Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (spoilers)

[gourimoko]

Absolutely loved it... yep, me, critical ole Gourimoko... I fucking loved it...

There were a few ups and downs, and the score was dreadful, but... this movie was truly a masterpiece..

I have this movie right below ROTJ on the totem pole. The Force Awakens just looks like a joke by comparison.

 

[gourimoko]

I do have to say I found the CGI of Tarkin a bit too deep in the uncanny valley. After seeing what "The Jungle Book" was capable of, I think it could've been better.

Honestly, I was shocked by the Tarkin CGI.. So much so that I lost my shit... I thought it was brilliant.. Loved it. Seriously.. Having the Princess at the end was absolutely perfect. What the fuck, what a great fucking movie...

 

[gourimoko]

Loved this movie. I'm not a Star Wars nostalgic so I'll say I liked it as much or more than any film that came before it. Mads Mikkelson was a damn boss.

Question for the experts... Hasn't it been a plot hole forever regarding the Death Star being way too easy to destroy in ANH? Was this plot point about Galen's plans always there, or was this really clever writing intended to negate it?

Couple of things:

1) This plot point was retconned in for Rogue One, it was never an intended design flaw.

2) People think that the Death Star was too easy to destroy in ANH.. It literally took the child of the Chosen One to destroy it, and he needed the assistance of a dead Jedi. The plans just opened the door, but it was Luke and the Force that destroyed the Death Star.

Also, I am a bit surprised you liked this more than the original trilogy though.. While this film was great, perhaps you might want to go back and watch the originals again? I loved this movie, but as good as it was, I think the originals are still better films in almost every respect - particularly Empire Strikes Back.

I will say this though, this film was kind of gut-wrenching in quite a few scenes... Thinking about the ending, man.. That was pretty unexpected. Well done though.

 

[Chris]

Agreed on the ending gouri. Again, glad it wasnt just me.

 

[col63onel]

Other Easter Eggs I noticed

- When Riz Ahmed is first being taken to Saw's rebels, there is a character where what looked to be the same mask Leia wore when she broke into Jabba's Palace in ROTJ

- Donnie Yen's character is called a "Guardian of the Whills". The Whills are supposed to be a an ancient order of Force users who are responsible for the prophecy that Anakin Skywalker was "the Chosen One". In the some of the first screenplays Lucas wrote, the Whills were the narrators of the entire SW saga and kept the history of the galaxy in the "Journal of the Whills". It was also rumored to be Yoda's race, although Lucas has publicly denied that. I don't know if that means the Whills will be featured in futre projects or it was just a nod.

- The call sign for the actual ship with the designation Rogue One was "SW0608". I assumed it was referring to some Star Wars event that occurred on June 8th, but can't find anything significant.

 

[col63onel]

Honestly, I was shocked by the Tarkin CGI.. So much so that I lost my shit... I thought it was brilliant.. Loved it. Seriously.. Having the Princess at the end was absolutely perfect. What the fuck, what a great fucking movie...

Leia was OK because she was only in it for about 5 seconds. But some of Tarkin's lines made me think of the Jim Carrey Christmas Carol. I might've preferred just a new actor altogether and have him look as much like Tarkin as they could get (which they kinda did, but do it with less CGI).

 

[col63onel]

I have this movie right below ROTJ on the totem pole. The Force Awakens just looks like a joke by comparison.

After seeing it twice, my order goes like this

Oiriginal Trilogy

Rogue One






TFA







Prequels

 

[kosis]

Couple of things:

1) This plot point was retconned in for Rogue One, it was never an intended design flaw.

2) People think that the Death Star was too easy to destroy in ANH.. It literally took the child of the Chosen One to destroy it, and he needed the assistance of a dead Jedi. The plans just opened the door, but it was Luke and the Force that destroyed the Death Star.

Also, I am a bit surprised you liked this more than the original trilogy though.. While this film was great, perhaps you might want to go back and watch the originals again? I loved this movie, but as good as it was, I think the originals are still better films in almost every respect - particularly Empire Strikes Back.

I will say this though, this film was kind of gut-wrenching in quite a few scenes... Thinking about the ending, man.. That was pretty unexpected. Well done though.

I'm not necessarily putting it above A New Hope or Empire, but it's right there with them. Again, I didn't see any Star Wars film in its entirety until I was in my 20's. It doesn't carry the weight that it does for most folks my age. That said, like most people I loved Empire. The story carried the day. That's pretty much how I felt about this one. Great story, great action... Vader's last scene was outstanding. Thank God they didn't mess that up.

Tarkin CGI was distracting to me, though I'm not mad at it. Was good enough I suppose. Leia scene was done perfectly. Jyn and Gelen were played perfectly. And K-2 was hilarious. Such perfect comedic timing in this movie. He provided those moments of levity at the exact right times without ever coming off corny. Just one of the glaring differences between this and TFA.

Hated the prequels and I genuinely dislike ROTJ. Ewoks did nothing for me, and the rest of the film was just OK. Felt like I was watching Michael Bay directs Fraggle Rock for a good portion of that.

 

[Chris]

Here we go obsessing over where it ranks in the pantheon. Of course, nothing will ever, ever, ever top the OT cuz, nostalgia. Simple as that.

