discussion Rogue One !!Spoilers!! Discussion Thread

[Kage]

Please talk Rogue One with me.

 

Please.

[Valence]

Very pleasantly surprised. I loved it, even if it was a bit rough around some edges (that stink of Disney editing). I was really, really missing that old feel from the first movies. I want more.

 

Ep7 was bland compared to that.

[Roen]

So like spoilers below so don't read if you have not seen it!!

 

 

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Alan Tudyk's K-2SO was HILARIOUS. His line was the first one I laughed out loud at. And his death affected me more than I thought it would. And he was warming up to Jyn at the end when she gave him the blaster. ;_;

 

I also might have squealed a little bit when I saw the Walkers. And the Red Leader and the Gold Leader. And the rebel ship at the very end where Leia makes her escape. I think this movie illustrates how one can please the fans of the original trilogy without rehashing the entire plot of the original.

 

And I cheered when the Rebellion reinforcements arrived on... whatever the planet was called in the final scene... there were a LOT of locations that I cannot remember at this point. But that entire battle sequence was quite gripping!

 

I also did not know Donnie Yen's character's name throughout the entire movie. They didn't really make the effort to make it all that relevant? But I wish they had explored a little bit more about his relationship to the Force. He seemed to have some kind of a heightened intuition. He wasn't a Jedi though, but as closest as you will get to one in this movie where there weren't any Jedi presence.

 

And the CGI was pretty good!

 

OKAY I could keep going but work and all. Overall, I enjoyed this movie! It was a lot better than The Force Awakens.

[Flynn Bladebreaker]

Coming from a guy that enjoys all Star Wars material equally (prequels, originals, sequels, Clone Wars, Rebels).

 

I enjoyed it. First half was a bit jumpy, third act was a 10/10. The last 3 minutes...

 

Icing on the fucking cake.

[Kage]

FUN FACT: Gold Leader and Red Leader footage are from CUT REELS of A New Hope! They didn't CGI them in like Tarkin and Leia. (I mean they did do some editing so the cockpit looks right but yeah).

 

If you missed some of the cameos, here you go.

 

The entire end of the movie was re-shot. Hell, a lot of the trailers kept scenes that ended up not making it into the movie in the end. To that effect, I still think the execution of the Theft of the Plans of the Death Star was done much better in Rogue One than in the Expanded Universe.

 

 

They played up Saw Gerrera so much though. One of the two flaws I had with the movie. Saw Gerrera and the pacing of the first third of the movie.

 

A lot of people are complaining about how it didn't feel like a Star Wars movie but I think that Rogue One didn't need to take on that 'feel'. The desperation reflected in the war movie it is in the latter part is great.

 

CHIRRUT. AND BAZE. The two Chinese actors' characters whose names I did not know. Are they a bromance? Or a romance. In the end, they died. They are one with the Force and the Force is with them. Also? jesus, Thank you that there was no Kiss between Jyn and Cassian. THANK YOU

 

All in all, I really enjoyed it. I want to watch it in Dolby cinema now.

[Nodem]

I was so expecting them to kiss, to the point where I joked "This will be the most explosive kiss ever." But hey, I guess Watchmen retains that award?

 

It just, overall... Wasn't what you EXPECTED from Star Wars Movie but damn was it good. I'd gladly take K-2 into battle with me, and his humor was great. I definately want to see this one again.

[Flynn Bladebreaker]

FUN FACT: Gold Leader and Red Leader footage are from CUT REELS of A New Hope! They didn't CGI them in like Tarkin and Leia. (I mean they did do some editing so the cockpit looks right but yeah).

 

If you missed some of the cameos, here you go.

 

The entire end of the movie was re-shot. Hell, a lot of the trailers kept scenes that ended up not making it into the movie in the end. To that effect, I still think the execution of the Theft of the Plans of the Death Star was done much better in Rogue One than in the Expanded Universe.

 

 

They played up Saw Gerrera so much though. One of the two flaws I had with the movie. Saw Gerrera and the pacing of the first third of the movie.

 

A lot of people are complaining about how it didn't feel like a Star Wars movie but I think that Rogue One didn't need to take on that 'feel'. The desperation reflected in the war movie it is in the latter part is great.

 

CHIRRUT. AND BAZE. The two Chinese actors' characters whose names I did not know. Are they a bromance? Or a romance. In the end, they died. They are one with the Force and the Force is with them. Also? jesus, Thank you that there was no Kiss between Jyn and Cassian. THANK YOU

 

All in all, I really enjoyed it. I want to watch it in Dolby cinema now.

Plenty of Clone Wars/Rebels references in Rogue One as well (the Ghost appears a few times in space and on Yavin, so does Chopper and the intercom calling out General Syndulla). Most don't really know Saw was in Clone Wars during the Onderon rebellion arc. And he's reappearing in Rebels season 3.

