, as is the final battle between Luke/Vader/Emperor Palpatine (has to be one of my favorite scenes ever). Do people really think it's the weakest of those three? I've never heard this before.
RoTJ is a clear 3rd in the OG trilogy, and falls to #4 behind R1
1. Empire Strikes Back
2. A New Hope
3. Rogue One
4. Return of the Jedi
as for why...
Ewoks. That's why.
Who doesn't like Ewoks? They're fucking awesome! I think you can argue ESB, but ANH? Really?
EDIT: So I was talking to some friends about this, and one of them brought up the point that creating this entire world of star wars was a pretty monumental and impressive task, and this is why ANH is held in such a high regard. That being said, I still think ROTJ and ESB are far more entertaining (better cinematography, better choreography/action scenes, and more emotional investment in the characters).
In my experiences, there's a pretty even split between people who love Ewoks and people who hate them. And it somewhat lines up with age: those who were old enough to see the commercialism behind the movie, and therefore see that the Ewoks were essentially created to sell toys, tend hate them. Those that were either too young to make that connection, or still found them adorable enough, to ignore it, love them. With a few exceptions on either side, of course.
Luckily, Lucas realized the error of his ways and created the most loveable character of the entire series: Jar Jar Binks :D
*twitching intensifies*
I believe you are talking about the Ewok Line - as presented by Barney Stinson
Is it bad that I've seen this show before, but the first thing I thought of when seeing the image (before reading the text) was a flipped around graph of a diode's I-V curve?
I had actually completely forgotten about that... I was more speaking anecdotally based on conversations I've had with people (various places in person and online) in the last 2 years or so. But I'm glad to see that it's apparently a commonly known phenomenon.
Ewoks are cute creatures but a few storm troopers with blasters should have been able to make them extinct.
EDITED
So while my girlfriend and I have seen all the movies, this is EXACTLY how we did our marathon leading up to our viewing of Episode
XIIVII (we finished EpXIVI 3 hours before VII started).Main observation: going from episode 5 to 2 was PAINFUL in terms of the quality of the movie.
Are you... from the future?
/s
It should be noted, Machete Order is not intended for those who really don't like the prequels. For those that find enjoyment in watching the prequels, Machete Order is an alternative that offers numerous benefits as well as a few drawbacks. For those that don't, just watching 4-5-6 was the only way to watch them until 1999 and remains the best way to this day.
Well, I enjoyed the prequels (just because more Star Wars >> nothing), but it was just a stark contrast between Episode 2 and 5
Also, clearly i'm not good at Roman Numerals
Almost nothing in 2-3 adds value. The Kill all the Jedi order and the god-awful 45-minute Vader/Kenobi scene are the only things that add context to the story. I hate hate hate episodes 1-3
I've read that when you watch in 'chronological' order (1-6), the series really becomes the life story Darth Vader/Anikan (who is the main character). When you watch 4-6 then 1-3 (as most of us have), the series feels like two separate but overlapping stories.
Saw this last night, came here to read the comments.
This is probably my favorite SW movie outside the original trilogy. I like it more than Force Awakens. It felt more like a new SW movie without the pressure to blow everyone's mind. Imagine if this group did Episodes I-III.
The one thing that slightly got on my nerves were the CGI Tarkin and Leia. Looked good, but not great.
Start of movie had me worried. I'm glad the characters weren't too deep. Those are ideas that novels can cover. And as at least one other comment stated, this is a one-shot. Surviving characters would have been way out of place in future movies and lead to convolution.
The look is excellent. The way gear/equipment looks in New Hope but still functions is cool. It felt like Star Wars.
I thought the story was good enough. Compared to some of the newer movies, it is still leagues better.
Ready to go watch it again!
Agree wholeheartedly. The way I felt leaving this movie is the way I wanted to feel leaving VII. I saw it for a second time today with my parents and I will end up seeing it at least 1 more time. I think that they blew this movie out of the water.
I feel the same way as well. I had high hopes for Force Awakens, too high. Didn't we all? Came into this with tempered expectations. Walked out feeling like I had seen a real Star Wars movie. Disclaimer: born in '79.
I liked TFA, and I think of it like this: I give it a B as a standalone movie, behind ANH, ESB, ROTJ, but I give it an A for re-starting the franchise.
It has characters I care about, solid connections to the previous movies, and brought back the feel of the original trilogy. Also, the casting/acting/writing are FAR superior to any of Ep 1-3.
God bless Lucas, he's a visionary but he can't write dialogue.
