Rogue One SPOILERS thread!!!

[Sideshow Spock]

Loved the Half in the Bag review.. "AT-STs! AT-STs!" Also agree with most of their review, but I still managed to walk out of the theater feeling like I saw a satisfying SW movie. I think I walk the line between them and the hardcore fans

I had an enjoyable experience watching it. Likely because of the fan service. I think the Half in the Bag guys are on the same page as why I had my issues with it, and why I like it but don't love it. My brother really loved it as a plot driven war movie. I guess I has hoping for more of a character driven heist movie?

The dour tone. The lack of character and true drive/motivation in this misfit band of dirty dozen characters. Forrest Whittaker choosing to die for no apparent reason other than the paint by numbers mentor dying story beat. Tarkin and Leia looking like they fell into the uncanny valley... seeing the real actors who stood in for them, I think they would have been bettered serviced just letting those actors be the recast versions in subtle prosthetics of make-up. But all nitpicks given that this is a popcorn film that I actually liked. Not anxious to watch it multiple times though, like Force Awakens.

[fallensaviour]

Watched it last night in 3-D with my son and youngest daughter we all loved it.
My son thought it was excellent but lacked something he just hasn't figured out yet???...lol
My son and I might sneak off to see it again.

[phil]

Saw it again today and enjoyed it. I was able to spot the ship from Star Wars Rebels this time.

[boss]

Going to see it for the second time later today.

[acrovader]

I really liked the look of that asteroid colony early in movie. I wish we'd get more of that type of stuff in future SW movies. Frankly, I'm tired of desert/rocky planets. Tarkin didn't look too great and they could've easily left him out and it wouldn't of altered the movie much. Like I said before, I didn't like the movie because it really wasn't much fun. I saw it in 3D and probably should've seen it in 2D instead. If I had, I probably would've liked it better. I thought the movie was just too drab and tedious. I sorely needed the whimsy of the previous SW movies. And the lack of the SW theme song from most of the movie didn't help either.

[hedrap]

^Thanks. It was the feeling when Krennick was after Jyn/Cassian. There was no way he was going to stop Jyn...maybe Cassian, but his death would be sacrificial. So when they were on the scaffold, you could see what was coming. Make that scenario Fett and Cassian is a dead man unless either they wanted to set up a Fett/Cassian rivalry or Jyn saves him. Cass would have been the perfect foil in a Fett standalone, the pre-Solo guy who is actually killed by Bobba.

[huedell]

I think it would have given them more options instead of blowing up Jedha and Scarif. A showdown scene between Vader/Fett and Zatoichi/Ronin as Jyn/Cassian try to escape, then Fett opposite Vader on the rebel command ship, taking scalps. It would have setup alot regarding what Fett is doing before Empire and why he wasn't used on Tattooine in New Hope.

GrrrrEAT ideas as usual, hedrap!

[hedrap]

The pacing is uneven. I think the big story problem is the side effect of the Death Star as lead villain. It's like Jaws; when it appears, something bad is about to happen and you can't stop it until the end of the movie, because that's the ending of the story.

R1 would have been the perfect scenario for Bobba Fett as the main threat. Saw Gerrara is the exact target you would send a bounty hunter like Fett to assassinate. in the process, Fett finds out the missing pilot was on a mission. Tarkin sends Fett after the pilot, leading him to Eadu. Disntegration Ray to Galen Erso etc...

I think it would have given them more options instead of blowing up Jedha and Scarif. A showdown scene between Vader/Fett and Zatoichi/Ronin as Jyn/Cassian try to escape, then Fett opposite Vader on the rebel command ship, taking scalps. It would have setup alot regarding what Fett is doing before Empire and why he wasn't used on Tattooine in New Hope.

[huedell]

I agree it works, but it's also very anti-Star Wars.

A negative might be that RO is very "anti-Star Wars" in tone, but, IMHO, the positive of the negative of it BEING (tonally) anti-Star Wars is that it's a method that produces opportunities to insert the real "brick & mortar" SW-nerd stuff (that's usually reserved for EU stories) in an actual live-action SW film.