 

To those complaining that it doesn't feel like a Star Wars movie, the makers knew that full well going in since it's a war movie that takes place in the Star Wars universe. These origin movies aren't supposed to have the same feeling as the trilogies, it gives more freedom to the makers. I'm just glad that even though it was gritty there was no swearing (ass/piss/fuck/etc), that would have just took me out of the immersion.

 

Chirrut and Baze? "Open to interpretation" as the director says. Incoming more Snoke theories, "They're guardians of the Whills, a Shaman of the Whills/Five Priestesses from Clone Wars are immortal and trained Qui-Gon to become a Force ghost. What if Snoke is one of them? What if Snoke is that messenger in Darth Vader's castle? (though they confirmed his identity anyway, it's not Snoke)

[Roen]

YES! Saw was my biggest complaint about that movie.

 

So much build up and then.... not much with his exit. What, he saw the message and then it was okay to exit stage left after that?

 

His whole extremism was... kind of just blah? Okay they attacked the squadron and the cargo but... why? Was there a point?

 

His voice was also distracting. Him breathing into the mask at random times also distracting. There was no background to any of it.

 

I think if I had any real complaint, I would have liked to know more about some of the characters in this movie. More about Chirrut and Baze. (I thought Baze was Chirrut's Chewbacca) And more about Cassian. Why did he choose not to shoot Galen?

[Flynn Bladebreaker]

Kc2kFk5M9x4

 

Relevant. Love these guys.

[Nero]

I liked it a lot more than The Force Awakens, but I think that's a pretty low standard.

 

Also, was anyone else constantly distracted by Felicity Jones' buck teeth? I couldn't help but stare every time she opened her mouth. Even her kid actor had buck teeth! Distracting.

 

I enjoyed how grounded the conflict felt. The lack of Jedi and Sith and Force wahey added very much to the rag-tag resistance feel the Rebellion had. The inner politicking of the Rebellion (with them arguing for surrender vs. fight to the last man) was compelling. There was no Light Side vs. Dark Side thing, it was a relatable story of freedom fighters against oppression. The Battle of Scarif was impressive and filled with hype.

 

That said, the script felt very restricted. The goal was A). Steal Death Star plans and get them on the Tantive IV and B). Kill off the characters for continuity. And the movie felt a little too laser-focused on accomplishing those two goals. I didn't even know the names of Donnie Yen, Jiang Wen, and Riz Ahmed's characters until I looked them up on Wikipedia later. Cassian Andor sort of does a weird 180 before Eadu where before he is painted as a pragmatic die-for-the-cause Rebel, but then for some reason turns around and is hesitant to shoot Galen and suddenly really cares about saving Jyn from the bombing run....the bombing run that would kill Galen...which Cassian was ordered to do anyway.

 

The fan service also took away a lot of the impact. I am not particularly fond of how Vader's first appearance was him arguing bureaucracy with Ben Mendelsohn. Can you imagine Vader's name only being mentioned offhandedly, this well-known icon and boogeyman of the Rebels, and then the audience can share in the shock and awe of the troopers as Vader appears for the first time with signature breathing and lightsaber? Instead they blew their wad early on Vader showing up to call Krennic a twat and force choke him a little bit. Was a bit of a waste. Same with the gratuitous Death Star shots too. If they saved the shock and awe of the Death Star laser to kill the protagonists on Scarif instead of wasting it to blow up Jehda, it would have been much more effective, I feel.

 

Still, overall I liked it. The action sequences were good and the drama and conflict was entertaining. The characters were mostly flat and mostly existed just to be plot vehicles or...weird scenes (seriously, what was the point of the tentacle monster interrogation? Trying to appeal to the Japanese market?) but otherwise it was a good watch.

[Warren Castille]

Was it just me or did the Vader helmet/neck look... really dumb and fake?

 

I'm also proud to have called the TPK from months ago. Really liked the movie, I loved the Force Warrior Guy (he kills a fucking TIE fighter with his bowstaffgunblaster!) and my one gripe is that I wish we got to like, know the cast a bit better. I don't know anyone's name but Bodhi because 1) that name rocks and 2) He gets called out a thousand times on Scariff.

 

Strongly thinking about seeing it again over the holiday.

[Kage]

I kept calling Bodhi Kodhi outside of the theater until I came home. Before that I only knew Jyn, CASSIEN? CASSIAN? CASSIAN CONFIRMED credits, and K2. Everyone else's names were after the movie actually ended.

 

I have two thoughts about Vader. A) It would have been so much more impactful if it was just his end sequence tearing up Rebels as the disc gets passed. B) BUT THE PUN

 

I enjoyed this more than A Force Awakens. I didn't hate A Force Awakens but OK. This, this I liked. A lot. And enjoyed. Willing to watch in theaters again. Especially if dolby cinema.

