Star Wars Rogue One

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ShadowCell
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Star Wars Rogue One

a brief, spoiler-free review:

eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
Zeonista
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Re: Star Wars Rogue One

Like Shadowcell said. :lol:

It was a great movie for oh so many reasons. I will confine myself to three non-spoiler ones.

1. It is an excellent made film. All the reshoots were justified; no scene is wasted, everything looks great, and it could flawlessly flow into A New Hope. And actually does so, in places. The gritty, worn feel is back with a vengeance too.
2. This is a story about the Average Joes of the Rebellion. It is about the spies, the commandos, the ship crews, the saboteurs, all the people who maybe get 1 line in the other movies. It is about the shiny-eyed idealists, the burned-out operators, the brave at heart and the brave at need, who trust in the Force although they cannot bend it to their will. The word "hope" gets used at key scenes, and really strikes a chord.
3. This is also the story about the Empire's zillion-credit boondoggle. The terror weapon to end all rebellions. We get to look inside the decision making process, the petty and not so petty intrigues, the casual use of WMD, and the inevitable futility of trying to keep a secret so big. Symbolism! :D And Darth Vader did a power cameo that reminds us (after the softening treacle of the prequels) just why people on both sides grabbed their brown pants when he made an appearance.
Last edited by Zeonista on Tue Dec 20, 2016 10:50 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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tHeWasTeDYouTh
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Re: Star Wars Rogue One

I watched the Redlettermedia review and I have not seen the movie, please let everything they said be wrong!!!!
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Re: Star Wars Rogue One

tHeWasTeDYouTh wrote:I watched the Redlettermedia review and I have not seen the movie, please let everything they said be wrong!!!!
If the Red Letter guys were Gundam fans, they would be all "everything since CCA is crap"!! :D
Seriously, they have painted themselves into a corner on non-Original SW stories, and it is hard for them to be gracious, or indulge their inner fanboy. Go see the movie, it is an excellent film and proof that the name "Skywalker" doesn't have to be used once in order to have a great SW movie.
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Amion
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Re: Star Wars Rogue One

(Went and saw it on opening night)

Bravo, Zeonista. You hit the mark! It was beautiful, stunning, and some of those ominous horizon vistas struck enough cords to play the original soundtrack in my heart without having any need for the movie's own ST.

There were a couple points for griping, but those are arguably something to ignore. and yes, Darth Vader's power cameo. I'm still in chills over it.

I had low expectations for the movie after reading a couple of special reviews from people who claimed to have seen it before the airing... and I must heartily disagree with them. Rogue One is easily my second favorite Star Wars film, and it deserves a place as a proper prequel to A New Hope.

P.S... I am now apparently Linn Minmay or Lacus Clyne....
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ShadowCell
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Re: Star Wars Rogue One

also,
Spoiler
Darth Vader tells a dad joke and it is so stupid and lame it loops around into completely awesome
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SNT1
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Re: Star Wars Rogue One

It's a good SW movie and a good movie overall.
Spoiler
That doesn't mean I like the fact that everybody dies, even if I saw it coming. I was attached to K2SO and Ip Man (Speaking of which, I saw predictions before the release that most of them will live, and retire happily ever after on Alderaan :lol: )

-Jyn a little bit Mary-Sueish.

-The music was only serviceable, not great.

+The Darth Vader dad joke was awesome, I don't care what the haters say

+I'm probably numb because I'm used to characters like Daredevil (Netflix), Captain America and John Wick mow down a bunch of mooks, but I wasn't as impressed as other guys being so euphoric about Vader's second scene, but still, very very delighted that it happened. I was cackling like a madman the entire scene, with thoughts of "GET REKT SCRUBS" all throughout.

+I feel like Krennick got pushed around a bit, but it kinda cements Tarkin as THE big bad here and IV:ANH.

+Speaking of which, his CGI was noticeable but I'm probably overanalyzing because I knew for a fact that it was so. Leia, OTOH, seemed flawless in the 3 seconds we see her face.

+Great star wars. I mean, the actual space battles, the X-Wing vs TIE's, and WInter Soldiering the Star Destroyer.

+The Death Star was horrifying, to say the least, and I thought the movie did a fantastic job of portraying (the fraction of) its true power.