I am not that hardcore a nerd except for certain things... I want to be a hardcore SW nerd, but, sadly, I never connected w/SW EU the way I connected w/MOTU (He-Man) EU and other stuff...so, a movie that does the heavy-lifting for me (i.e. using my brain/imagination/patience) is gREATLY welcomed, despite the seeming contradiction of my tastes.

Not to mention, the only SW EU that I am actually quite familiar with & enjoy a lot (SPLINTER OF THE MIND'S EYE & the original SW 1976 novel) are referenced multiple times alongside SO many other hardcore SW easter eggs that I am overloading on this nerd joy...

...heck, I liked TFA much better than RO... YET, I have much more an urge to go see it for the fourth time EVERY NIGHT... looking at the clock and considering the 8 minute walk to the theater until the last showing at midnight...

and... I'll have that feeling EVERY NIGHT until it leaves the theater.

And this is the movie that is my 5th fave in the franchise... and the ONLY one of the "Live-Action Eight SW films" that I'd want to re-edit if I could (I think the pacing is SO off... yet, I think it's immensely more salvageable than the prequels, which I wouldn't even bother with).

[hedrap]

I agree it works, but it's also very anti-Star Wars.

[Hector]

Ditto...

[phil]

I loved the fact that they were not connected... not the "chosen one"... not the best in the universe. These were regular, flawed people doing what needed to be done for a cause they believed in. I thought it grounded the whole franchise in a really good way.

Exactly.

[sprytel]

I loved the fact that they were not connected... not the "chosen one"... not the best in the universe. These were regular, flawed people doing what needed to be done for a cause they believed in. I thought it grounded the whole franchise in a really good way.

[clemso]

I thought like a few here that it lacked the presence of a epic John Williams theme tune. I didn't like the Tarkin, Leia cgi, it just didn't quite convince. Walrus face was a fun cameo though. Over all though, it was a solid movie and I loved the end battle on Scariff.

[hedrap]

Is that "connectivity" any more "Lost" than it is "original trilogy/prequels Star Wars"?

Yep. That has been a Star Wars hallmark and it could be argued they were the ones to make it work the best because of The Force. That's why I think Abrams laid out a larger connection; it's the common ground between him and the franchise. And, I dunno.

Whatever the case, it's (IMHO) another case of "I would love that---- but general audiences on the whole would probably scoff."

Modern audiences seem to look for things like that "too many interconnected relationships" stuff to revel in their nitpicking.

It's ironic. I'm one of the "enough connectivity" people, because Bad Robot pushed it too far, too often. Look at Cloverfield; it's as a macguffin made into a franchise to use as a marketting ploy. It literally means nothing to the story.

Marvel is the other big culprit. Connectivity has never been true, but they got the fans to believe their was some giant latticework idea playing out. In reality, it was just a production slate of crossovers and easter eggs. The only underlying thread that connects are the infinity gems as they're important in each movie appearance and become central later. But Ultron, which Fiege sold as a culmination, wasn't.

That's why we don't hear "it's all connected" unless it's Loeb and Netflix. I mean, look at Inhumans. They sold this IMAX/ABC thing as "finally Inhumans has arrived", then ABC walked it back to a special presentation of a two-hour telemovie, then Marvel quietly admitted "we're still planning on an Inhumans movie-movie", and now it has no crossover with Netflix or MCU and tangentially connects to AOS.

With Star Wars, connectivity is at the heart. It's clunky in the preq-sequels, but Rogue One made it work. That's why with Jyn not Rey's mom...I don't know how they find a better character or actress. It would be weird to meet like, a Kate Beckinsale, because character-wise...how is she not going to be a Leia knock-off? And if Rey's not Luke's daughter...how do they explain her being more Force innate than the Skywalkers? Is she a Kenobi? a Qui-Gon? To make her "hey, this lady is really powerful we need her help" is a serious departure from audience expectations.