Rogue One a Star Wars Story Discussion (Spoilers included) Do not click if you haven't seen it.

I looked and I didn't see a Rogue One discussion on the forums. I saw the Official Star Wars thread but didn't want to talk spoilers in there as not everyone has seen it. If there is a thread created please let me know and I'll take this one down.

A little back story with my history with Star Wars. I saw the original in the theater when I was 8 years old. Probably went to see it 10 times when I was a kid and saw the other two multiple times growing up. You can say I'm a fan.

We won't even mention the prequels here since (IMO) they don't even deserve to be considered.

I enjoyed The Force Awakens last year. I think JJ Abrams took a lot of flack due to it being A New Hope part 2, but IMO it had to be. I "personally" think he did a really good job of bringing us back into the Star Wars universe. Sure... There were some things that could have been better but I left that movie feeling like I was 8 years old again. That's what it was all about.

With that said... Let the spoiler talk begin! You have been warned!!!

I deliberately stayed away from all the talk about Rogue One throughout the last year. Yes I watched the trailers but that was about it. I wanted it to be a surprise and with that it certainly did deliver.

This movie was unlike any other Star Wars movie I've seen in the past. It had a really dark theme and I give credit to Disney for taking the chance to go this route. This was not a feel good Star Wars movie. It was a full out war movie.
The movie, to me, started off pretty disjointed. Kind of jumping all over the place with no real character development which, by the end of the movie I understood since everyone dies. I did appreciate the many cameos during the movie. They weren't just thrown in your face and you had to know what was going on to catch them. I admire that. Fan service without making it obvious.
I must admit I was not a fan of the music. I would have much preferred a John Williams score and I think one could have been made to match the tone of the movie.
The way I look at it is this... It started off with a very broad story that ended in a very pinpoint end that was absolutely perfect. They could have left the credits off and literally jumped into A New Hope. It was that good.


Jyn Erso

Her story line was not bad. I never felt an emotional attachment to her character. She played it well though in reality (IMO) her story kind of took a backseat to what was really going on in the grand scheme of things.

Captain Cassian Andor

I was torn on whether I liked his character during the movie but during the second act you get a sense of all the horrible things he has done in the name of the rebellion and he couldn't live with himself it he didn't see the mission through.

Director Orson Krennic

His scenes stole the show during almost all his scenes. He played it to perfection and let you know the inner workings with all the different factions and power struggles in the Empire.

Galen Erso

Well now we know how the Death Star was destroyed so easily. I know the hologram scene was supposed to be emotional but I really didn't feel much emotion at all other than she learned that a flaw had been put into the Death Star by him. The rest I didn't feel much emotion. Maybe it's because it was a hologram. But even when he died on the flight deck and she spent her last moments with him. It didn't stir any emotion.

Motherfuckin Gran Moff Tarkin!

Yes CGI aside I thought they did a really good job a really good job recreating him. There were a few flaws but all in all they could have left him in the shadows to cover up a lot of his scenes but they didn't. And he was in the movie quite a lot.

Saw Gerrera

Was not impressed with his character. I wish they could have expanded a bit more into him. Yes he went full militant rogue. But in his short time in the film they made it to where he fought the Empire and payed a price (obviously) but in the end seemed to say "fuckit" as the Jedha was being destroyed.

K-2SO

Besides Vader was the star of the movie IMO. He had the best lines and I actually felt sad as he held off all the Stormtroopers while they were stealing the plans and ultimately paid the price.

Chirrut Imwe

Probably my favorite actual character in the movie. Just his demeanor and not to mention he's a fucking badass, blind or not.

Baze Malbus

Chirrut Imwe's friend and I enjoyed the time he was on screen. Played very well alongside of Chirrut.

Darth Vader

I love the way they introduced him in the movie with the Royal Guards standing watch. He had a lot more scenes than I expected and we finally got to see that he is TRULY A FUCKING BADASS! I'm glad they finally unleashed Vader. We always heard that he was a badass but Jesus...

