Star Wars: Rogue One (with spoilers)

[SiegePerilous02]

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.

And this is what made it great for me. I like that stories in this universe can be varied. It gives me hope that Episode VIII won't be a complete rehash of V the way VII was of IV.

[Madam-Shogun-Assassin]

Episode 7 was trying to convince everyone that it wasn't the Prequel Era and that the classic feeling Star Wars was back. Episode 7 played it safe making things mirror ANH. The familiarity was on purpose.

that's likely why TFA has such staunch supporters.

[Madam-Shogun-Assassin]

And this is what made it great for me. I like that stories in this universe can be varied. It gives me hope that Episode VIII won't be a complete rehash of V the way VII was of IV.

Exactly, the difference is what drew me to the story

[CliffHanger2]

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.

Yeah but Fett did have an advantage of being built up a few years. Plus his death didn't have a heavy feel to it due to the light/campy nature of those original films.

[brettc1]

I'm a big movie soundtrack fan. Will some of you share how the music was in the film?
Memorable and can't wait to listen to the soundtrack? Or, forgettable and phoned in?

Saw this for the second time today and had a chance to pay more attention to details like this.

It's good - damn good. The Imperial themes are recognizable from the original trilogy but have their own distinct flavor. The Rogues theme is absolutely, hauntingly beautiful. A worth musical tribute to the heroism on display.

[Robotman]

I really loved it! Just a ton of emotion packed into one movie. I stumbled out of the theater in a daze. The Vader scene and Leia's appearance was just icing on the cake.

this really was a Star Wars movie for grown ups. No Jar Jar, no Ewoks, no happily ever after. It showed the underbelly of the rebellion and the lengths they had to go to in order to survive and eventually get the plans.

I love the fact that they didn't force a romance between Jyn and Cassian. They just bonded as two people fighting for a cause. Their final moments together were heart breaking and beautiful.

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).

Great review. Agreed 100%!

[brettc1]

Yes there are plot holes.

I watched the movie for the second time today, and thoroughly enjoyed it. But I also watched A New Hope last night and, on close inspection, there are a few things that don't quite add up.

Vader says, right at the beginning of Episode 4, that Leia is now his only link to the rebels and the means of finding their hidden base.

Well, based on Rogue One that doesn't quite make sense. Even if none of the Rebel Troopers we see taken captive at the start of ANH had been to Yavin 4 [and we certainly did see a lot of them on the Rebel base so that seems very unlikely] Vader had just captured an entire Rebel cruiser full or prisoners over Scarrif Base. So evidently we are meant to believe that either...

1. The entire crew of the cruiser were killed, except for the Rebel Troopers we see chased by Vader.

or

2. None of the crew had any idea of where they were in space while the Admiral was on Yavin 4

or

3. Vader just didn't bother to interrogate any of the prisoners he took.


None of these three seem very plausible.

[sunofdarkchild]

Yes there are plot holes.

I watched the movie for the second time today, and thoroughly enjoyed it. But I also watched A New Hope last night and, on close inspection, there are a few things that don't quite add up.

Vader says, right at the beginning of Episode 4, that Leia is now his only link to the rebels and the means of finding their hidden base.

Well, based on Rogue One that doesn't quite make sense. Even if none of the Rebel Troopers we see taken captive at the start of ANH had been to Yavin 4 [and we certainly did see a lot of them on the Rebel base so that seems very unlikely] Vader had just captured an entire Rebel cruiser full or prisoners over Scarrif Base. So evidently we are meant to believe that either...

1. The entire crew of the cruiser were killed, except for the Rebel Troopers we see chased by Vader.

or

2. None of the crew had any idea of where they were in space while the Admiral was on Yavin 4

or

3. Vader just didn't bother to interrogate any of the prisoners he took.


None of these three seem very plausible.

That's actually a problem with A New Hope. They clearly show that a number of rebels were captured alive from the Tantive lV at the beginning of the movie. There were plenty of people for Vader to interrogate then instead of focusing on Leia.

[brettc1]

Now HERE is an interesting one.

This lets us see what the result of those reshoots were... check it out.

[Sighphi]

Average movie at best.

They really messed up the rebellion which is why i saw average at best.

This was rewriting of the rebellion instead of showing a different side.

[ZeroBG82]

Average movie at best.

They really messed up the rebellion which is why i saw average at best.

This was rewriting of the rebellion instead of showing a different side.

In what way was this rewriting? Elaborate?

[KOSLOX]

I'll add my voice to the choir of praise. I absolutely loved it, and think it was one of the best in the series.

[Cyke]

Really enjoyed this movie, Star Wars from basically the grunts perspective. Heroic and heartbreaking at the same time. The last half hour of the movie was fantastic.

Great way of putting it. For three movies, we've really only seen the rebellion from a perspective of high-on up: Luke is the last hope of the Force, Leia is a princess, and Han is a one-of-a-kind rogue, among the best in the business. Even Wedge is the best pilot in the fleet. But we rarely invest emotion in literally every other Rebel around them dying on a whim. So now we get that perspective from a group that's really fighting from the ground up -- even their most "super" member wishes he was a Jedi (let's be real), and they bite the dust just as unceremoniously as Biggs. But then again, it also goes to show just how important those sacrifices really are to the overall rebellion.

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.

There were a couple times when I thought he was a bit sympathetic (at least as one can get for an imperial officer). It's like a twisted school group project where everyone in the group hates each other. Erso doing all the work, Krennik doing the second most but wanting that A, and then Tarkin just dumping them both to take all the credit, with Vader as his bully muscle.

[Supernova]

I liked it overall. The 1st was slow until vader showed up.

[pdiz]

Likes:
Chirrut was awesome
Vader was awesome, especially the last scene where he slaughters the Rebels
Unlike TFA, the main characters were likable and interesting

Dislikes:
The character's deaths were not separated enough. I can't be sad if they all just suddenly die
Didn't feel like a SW movie
Not enough action

I'll give it a 6.5/10