 

 

 

@Warren: yes. SO MUCH YES. I kept staring at the Vader helmet/neck going "was... was that how it always was??? Why does it look so off? and bad?"

[Blackwell]

I ascended during that final Vader scene.

 

All the nods to the other movies were great, and its really nice to have that one weakness in the death star explained finally!

 

I'm desperately hoping later one we get some extended versions where they give Saw a bit more attention, I was just really starting to get into that character right as they got rid of him lol. I'm really hoping they had to cut some of him out for the sake of time but I'm not holding my breath.

 

ALSO, Krennic???? The trailers made him seem mildly threatening and interesting as a villain, and then we get into it and he's just a surly sassbaby in a cape.

 

If all this nasty snow and ice business fricks off I might go see it again, definitely a good movie!

[Kage]

Saw Gerrera plays a big part in Clone Wars but I don't know if they plan to expand that in Cinematic form outside of animation. He just seemed so played up. I didn't expect his character to just... go quietly into the night lmfao.

[Warren Castille]

I might've missed it in the mix, but did they explain why Prince Caspian shoots that one rebel during the tankbuster scene?

[Valence]

I actually think that movie is the closest to the true, gripping starwars feel just after the original saga. And not just because of the same timeline. The first saga wasn't putting freaking lightsabers and Jedi everywhere. They came with an added impact at decisive moments. Luke isn't even a Jedi until the last one. It's about believable, everyday characters that are propelled to be heroes of the whole adventure. 

 

It's not about awesome characters showing how edgy they are. It's about more average joe characters that are vulnerable to every shot fired at them, that die one after another, and the message is less about action figures and more about teamwork and belief/fanatism to a cause. That and... I love how it's an anthology to the most epic succession of goofy and silly plans to save the day ever. The fact it works and is not over the top or looks silly is an accomplishment in itself, and it adds a subtle humorous touch, added to the lines of K-2 and a few others. Jyn and Cassian taking each other hands at the end in front of the apocalypse is the perfect example to me of a more subtle and elegant way to carry emotional care than a stupid basic kiss before would have, and an example of how many things were neatly treated in the screenplay.

 

Another accomplishment is even if I would have loved to see more character interaction and development, I feel that they are carried so well by the story that a lot of it doesn't even need to be said out loud. Gazes and stuff are often enough. And I bet considering that they have to cover huge story parts on 3 planets, I was amazed that the pace of the movie wasn't butchered or rushed to make all of it fit in the 2:15 hours it takes. So yeah, maybe not a lot of time for more character development... sadly.

 

I love the fact that everybody died. The end isn't without sending me flashbacks from Empire Strikes Back. It's not a happy end. You start to see it coming when the music suddenly changes for something less action intensive to something smoother and more sad. 

 

---

 

Now then, some stuff was either puzzling or bad I find.

 

- Yeah, Guerrera was weirdly done. The extremism suddenly turning into 'YOU HAVE TO HELP YOUR FRIENDS REBEL PANSIES' felt... artificial. And his tentacle monster was probably meant for something but I feel like they edited the final render to a point where it suddenly turned irrelevant and puzzling. 

 

- That kid in the middle of the ambush. I loved the idea that the ambush was made by Guerrera's men like a terrorist attack and civilians were right in the middle of it.. And then, Jyn is the first one to run to save her. That felt cheesy, the way it was done. Too cliché. The framing on the... 'oh! *gasp* a kid in the middle, crying!'

 

- A lot of unecessary, artificial cameos, like R2 and C-3PO. That felt out of place. 

 

It felt strongly like the heavy hand of Disney for all of that.

[Kage]

I figured R2 was going to be in there. It's A New Hope continuity.

 

To be fair about the character development criticisms I've read online, I didn't really get much character development from A New Hope. Or backstory. And I didn't think it was wholly necessary with Rogue One.

 

@Warren: I thought Cassian shot the Gerrara rebel because the dude had a grenade and Jyn was in the line of fire.

[Val]

ngl I totally went into it expecting it to be sub-par. I don't know why. I'll admit I'm not the biggest Star Wars fan. I enjoy the games and such, but I've never been 100% into the movies and world/lore or anything like that.

 

That being said, Rogue One is probably one of the best I've seen. I like that it was far more down to earth than the other series. Doing so seems to give more of an emotional impact. I didn't expect anything like that when I went into it, and I almost skipped it, but man I'm so glad I went.

 

@Warren I agree that the Vader neck/helm thing looked weird. I loved the character and all the scenes he was in, but I couldn't stop looking at it when I saw it.

[Kellach Woods]

@Warren: yes. SO MUCH YES. I kept staring at the Vader helmet/neck going "was... was that how it always was??? Why does it look so off? and bad?"

 

The neckpiece was straight up rubber and they didn't even try to hide that fact.

 

I only remembered the pilot's name was Bodhi because I played a lot of Payday 2.