Third Act

So the real star of the show was the third act. As the final act started it has to be IMO one of the best space / ground battles in the entire history of Star Wars. Also the cameos from Red and Gold Leader's were a nice touch. I'm not really sure why I didn't see what was coming but I didn't expect everyone (and I do mean everyone) to die in the final act.
I thought that Chirrut walking through the line of fire to turn on the switch only to die shortly afterwards was a pretty sad moment in the movie along with Baze. Those characters were one of the few that I actually had an attachment to in the movie. Add to the death (I suppose you could call it that) of K-2SO and the way he held off the Stormtroopers until the very end. How you can feel sorry for a robot I don't know but I did. Maybe it was because Alan Tudyk nailed the acting with that character.

The best space scene was the Hammerhead Corvette ramming the Star Destroyer into the other one and them crashing down into the shield generator. The second best scene is when Vader's ship pulled in as the Rebellion ships were about to make the jump only to bounce off the front of his ship. Epic!

I've got to say that I loved the way that Orson Krennic was killed by his own creation was a fitting way for him to die. I even loved the way the weapon just took the top of the structure off where he was and hit in the distance. I was less moved by the way Jyn and Cassian waited to die. The effect was pretty dramatic but eh... They're dead.

The absolute best scene was during final scenes. I remember thinking that "no one has sparked a lightsaber" but then...in walks Vader. We always "assumed" Darth Vader was a badass. Well now we know Vader is a fucking badass. For the 90 seconds he was on scene they finally unleashed Vader as we've never seen him before. The troops were trapped and Vader was one by one going to town on them. It was fucking awesome. It also let you know at that moment that how close the plans came to being retaken. The plans were handed off at the very last second only to have the lightsaber pierce the last guy and the fucking door.

The very end and the door opened and there stood Princess Leia. I don't care if it was CGI or not. There was only one flaw I detected during that scene but it didn't matter. Princess Leia was standing there in her original form.

So the movie started off as a wide base of characters and environments and ended up as a pinpoint spot on ending. All in all I thoroughly enjoyed Rogue One and I "personally" think it has set the bar pretty high for the upcoming movies.

So... What are your opinions, insights, etc...?

 

Ditto, the movie was slow for me, didnt keep my interest. The end however.. that made the whole movie for me. I think a a part of not deeply developing Jyn is that she is rather insignificant. Her purpose was significant, the character was not, and we all know what happened to her anyway.

The movie felt like a "yada yada yada" to fill 2 hours before the best ending ever.

 

TL/DR




I thought the force chant was a little hokey. It was enjoyable. I might see it again in 3d - on weeeeeed.

 

Oh I saw it in 3D.. not bad

 

I admit I was a bit, shall I say, bored during the first act. But the ending more than made up for it.

 

I honestly think that the reshoots might have something to do with the disjointed feeling of the first part of the movie.

 

I was also a bit bored during the first 30 minutes or so but it picked up pretty quick and ended with a flurry. One of my favorite Star Wars movies to date only behind Empire. For reference I did not like TFA much at all, but it was better than I, II, III.

It was sad to see all 3 major characters killed off, I fully understand why and it makes sense but as the movie went a long they started to really gel and became one of my favorite character groups in the movies.

 

I'm glad it ended the way it did. For a while I was wondering how half the Rebel fleet knew about the Death Star, saw it in action, and had the plans and how they could tie that into ANH.

It was a pretty cool scene though, only the second time you get to see the Rebel fleet go toe to toe with the Empire.

 

I enjoyed the movie immensely. I like how they brought characters from episode IV into the movie, i.e. the guy who bumped into Jyn on the street was the same guy who threatened Luke in the bar.
I was expecting a lengthier appearance from C3PO and R2D2 but no big deal.
I agree with the OP about Grand Moff Tarkin, he should have been kept in the shadows. The time is coming when a CGI person will look normal but the industry is not there yet.
All in all a great movie and I can't wait to watch it again.

 

Same here... I enjoyed it but it was a bit slow... the fighting was great tho.

It did perfectly lead into A New Hope which was awesome in my opinion.

 

Just saw it tonight , thought it was really cool , my wife isn't as much of a dork and she thought it was meh but shes a dame

Loved all the tie ins to the other movies