Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

Started by Shogunn2517, August 16, 2015, 12:58:36 AM

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BentonGrey

I'm glad to hear positive responses to this film.  I was left pretty cold by the last one, and I didn't hold out much hope for this one.  I would love to see a real Star Wars movie.
God Bless
"If God came down upon me and gave me a wish again, I'd wish to be like Aquaman, 'cause Aquaman can take the pain..." -Ballad of Aquaman
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spydermann93

Quote from: Glitch Girl on December 16, 2016, 02:05:47 PMTHIS is how you do a prequel.

You mean a sequel to the prequels of the originals that are sequels to the prequels of this film?

catwhowalksbyhimself

I am the cat that walks by himself, all ways are alike to me.

Talavar

I wonder if this will finally kill the "Disney is going to make Star Wars too soft and gentle" refrain that keeps making the rounds. 
Spoiler
Given how the movie ends and all.  I hope it does, but somehow expect it not to.

BentonGrey

#34
Now THAT was a Star Wars movie!

We just got back from Rogue One, and it was extremely good.  My non-spoiler-y thoughts are below:

It's a great adventure film and a very respectable Star Wars movie.  From the story to the characters, from the visuals to the action, from the sounds to the props and costuming, it was every inch a Star Wars film, achieving what The Force Awakens failed to achieve.  It recaptured the magic that hasn't been conjured since Return of the Jedi.

I didn't think I'd see this in my lifetime.  I thought that our course was set with the slipshod example of Awakens, and I am very, very glad to be wrong. 

This movie captures the archetypal power of the original films, not as successfully and not as universally, but it does tap into the same Ur myths. 

The action is spectacular and beautifully captured, and, most importantly to me, it FEELS right.  While Awakens felt like a very expensive fan film, full of fancy effects, but ultimately made by someone who didn't quite understand how the universe they were trying to inhabit worked, this one brought the motion, the reality of the original films back to the screen.

The characters were interesting and compelling, and they had a wonderfully varied cast, with a lot of humor and chemistry.  Unfortunately, the cast was so large that a several of the characters didn't get much development.  If they were purer archetypes, that would be less important, but that isn't the case.  Luckily, the characters had so MUCH chemistry that several scenes worked despite that lack of development.

It wasn't a perfect film.  It suffered from the same problem as most modern blockbusters, trying to fit too much in one movie.  There are several characters whose arcs seem to leap ahead, reaching emotional and dramatic turning points that hadn't quite been earned.  There were also a few concepts that needed a bit more fleshing out, especially the back story of the two temple guardians. Who they were and what they were doing was really unclear.  Still, they were interesting enough characters, even without being entirely realized. 

Be warned, though, it is a fairly dark film.  It has a grimness like that of Empire, but even more so.  Think hard before bringing young kids to see it.  This is not A New Hope or Jedi.  It is the grittiest Star Wars film yet.

Despite its flaws, Rogue One is absolutely worth watching, especially if you're a Star Wars fan, and there are some wonderful surprises and Easter Eggs in the movie for adherents of the series. 

There are now FOUR Star Wars movies.

Some spoiler-y thoughts:
Spoiler
There are only two significant problems with the film, as a film. 

1) The 'holy city' of Jedha and its temple have some significance that is really skimmed over in the movie.  What exactly it had to do with the Jedi and how its guardians were related is really fuzzy.  It also seems a bit off that the Empire would need to gather crystals from this temple OR that there could be enough there for any big purpose.

2) Captain Andor's decision NOT to shoot Jyn's father seemed mostly unearned.  They skipped over the part where they really developed a connection that would justify that decision OR failed to provide him with enough context to make him really question his orders.  Her relaying the message is a good start, but it needs a bit more, considering how ruthlessly we've already seen him act.

Continuity/Star Wars problems, all very minor:
1) The final battle doesn't really feel like a 'victory' as the credits scrawl describes it in A New Hope. 

2) While it doesn't expressly contradict ANH, Leia's being present at the battle and escaping from it does seem to be an implicit contradiction, as she claims diplomatic immunity and seems to think that story would hold up with the Senate.

3) The presence of V-Wings, though cool, is a bit odd, considering they aren't seen in any other Rebel forces in the movies that follow, chronologically. 

I was actually worried that continuity errors and departures would abound and would take me out of the film, despite being minor things, but it was so good and they were so few that I hardly noticed. 
God Bless
"If God came down upon me and gave me a wish again, I'd wish to be like Aquaman, 'cause Aquaman can take the pain..." -Ballad of Aquaman
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Shogunn2517

BG,

You ever run a red light or speed past a cop and you see the cop and you're pretty sure he sees you but you make a few quick turns to cover your tracks thinking you've escaped your ticket but the cop finds you anyway?  You get pulled over, make excuses to cover up your illegal act but the cop doesn't buy it.... that's how I looked at your #2.