He was definitely a visionary, but Lucas lost my favor when it was made apparent that he believed the star wars franchise was "his" to do what he pleased and basically saying that he didn't care what the fans thought. I'll find the source on that after work, or can anyone else help me out with the sauce?
I had no idea until I got home to look it up. I assumed it was remastered, existing/unreleased footage. I was really impressed with the CGI.
I can't help but remember this...
I loved it. I also loved TFA.
Let's be honest, they'd have to really screw up for me to not go see any Star Wars movie at least twice. But this one is legitimately great.
I could watch an entire film about Chirrut and Baze.
I thought it was great and better than Awakening, although I admit that Awakening had to set a base for 2 more movies. A few more random thoughts -
1. Those walking AT-AT may be the most useless, vulnerable battle equipment ever made
2. The backstory on Galen is going to make for a good robot chicken remake
3. I wonder if there will be another back story movie about either Saw (corrected sp) or the blind Jedi ninja - given the success this one will have, I'd think Disney would be all over it.
4. The opening scene of landing at Scarif looks like a commercial for Atlantis.
The animated Clone Wars series has a lot more of Saw Gerrera (Sol). Definitely a much bigger character in the SW universe than he seemed from just this movie alone.
Did anyone else see the recycled footage of Wedge Antilles during the space battle as Red Leader? Or hear Senator Organa's refrence to Captain Antilles to "ready is ship" as he was leaving the room. And yes the Vader castle was on Mustufar, you know where this happened,
Wedge, AKA Red Leader
Captain Antilles this guy,
Captain Antillies = Wedge, same guy. Wedge presumably flew Bail Organa back to Alderaan, then made his way back to the fleet before Tarkin blew it up.
Captian Antilles real name is Raymus, and got killed by Vader in he first 10 minuts of 4, Wedge is different and serves as red leader
Interesting, this link helps - first time in SW history where two characters with the same last name are NOT related
The two captain Antilles
Wedge was only Red Leader in Return of the Jedi, but he was Red 2 in ANH. Wedge didn't appear in Rogue One. The actor also turned down a role in The Force Awakens.
Garven Dreis was the Red Leader in both ANH and Rogue One.
I thought I saw a guy that looked alot like him, He may not have been Red Leader but he looked alot like the actor, if only for a brief instant
I recognized the voice.
They did a nice job of splicing in short shots from ANH (as well as some voice bits). Same pilots who later ended up on the Death Star assault, because some was literally the same footage.
Who else knew exactly what was coming for callsign Red 5 when he reported in?
Luke didn't steal that callsign from anybody, after all. I felt sad for the dude as soon as I heard it.
This is a legit SW fan thing to notice, kudos.
My wife will be somewhat amused that she's a 'legit SW fan'.
We saw it with our 3 adult kids and their SO's. I think everyone noticed Red 5 and knew he had to die in the battle.
good family.
**SPOILER ALERT**
The Rebels successfully steal the plans for the Death Star. Save your money.
/s
"The unsinkable ship sinks! Don't waste your money to see Titanic!"
"The main character gets nailed up and killed! No reason to pay to see The Passion!"
"Snape kills Dumbledore! You can safely avoid the whole series of movies!"
"Bruce Willis is Dead" - 6th Sense...done
What was the point of the Death Star destroying Scarif? If I recall, they did not know that the plans were transmitted until after the fact, so it wasn't to stop the rebels from getting the plans. The only reason I can think of is because Tarkin wanted control of the Death Star and needed to kill Krennic.
It just seems destroying the Citadel and all of the archives and data it housed seems a bit over the top.
I thought it was fairly obvious that a big reason he did it was to kill Krennic and take over command. IIRC, didn't he ask where Krennic was, and it was when he was told Krennic was at Scarif that he eagerly gave the command? Obviously it was under the pretense that the archives must be destroyed so the Rebels don't gain access to the data, but I'm pretty sure hijacking the Death Star was the primary motivation.
Though, yes, it seems like blowing up the entire archives is a pretty big step to take. I would imagine there are other data caches spread around for redundancy? Maybe a little harder to access, or better hidden? Otherwise, how would they build the second Death Star so quickly if they no longer had the original plans?
They are the Empire man. The fucks given by the more advanced officers is generally zero to none.
Can someone please explain to me the whole C-3PO/R2-D2 angle? In episode IV, IIRC, C-3PO says that his last master was Captain Antilles, and he seems to have no awareness of the rebel alliance. In Rogue-One he's standing at rebel HQ. Soo....
- Which Captain Antilles owned C-3PO?
- Can someone explain the dissonance between Episode IV and Rogue-One?
