Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (Post-release)

Everything worked for me apart from one minor concern;

When Vader came out of the Bacta tank and met Krennic, there is no way he had time to dry himself properly. Bit like when you've had a shower at the gym and put your clothes back on when you're still wet.

I think we all know how uncomfortable it feels, but to have to wear a leather jumpsuit with a wet back and armpits...

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And now that I've mellowed, some positive thoughts: felt like I was watching a 90s SW novel come to life. Since I have fond memories of the old EU, that was fun. I loved the fleshed out sense of the Empire's oppression over citizens and the broader glimpse into this galaxy. Vader's castle just about made me mess my pants. K2 and Donnie Yen were great (more bo staff, please...bo staff is always, always awesome). This was arguably the PRETTIEST SW flick, really gorgeous visuals. Vader's massacre scene was amazeballs. I'm a sucker for cold war/nuclear imagery, so the DS blasts made my heart race.

After sleeping on it, ima say 6/10 for me. Not a disaster, just meh and fan-servicy and tainted by some poor decisions. I may pony up another ten bucks to rewatch it and see if I like it better with different expectations.
 
The planet naming bothered me quite a bit. It's a trope that they always use in alien invasion disaster movies because they don't know who to establish a scene.

But if we ARE doing that, why did mustofar get the shaft?

Seeing mustofar was probably the highlight for me. Showing elements of the prequels is definitely a plus. It also makes that scene were the Ghost crew went to mustofar that much more ominous.

"That's where Jedi go to die"

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My current SW movie ranking after seeing Rogue twice, and the others, too many to count.... (Of course the scores change constantly for me depending on mood)

Out of 10

8. TPM- 3.7
7. ATOC- 4.5
6. ROTS- 7.2
5. R1- 8.4
4. TFA- 8.6
3. ROTJ- 9.2
2. ANH- 9.7
1. ESB- 9.9

R1 and TFA are the most recent adaptations and very close in ranking for me, possibly interchangeable. (Again, depends on mood) If the musical score was better in R1, and they only used the musical themes from the OT, it would probably would have moved up ahead of TFA in my book. My TFA ranking has actually improved a few points over the last year as I lived with it. I'm guessing R1's score will for me too, not sure if it will go up or down yet. The OT is the only series that has so far deserved the sacred 9 ground. Whether you like ESB or ANH as #1 is a generational thing, I was just at a prime age when I watched ESB. (8yrs) That's why for me it will always be #1.
 
I'm still processing it, but my initial thoughts were it didn't feel like a Star Wars moving until about 2/3 of the way in. The ending result was a little disturbing. Every main character?! Guess the Jyn being Rey's mother theory is out the window. :lol And Leia looked....odd.

Now onto the good. Vader's slaughtering alone was worth the price of admission! So badass! And I really dug the weapons too.

I give it a 5/10.
 
In Rogue One, we see Vader in combat mode taking down Rebel after Rebel. Which begs the question why didn't Vader do the same in ANH instead of the Stormtroopers?
 
I knew it. It still felt like they reused some ANH footage - but, it could have been some different takes.
Although I liked the inclusion, the difference in film quality was noticeable. The footage of Red or Gold leader was both grainy and more blurred.

I'm guessing the original film (40ish years old) must have deteriorated some where even modern post processing could correct it up to current standards.

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I thought Jyn's arc was poignantly beautiful. Her character isn't thematically ... "verbose." She is a survivor and an unforgettably tragic figure.

Andor had surprising weight. I love his relationship with Jyn that evolved to affection in their very last moment. It still makes me tearful.

Tarkin almost managed to crawl out of the uncanny valley while Leia was still struggling. My only regret is that eerie Leia was the last shot to stick in my head.

I love how the Rebellion isn't as monochromatic (in every sense of the word) as before. There are extremist rebel factions and we finally get to see "rebel spies" that Vader referred to years ago.

All in all this was the aspect of Star Wars I've been wanting to get more of since I walked out of the theater in 1977. I hope this portends more Jedi-less films to come. A film like this serves to increase both the breadth of the landscape and dramatic scale of the Star Wars universe.

Give me more!
 
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I was actually surprised at how well the spliced in pilot footage worked. One of my "non gripes."

Frustrating that some cool stuff from the trailers didn't make the cut. Like...tons of stuff. Maybe for the better, who knows, but looking for certain scenes or words and not getting them is kinda a dick move. Like half the trailer material isn't in the film.
 
The film could have done with more ruthless editing to tighten it up - the planet hopping - Vader's first scene added nothing to the story - too many unneccessary nods and winks like Ponda and R2/Threepio - The end battle got a little convoluted, Tantive IV should not have been at Scarif.

Overall though it was very enjoyable, action packed story, solid performances, amazing special effects and masterful production design which really complimented and expanded on the aesthetics of the OT era.
 
He was kinda tired, after kicking all that butt just a few minutes earlier. He was taking a break and letting the kiddoes clean up.

In Rogue One, we see Vader in combat mode taking down Rebel after Rebel. Which begs the question why didn't Vader do the same in ANH instead of the Stormtroopers?
 
Really thought they should've shown Vader get wounded to explain how he went from Terminator with a lightsaber to old man swinging a flyswatter in ANH...
 
I want to say I liked this movie, but I don't think I did...

I felt the first hour just dragged on. I went to a later showing and I struggled to keep my eyes open.

Vader did not look or move right in my eyes. Was the lightsaber scene cool? Yes. Does it flow with a Vader who battles Kenobi not long after and moves noticeably slower and doesn't use a single Force power? No.

The CG characters were very well done, but not so well done that they were unnoticeable.

There were some things I liked. Some of the ANH references were great - Blue Squadron and the squadron leaders. The final battle scene was fantastic. The new troopers. All good stuff.

I can't put my finger on it, but the movie just didn't do it for me. Maybe a second showing will help...

Sean
 
I wonder if sometime in the future when they've perfected human CGI characters we'll get a Rogue One "special edition" with refined/imporved CGI Tarkin and Leia. They didn't really bother me at all - was fun to see - for a series that's broken new ground in spfx, thought it was a fun effort. Glad I didn't see it in 3D - not a fan - and there's no way 3D would have helped those two character look any better.

So, Mustafar - was that sequence added in the rewrites? Vader summoning Krennic there kinda seemed like having two characters in that location for the sake of using that location... Weren't there trailer shots of them interacting in other Empire environs?

And was this initially a Bodhi rescue scene?

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Maybe the bacta tank is like a giant can of red bull for Vader?

He gets all supercharged, then his a slump a few hours later.

Also in that clip Jyn never reacts, slows or does anything when that TIE appears, which suggests to me that it was never originally supposed to be in the scene, and they just threw it together for the trailer, much like the millions of red lasers in Predators, when there was only one in the film.
 
He was kinda tired, after kicking all that butt just a few minutes earlier. He was taking a break and letting the kiddoes clean up.

I am guessing that Vader did not catch up with the Tantive IV immediately after the end of the film. I would have to guess Leia ordered a jump to hyperspace immediately after she received the plans. Why wouldn't they get the hell out of Dodge ASAFP?

Which leaves me wondering why didn't they jump straight to Alderaan. Why were they in real-space over Tatooine when they got caught? Were they trying to make several jumps from different points to throw the Empire off their trail?

Perhaps the ship's hyperdrive engines were failing, and they had to stay in (or drop to) sublight to make repairs? I don't know. I guess that is a plausible answer.
 
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