Star Wars: Rogue One (with spoilers)

[skyvolt2000]

Saw it last night. Still processing it, but I know I definitely loved it more than Episode 7 (which I still really liked, but was way too safe). Of course, both leave the awful prequels in the dust.

The first act jumped around a bit too much and I had trouble following it, but the last 2/3 were fantastic. Killing all the main characters took pretty serious balls and I respect the hell out of it. That's not something you see in a movie geared towards as wide an audience as possible. And my God, that Vader scene was terrifying.

CGI Tarkin and Leia were a bit unsettling though.

When Disney said it was a stand alone film was all you needed to know that they were not going to make it.

Now if you are making toys and stuff-you are not too happy because who is going to buy them knowing theses guys are gone?

[The Cool Thatguy]

Palpatine - sure, he is evil personified. But Vader is a more nuanced character.

We never really see that in the movies, though. He's pure evil, but just happens to be Luke's daddy to give it all some emotional gravitas

[regnak]

Folks have to remember that from Vader's perspective, he is the good guy. Shadows of the Empire, a book Lucas himself praised highly, gives a lot of insight into his character.

Yes, Vader can be merciless with his subordinates, but only as a means of weeding out incompetence which often costs lives. Remember his ultimate goal, however twisted his means, is to restore peace and order to the Galaxy. In his mind destroying Alderran is not an act of cruelty but necessity - the lives snuffed out are justified if it stems further rebellion, and really it's all the fault of the Rebels for causing this war in the first place.

Palpatine - sure, he is evil personified. But Vader is a more nuanced character.

Uh huh, he was ok with killing off a lot of loyal troops for no reason. Evil and stupid, that was.

[brettc1]

We never really see that in the movies, though. He's pure evil, but just happens to be Luke's daddy to give it all some emotional gravitas

No, I think we do get glimpses of it. His words to Luke on Bespin "Together we can end this destructive conflict, and bring order to the Galaxy." Vader does not live for war. Also in the radio plays you get more insight.

[CliffHanger2]

Pretty good flick probably the heaviest SW to date. The cast was great esp Donnie Yen and Forest Whitaker. Darth Vader killed it at the end tho that kill spree was epic lol.

[CliffHanger2]

When Disney said it was a stand alone film was all you needed to know that they were not going to make it.

Now if you are making toys and stuff-you are not too happy because who is going to buy them knowing theses guys are gone?

Thats the thing tho. Leaving the theater I heard a kid asking his dad" Why'd everybody have to die?" Like yeah its starwars ppl arent used to that kids definitely expect to get toys of living heroes.

[Gray Lensman]

Thats the thing tho. Leaving the theater I heard a kid asking his dad" Why'd everybody have to die?" Like yeah its starwars ppl arent used to that kids definitely expect to get toys of living heroes.

If you look cool enough it won't matter - Boba Fett has something like a cult of fans even though he not only died, but died like a complete chump in RotJ.

[SiegePerilous02]

When Disney said it was a stand alone film was all you needed to know that they were not going to make it.

Now if you are making toys and stuff-you are not too happy because who is going to buy them knowing theses guys are gone?

Logically, given the premise of the movie, it's not surprising that they die.

What's surprising is Disney putting out a movie like this in the first place. If it were any other studio, I wouldn't be surprised that they didn't have a cop out ending.

[Madam-Shogun-Assassin]

One other thing I liked is this retroactively clears the Empire of direct incompetence, the weakness in the Death Star was a feature not a flaw.

Maybe, but then Tarkin pissed that away by blowing up alderaan. A major Republic world, that caused a HUGE boost in rebel recruitment. By the time of Empire Strike Back they were a borderline full opposing resistance force with capital ships.

[jtd]

It absolutely had the "look" of a Star Wars movie, but sadly did not have anything close to the "feel" of a Star Wars movie.

It is the "feel" that makes the seven canonical SW movies so special. Even if JJ mimicked much of the original trilogy, he captured the "feel" perfectly.

I didn't dislike Rogue One, but it did confirm my belief that Disney wouldn't be able to keep the same feel in their SW movies moving forward.

[Madam-Shogun-Assassin]

Supposedly the grunts in Halo have a tragic backstory in the books, but I never read them. Or do you mean from the marine's perspective? Because I think that was ODST.

I think infinite warfare is probably closest to a halo everyman grunt game you can get. I love military science fiction. And I love stories told from everyday soldiers. Super soldiers and Jedi are cool and everything, but stories from normal soldiers can be really engrossing. Reminds me of that star wars game that was from the clone troopers perspective.

[Madam-Shogun-Assassin]

Have to say I disagree about Krennik. When did we EVER see an Imperial Officer who put himself in harms way deliberately? Or for that matter even fired a blaster? Krennik, on the other hand, shows himself to be hands on leader. He travels himself to find Erso at the start of the movie and takes personal action in tracking down the source of the leak.

That's actually a good point,

[Madam-Shogun-Assassin]

I was fully expecting them to die, and I think most people were. I'm glad Disney didn't chicken out and let them live it would lessen the emotional impact.

YAAAASSSS, I hope they don't bring them back. At least not in a sequel.

[ZeroBG82]

Saw this finally this afternoon. What a ride. A vast, vast improvement over the highly mediocre (but still enjoyable) Force Awakens.

I loved Jyn Erso. She's a tough nut, and came across as a little wooden at first. But once you realize she's been abandoned by TWO fathers for their precious causes, it's easy to see why she behaves the way she does. When she finally comes face to face with her dad and realizes everything he did was about trying to protect people, in her name no less, we see her finally awaken to the spirit of the Rebellion in a meaningful way.

I also loved that the film showed off the darker side of the Rebellion. This is a group of people that has had to do some very nasty things to some people who probably didn't deserve it. In the name of their cause. Not all rebels are heroes, and I applaud them for acknowledging just how dangerous causes can be. It's not just WHY you're fighting, but how you do it that needs to matter.

Some daring choices here. Making the villain middle management, who just wants his recognition was an interesting decision. I think it works. Krennic isn't evil because he's a sadist, or a power hungry maniac, like the Emperor or Tarkin. He's evil because the system he operates within is evil, and he's willing to do whatever he needs to in order to advance in that system. He's the Empire in all it's truly horrifying, twisted evil. Hell, one gets the impression that Krennic genuinely liked and respected Galen Erso, and the hurt on his face when confronted with Erso's treason was brilliantly played. Part disappointment, part frustrated supervisor.

Thematically, we see in microcosm, the underlying, ultimate story of the original trilogy. Of family, and children as both legacy to parents and as redeemers of their choices. Jyn finds her father redeemed in her eyes, and completes his great work of exposing the Death Star's fatal flaw. The echoes with Vader and his children is clear. The movie even ties it off by giving us Leia in opposition to Vader. This was just so much richer an experience than the ultra-safe Force Awakens. And while this also contained a ton of callbacks and references, not all of which were organic and seamless, it felt less like pandering, for whatever reason. And it really does help that the character arcs close out here in this film, instead of being designed to carry on into a new trilogy (the greatest weakness of Force Awakens, which doesn't stand on it's own nearly as well as it wants you to think it does).

[Madam-Shogun-Assassin]

It absolutely had the "look" of a Star Wars movie, but sadly did not have anything close to the "feel" of a Star Wars movie.

It is the "feel" that makes the seven canonical SW movies so special. Even if JJ mimicked much of the original trilogy, he captured the "feel" perfectly.

I didn't dislike Rogue One, but it did confirm my belief that Disney wouldn't be able to keep the same feel in their SW movies moving forward.

I don't think it was supposed to have the feel of a star wars movie. It's was trying to be its own thing.