TIA
Captain Antilles was the captain of the Tantive IV, the ship that Leia was on at the end of Rogue-One/beginning of ANH. This guy discussed above.
He seems to know a good bit, just doesn't talk about it. From ANH:
If you remember at the end of Ep. 3, Bail Organa leaves 3po and R2 in the care of Capt. Antilles, ordering 3po's mind to be wiped. As far as to why they are chilling on Yavin 4, I'm pretty sure it was just a way to get them in the movie. However I guess you can assume that Tantive IV was there as well, waiting to be launched after the plans were stolen so that Leia could pick up Obi Wan on her way to Alderan.
Edit: Here is a fairly interesting article about him
I'm just disappointed by the lack of Jar Jar :(
We can look at this and only dream of what could have been.
omg it's glorious
I thought, and the people I saw it with thought, it was the best Star Wars movie. Far and away the best so far.
I've been saying that there's a chance that it's my favorite Star Wars movie, but I feel that I need to see it another time or two before I commit to that. I do know that I walked out of that movie simultaneously as giddy as a kid on the last day of school and as distraught as someone who'd just lost everybody he'd just met in the last two hours.
Awesome, way better than the force awakens. Right now put it at #3 behind Empire and Jedi
Okay, just a nitpick, but why the heck does the rebel fleet always bring those damn clam shell transports? Especially into a battle without any possibility of a planetary invasion. Also, the transports are not amphibious assault ships, as far as I know they are cargo haulers. Thanks guys. Needed to vent. Movie was pretty awesome.
Because they are a rag tag group of go getters that are utilizing any ship they can to mount their Rebellion?
Until the Mon Calamari joined, did they even have any capital ships?
I have no problem if they convert/repurpose those cargo freighters, but all I ever see them do is hang around and get shot. If they made them into say a carrier or even converted them into amphibious assault ships for planetary invasions, would love it. Maybe add a bunch of power generators, hook those generators to anti-fighter guns and convert the ship into an anti-fighter platform. Even if they are used as transports, that's fine, but why take three of them into battle? Why stretch your limited fighter cap to protect cargo vessels when you could have left them out of the system or even leave them at Yavin 4?
Nerd alert!!
Honestly, I found the battle at Scarif to be a bit disjointed for the sake of showing the commandos and the RA fleet. You make valid points.
Still, Rogue One is a top 3 SW movie
No doubt, Rogue one is even better than Star Wars The Force Awakens. Especially loved the scenes showing the grunts, buts that's my bias showing for the old corps. Go Army and Go Hokies. ;-)
Just saw it last night.
Thought it was one of the best Star Wars movies. The final battle was the best one of all Star Wars movies in terms of "reality" (as real as Star Wars battle can be but as close to actual combat that I've seen in Star Wars).
Agree with someone above too that it was something different than the sky walker family and that others had important roles in the rebellion. Thought it was fitting that they all died in battle and it wasn't just random rebellion extras dieing in the background.
I like the use of original characters and I'm not nerdy enough to realize any difference in CGI of them.
However I am nerdy enough to get a little teary-eyed when my 4 boys (10-8-7-4) all gasped at the end when Leia turned around and said Princess Leia!!
Loved that they showed Vader and crew chasing the plans and it leads right into episode IV.
Guys, bad news. Carrie Fisher didn't make it.
The year 2016 can go fuck itself.
Hold on a sec! 2016 wasn't ALL bad: we got a GREAT new HC in Fuente which took us to the ACCCG in his 1st season, it also saw the return of hoops to the postseason to the NIT. Hasn't been all bad.
Technically, we got Fuente in 2015.
Yes, but he wasn't activated and #FuenteENFuego until 2016.
About 10 minutes in I realized that none of these characters were in the original trilogy...
So I saw this yesterday. I'm not a huge star wars fan but I wanted to check it out anyways.
I loved how all the characters got killed off, but there didn't seem like much character development to Jin (Jyn? Whatever). All the other characters seemed incredibly more interesting than she was and her acting left a lot to be desired. Same with the dude with the machine gun-laser on the back who was the friend of the blind dude. I'm still not sure what his point was either.
Jyn went from wanting to run away and hide her head in the sand to upholding her father's legacy. She also got closure by being able to talk to him again (right before) he died. That's pretty good development for a single-movie character.
Machine-laser guy and blind ninja guy were both guardians of the Temple of the Force on Jedah. Kind of anti-empire, kind of neutral, but ultimately warriors without a master as the Empire had defeated them and destroyed their temple and the remnants of their faith. They were force users, especially blind guy, but they weren't Jedi. Ronin in a way. They are just another example of the different types of people willing to put their life on the line for the rebel alliance. With their faith and their life's mission basically wiped out by the empire, they had nothing left but each other and a sense to strike back against the Empire. So they signed on to help Jyn, essentially giving them a purpose again. Alone on Jedah they couldn't really do anything substantial against the Empire that ruined their lives, but as part of the Rogue One squad they could make a big impact.