Anyways, got back from Rogue One, my second viewing. I enjoyed it even more. Underestimated the 10:45 showing. I forgot everything in Florida is jam packed, 24/7, so I had to sit in the front and slouch the whole movie looking up at the screen. Still, it was awesome. Had kids all around me and some guys behind me that talked through the whole thing, but at least they talked about the movie. About a quarter of the way through, one guy became confused and the other had to inform him that this movie was before A New Hope.

Yeesh.

 

[Chris]

I'm not necessarily putting it above A New Hope or Empire, but it's right there with them. Again, I didn't see any Star Wars film in its entirety until I was in my 20's. It doesn't carry the weight that it does for most folks my age. That said, like most people I loved Empire. The story carried the day. That's pretty much how I felt about this one. Great story, great action... Vader's last scene was outstanding. Thank God they didn't mess that up.

Tarkin CGI was distracting to me, though I'm not mad at it. Was good enough I suppose. Leia scene was done perfectly. Jyn and Gelen were played perfectly. And K-2 was hilarious. Such perfect comedic timing in this movie. He provided those moments of levity at the exact right times without ever coming off corny. Just one of the glaring differences between this and TFA.

Hated the prequels and I genuinely dislike ROTJ. Ewoks did nothing for me, and the rest of the film was just OK. Felt like I was watching Michael Bay directs Fraggle Rock for a good portion of that.

Agreed on most of this. End of ROTJ redeems the film though, in my opinion. Haven't seen it in a while. Ewoks definitely the worst part of the OT.

 

[Hurl Bruce]

I wasn't distracted by Tarkin at all. I just pretended he just got some Botox done.

I'm wathinc A New Hope right now. Some of the lines at the beginning when Vader finds Leia don't line up anymore after seeing the end of Rogue One. After seeing her ship zoom off at the end of RO after Vader came after her, I am assuming that they are captured very shortly after that. All of the "we're on a diplomatic mission" stuff doesn't make sense anymore. Vader should have said, "umm...you just flew away from the battle scene. I saw you. Everyone saw you."

 

[col63onel]

All of the "we're on a diplomatic mission" stuff doesn't make sense anymore. Vader should have said, "umm...you just flew away from the battle scene. I saw you. Everyone saw you."

Vader accuses her of being with the Rebellion and says that the plans were beamed to her ship. Give how Rogue One ended, that's a pretty clear implication he knows she was at the battle.

Of course she's going to lie about being with the rebels. I don't think she thought she was going to fool him, just trying to buy time.

 

[gourimoko]

Vader accuses her of being with the Rebellion and says that the plans were beamed to her ship. Give how Rogue One ended, that's a pretty clear implication he knows she was at the battle.

Of course she's going to lie about being with the rebels. I don't think she thought she was going to fool him, just trying to buy time.

I agree with @Hurl Bruce though, it doesn't make sense anymore.. It's very cool; but, it seems like a completely different context than what was presented in ANH. They, perhaps, should've added a minute to the movie extending this out so that Leia wasn't literally at the battle itself.

 

[gourimoko]

Agreed on most of this. End of ROTJ redeems the film though, in my opinion. Haven't seen it in a while. Ewoks definitely the worst part of the OT.

I think this depends on how old you are.. at least, that's what I've seen...

Back when I first saw ROTJ in the mid 80s as a little kid, the Ewoks weren't bad. In fact, when I was a child no one said shit about the Ewoks; they were in the film to appeal to little kids -- like me at the time.. I remember being a teenager and starting to care less and less for that element of the story - but I still understood why it was there, it's for kids. As a young adult, I hated the Ewoks.. Having kids who then loved the Ewoks changed my opinion back..

Here we go obsessing over where it ranks in the pantheon. Of course, nothing will ever, ever, ever top the OT cuz, nostalgia. Simple as that.

I don't think it's nostalgia, to be honest.. The movies are legitimately very good. Hell, Empire is one of the best films ever made.

Anyways, got back from Rogue One, my second viewing. I enjoyed it even more. Underestimated the 10:45 showing. I forgot everything in Florida is jam packed, 24/7, so I had to sit in the front and slouch the whole movie looking up at the screen. Still, it was awesome. Had kids all around me and some guys behind me that talked through the whole thing, but at least they talked about the movie. About a quarter of the way through, one guy became confused and the other had to inform him that this movie was before A New Hope.

Yeesh.

Jesus fucking Christ... that sounds terrible bro! This is the exact reason I don't go to most movie theaters anymore, preferring ones that have stricter policies, actual ushers, and higher priced tickets to weed out the dregs.

p.s.
Chris, it was your review that I think was the most spot on for me. I gave the movie a 9 you gave it an 8, but I think you're probably right and I'm just hyped.. Man was this a good film or what though?!

 

[gourimoko]

Leia was OK because she was only in it for about 5 seconds. But some of Tarkin's lines made me think of the Jim Carrey Christmas Carol. I might've preferred just a new actor altogether and have him look as much like Tarkin as they could get (which they kinda did, but do it with less CGI).

Really? I mean, maybe it's just me but I was totally blown away by it... I thought it was fantastic!