 

I actually liked the movie - Vader's sequence at the end was pretty much what I wanted to see (slasher flick Vader is the best). The first third of the movie felt like Space Panoramas Set To Star Wars Music but after that it picks up, I actually like the person playing opposite Donnie Yen's character better, but really both were great and really, I woulda wished they led the movie instead of white bread #1 and white bread #2 but what are you gonna do.

[Kage]

 

I'm Blaze Malbus.

[Sophia_Grave]

Pretty good movie. Felt more gray and, dare I say it, mature (ugh). I really liked that the Rebels were finally portrayed in a slightly negative light. The series's movies have always downplayed the shitty things the good guys do, so that was nice to see. Maybe that's what happens when there's no Jedi around? The casting was pretty spot on, but the Saw buildup kind of just... deflated? What was up with that? They should have at least made him do something cool.

 

Other than that, no real complaints. K-2 was the perfect sort of comedy, great battle scenes. I'd love a sequel, but... well.:roll:

[Oroban]

I might've missed it in the mix, but did they explain why Prince Caspian shoots that one rebel during the tankbuster scene?

The rebel was about to throw a grenade at the tank, which Jyn was huddled up against at the moment. He chose to shoot him rather than have his ticket to Galen get blasted to bits.

 

...speaking of blasted to bits, did anyone else notice that essentially every major character died from an explosion? First Saw Gerrara got killed by the Death Star laser's blast in Jedha, then K2 got finished off by the explosion of the console he smashed (Yes, he was shot a lot before then, but still!), then Chirrut got killed by an exploding panel after flipping the master switch... Baze and Bodhi both got dropped by imperial grenades, and then Jyn, Cassian, and Krennic were all swatted by Death Star test two. (And you can even count General Merrick dying in the fiery crash of his X-wing, if you like.) I just thought that was kind of odd that no one died of...anything else. Guess blasters are just for grunts.

[Warren Castille]

I might've missed it in the mix, but did they explain why Prince Caspian shoots that one rebel during the tankbuster scene?

The rebel was about to throw a grenade at the tank, which Jyn was huddled up against at the moment. He chose to shoot him rather than have his ticket to Galen get blasted to bits.

 

...speaking of blasted to bits, did anyone else notice that essentially every major character died from an explosion? First Saw Gerrara got killed by the Death Star laser's blast in Jedha, then K2 got finished off by the explosion of the console he smashed (Yes, he was shot a lot before then, but still!), then Chirrut got killed by an exploding panel after flipping the master switch... Baze and Bodhi both got dropped by imperial grenades, and then Jyn, Cassian, and Krennic were all swatted by Death Star test two. (And you can even count General Merrick dying in the fiery crash of his X-wing, if you like.) I just thought that was kind of odd that no one died of...anything else. Guess blasters are just for grunts.

 

Space Dad also died from Alliance bombs. We did talk about that on the way out but I was way more distracted by Vader's neck.

[Kage]

They're all Stormtroopers still right? So obviously... none of the main characters could die from a stormtrooper who can't aim. :lol:

[Caspar]

Vader's pun was pretty awful.

That whole scene was unnecessary.

 

The character of Saw was also transparently an attempt to add moral ambiguity to the film, a redundancy. They couldn't put a torturer in the Alliance so they made him a Rebel apart from the Rebels. The part where they for some reason needed to take the message to him rather than just the Rebels proper was weird. It would have made more sense for them to intercept the transport pilot, kidnap him and interrogate him themselves.

 

I was a bit disappointed Donnie's character wasn't more important but I'm a fan, lol.

 

Other complaints were that the film moved very fast and really didn't give us a whole lot of time to get to know the characters. I don't remember most of their names. The inspiring speech scene was as I've come to expect from Star Wars dialogue. The cgi versions of young characters from the first film were technologically impressive but still pretty fake looking to me. I wasn't convinced Peter Cushing was there. It's not quite as bad as McDiarmid's head attached to a spry body with bluescreening in Episode 3's Sheevspin scene but still just didn't work for me and will only continue to be more conspicuous as the years go by.

 

Despite all of this Rogue One was overall a way better effort than TFA. While the characters didn't get enough time to really grow on you, they did as much as they could in one film and I liked all of them. The attempt to regain the sense that the Rebels could actually lose, as in Empire, was smart, but the film also managed to not be a total downer, meshing nicely with the "Rebellions are built on hope" theme. That's excellent because IMO Star Wars isn't cynical. The action sequences were greatly enhanced by the sense of "suicide attack" involved and you get the feeling that this is how the Rebellion has been doing things up until the Death Star. I would have liked a glimpse into Imperial disunity in the film as in a New Hope, with some officers saying the Death Star will waste time and resources, but in lieu of that we got Tarkin being Tarkin and he's as nasty as I remember, even if he looks fake.