But good points though.

Spoiler
Yeah, it might not have seemed to be a victory with the Alliance fleet getting broken and everyone dying.  But their main objective was the plans, which they were able to successfully transmit.  So I suppose it was a victory...

From a certain point of view.

And while I do agree with what you were saying about character development particularly with the guardians, but when you say "this is Star Wars" that is EXACTLY how I felt.  We were watching a Star Wars movie.  I'm not going to talk bad about Episode 7, but Abrams did play it safe.  Edwards seemed to go out his way to make the anti-saga film and it worked.

BentonGrey

Is anyone else troubled by the constant commercials for kids' toys based on Rogue One?  This is really not much of a kids movie, and:

Spoiler
all these kids playing the role of characters who die violently makes me a bit uncomfortable.

I'm sure it's not going to scar anyone beyond repair, but it's a bit weird.
God Bless
"If God came down upon me and gave me a wish again, I'd wish to be like Aquaman, 'cause Aquaman can take the pain..." -Ballad of Aquaman
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Talavar

Quote from: BentonGrey on December 23, 2016, 04:17:08 AM
Is anyone else troubled by the constant commercials for kids' toys based on Rogue One?  This is really not much of a kids movie, and:

Spoiler
all these kids playing the role of characters who die violently makes me a bit uncomfortable.

I'm sure it's not going to scar anyone beyond repair, but it's a bit weird.

Definitely a bit weird.  There's all the usual action figures, lego sets, etc.

BentonGrey

Yeah, and the commercials have:
Spoiler
children recreating scenes from moments before their character avatars died horribly. 

That's just...creepy.
God Bless
"If God came down upon me and gave me a wish again, I'd wish to be like Aquaman, 'cause Aquaman can take the pain..." -Ballad of Aquaman
Check out mymods and blog!
https://bentongrey.wordpress.com/

HarryTrotter

Well,selling toys is where the real money is,so no surprise there.
''Even our origin stories have gone sour.''
Jon Farmer

Podmark

I saw it last weekend and quite liked it. I would call it a solid movie with a very strong ending. It didn't have the highs of The Force Awakens, but I think it was a more consistent film.
The characters weren't quite as memorable than any of the previous films. I think part of that might be the limited humour and more serious tone - so I didn't feel I got as many memorable moments with much of the cast. K-2SO and Chirrut were the stand out characters for me - I'm sure I'll be repeating Chirrut's catch phrase whenever I need some luck.

Spoiler

Is Rogue One a Star Wars movie? I don't recall seeing the words 'Star Wars' during the film.  :lol:

The part of the movie I'll never forget was Tarkin and his CGI face. They tried so hard and it's just not there yet. I found it really distracting and I literally missed all the dialogue in his first scene while studying his face. I'm okay with CGI Tarkin - I just found it very distracting. Really happy they included the character though, always liked him.

Vader was awesome in this. That end scene on the ship was really sweet, and even his meeting with Krennic was a nice touch.

I though it was good choice to kill the cast, but I feel it all happened too close together. I would have mixed it up a little more, kill one of them earlier, maybe have one or two survive even. Some of the death's were pretty touching too. But Saw's seemed a little pointless.

R2 and 3P0 continue their streak of being of in every film. I wonder when that will finally end?

A very nice addition. I hope Disney keeps this up.
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Glitch Girl

Benton: RE - the battle thing

Spoiler
I think the victory they were retroactively referring to was the sneak attack on the Imperial research facility earlier in the film, not the final battle.  That one was more successful.
-Glitch Girl

"Cynicism is not maturity, do not mistake the one for the other. If you truly cannot accept a story where someone does the right thing because it's the right thing to do, that says far more about who you are than these characters." - Greg Rucka

HarryTrotter

Okay,now just to pick a fight with everyone;it was bad.Okay,not as horribly derivative as TFA,but it was bad.Sure Darth Vader is awesome and ships explode,but you have to get there.Characters are bland and emotionless,which is a good thing
Spoiler
since you then dont give a crap when they all die.
Grud,it takes them 20 freaking minutes to explain what the funting Death Star is.Crazy thought,ASSUME people have watched New freaking Hope!Your audience knows what the funt Death Star is.And CGI actors have scarred me for life.Didn't know CGI can be that bad.
Remember Edwards Godzilla(I sure tried to forget) where there is no Godzilla and human characters are cardboard cutouts that talk in almost nothing but exposition?Yeah,its the same approach here.And that Darth Vader scene is the only thing that made it remotly worth watching.But too little,way too late.
''Even our origin stories have gone sour.''
Jon Farmer