Character-wise, Jyn went from never having any military experience to having all the fighters rally around her like a military commander. That's just a bit much in my opinion. Acting-wise, it wasn't very convincing nor deep relative to the other characters; akin to whats-her-face from twilight I think - she had resting bitch-face type expression on her the entire time even when it wasn't warranted. I thought Riz Khan did a great job as the defecting fighter.
The issue with the blind priest of the temple that it seemed too much like a kung-fu character being thrown in there. Seemed a bit out of place in a world of lasers, the force, and aliens.
Jyn fought with Forrest Whitakers rebel group from age ~6 to age ~17. Forrest (can't remember his character's name) said she was the best soldier in his crew.
Touche. Forgot about that part.
i really want to see Darth Vadar's rise to power story. Just how powerful he was and his crusade to wipe of the Jedi! I want a movie to really give me a sense of just how much stronger he was compared to everyone else.
I agree! This would be nice to see. It was somewhat anti-climactic to see Luke who barely had trained in the force defeat him, but I assume that's because his power was waning.
Also, there was a little bit of "I don't really want to kill my son" going on there.
As well as "join us on the dark side and we can rule the galaxy"
So, just to throw in my two negative cents first, I agree with a lot of people about the lack of character development. I see the monumental task it creates as there were like, 4 separate main objectives in that movie so it was more about telling the story as opposed to developing characters they knew they were going to die in 2 hours. I did have a buddy say they only used like 40% of the shot footage which gives me hope for an extended version that adds a substantial bit.
My biggest gripe, without a doubt, was how jarring the first 30 or so minutes were. We experienced something we never, to my recollection, receive in Star Wars. Hard cuts to planets with letters telling us where we are. There was no flow or cohesion just cut, cut, cut and then the opening crawl. I always valued Star Wars for its story telling ability and making characters seem knowledgeable about the galaxy and where they were going. It just felt like the writers knew it had to be in the story but had no way to link it, so they didn't.
For the positives, amazing new direction to take the tone of Star Wars and as an adult fan, I loved it. Had a tremendously diverse cast and I didn't realize it till after I was out of the theatre. Normally movies that feature diverse casts or female leads seem to do it solely so they can say that had a diverse cast and I feel like the actors were not the best choices for their roles. This was quite the opposite and kudos to Disney (can't believe I said that in a Star Wars analysis) for the quality they brought to the cast. And the last 45 minutes were damn near flawless and the space dog fighting was everything I have ever dreamed of.
Something sophomoric, but still funny (I think). I don't know how many of y'all have watched the "Fart Wars" on YouTube, but there were several moments of silence during the film where I would have inserted a fart noise (just for tomfoolery of course).
Rest in peace, sweet princess :(
I love this movie. Best Star Wars experience i've had since watching ANH as a kid. The whole movie was fantastic, but the final 1/3 was a pure masterpiece. I understand some folks have some logistical concerns over the machinery and timing of certain things, but how could you have anything bad to say about the final 5 mins?
When Vader says prepare a boarding party and then bam, dark hallway and rebels shitting themselves. Then the pink light saber showed up in the dark! Haven't been so nerd geeked up in a movie in my life. Loved it!
But what about the Bothan spies...? (reference in episode IV). But really I thought this movie was really, really well done and reminded me of Saving Private Ryan or other war movies. I love the realistic take they took with. I honestly thought Rogue One was a hundred times better than Force Awakens.
Bothan reference was in Jedi, about the second Death Star.
You're right, got my Death Stars mixed up!
As someone whose memory sucks when it comes to movies/shows across time with a lot of characters I really enjoyed the movie today. I did find myself wondering where all the different types of vehicles came from. Lots of different Imperial fighters I've never seen before. Same with trooper colors and layouts. Also could someone explain why there is still a Senate if the Empire has taken over?
http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Dissolution_of_the_Imperial_Senate
I believe they mentioned it at the beginning of a new hope which is just after rogue one, right?
Uh spoilers!!!!
You've had 40+ years to watch it. That's well beyond the statute of limitations for spoilers.
FINALLY watched it... and really loved it. Especially all the little details in how they tied it right into Episode 4.
I'm glad I wasn't the only one who felt bad for the previous Red 5 (but also liked the touch of adding that in).