-I preferred Family Guy's interpretation of the weak spot. I kid
I'll give it a 7.5 to 8 out of 10.
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Re: Star Wars Rogue One

ShadowCell wrote:also,
Spoiler
Darth Vader tells a dad joke and it is so stupid and lame it loops around into completely awesome
Spoiler
The dad joke was mighty and hilarious...and totally unappreciated by the recipient, to make it a 100% win.
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There are definitely some anime fans working on SW these days.
Spoiler
1. The test-firing that takes out Jeddah. Mecha anime fans who have seen super-duper beam weapons in action will have a nerdgasm.
2. "Stardust", one of the great death flags. Heard that and was saying "They are all gonna die for real!"
3. Tentacles :shock:
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Amion
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Re: Star Wars Rogue One

Zeonista wrote:Tentacles :shock:
Hmm... I would say that's more due to Star Wars Expanded Universe fandom. Namely the Yammosk, that literally does the exact same thing... I felt rather displeased by that, for perhaps petty reasons.

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Areku
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Re: Star Wars Rogue One

SNT1 wrote:
Spoiler
+I'm probably numb because I'm used to characters like Daredevil (Netflix), Captain America and John Wick mow down a bunch of mooks, but I wasn't as impressed as other guys being so euphoric about Vader's second scene, but still, very very delighted that it happened. I was cackling like a madman the entire scene, with thoughts of "GET REKT SCRUBS" all throughout.
Spoiler
I feel like that sequence worked so well not just because of Vader himself and the destruction he unleashes, but because of the setup that went into it.

Even before Vader appears, you have a bunch of scared redshirts trapped in a damaged section of an exploding spaceship and no one even notices them in their own flight; an inherently terrifying scenario that you can sympathize with despite not knowing any of the characters (it also helps that the movie does just enough to elicit subconscious reconstructions of comparable scenes from Titanic and various war movies). Adding to that, the Death Star plans are also trapped there, and those have to get out, so your mind races to figure out the ways in which that might happen; it's no exaggeration to say that all of the movie's stakes, emotional tension and all of the sacrifices up to that point hinge on this scene's outcome.

That's all set up in about 15 seconds, and it gives the pending whoop-ass significantly more context, more imminent and concrete stakes (intuitive, galaxy-shattering binary outcomes) than the scenes you're comparing it to, further helped by the nearly-first-person perspectives used in most of the shots that make you feel like you're in the scene rather than watching it.

Then you add Vader, complete with the methodical-yet-brief introduction of his respirator and the menacing red glow of his lightsaber, his motions an efficient blend of his overwhelming power and intimidation from the Trilogy and the flashier movements and integrated Force actions from the Prequels; less a character than a force of nature.

Even if the action and choreography aren't the best, the full product was really something to behold. Additionally, it compresses most of the movie's themes and running messages (hope vs fear, the "If something goes wrong we'll just struggle through it until it works" mentality, etc) into something just over a minute long, half of which is one of the world's most iconic villains curb-stomping his way through a cramped and terrifying environment, coming within a few inches of obliterating the Trilogy in the process!

The movie as a whole was very flawed, but I certainly thought that scene was phenomenal, and it wasn't just because of Darth Vader and the action/destruction he unleashed.
ShadowCell wrote:also,
Spoiler
Darth Vader tells a dad joke and it is so stupid and lame it loops around into completely awesome
Spoiler
Great, now I'm imagining Darth Vader practicing dad jokes when he's interrupted with his helmet off in Empire Strikes Back. Thanks for that :?
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Re: Star Wars Rogue One

Spoiler
Amion wrote:
Zeonista wrote:Tentacles :shock:
Hmm... I would say that's more due to Star Wars Expanded Universe fandom. Namely the Yammosk, that literally does the exact same thing... I felt rather displeased by that, for perhaps petty reasons.
Uh, did you miss the dozen or so that came out of the Sarlacc pit in episode VI? Before the special edition even? I'd say those count even if they did act kinda like tongues instead of traditional creepy tentacles.

Just got back from seeing it myself, so I'm catching up here and elsewhere.
Zeonista wrote:2. This is a story about the Average Joes of the Rebellion. It is about the spies, the commandos, the ship crews, the saboteurs, all the people who maybe get 1 line in the other movies. It is about the shiny-eyed idealists, the burned-out operators, the brave at heart and the brave at need, who trust in the Force although they cannot bend it to their will. The word "hope" gets used at key scenes, and really strikes a chord.
3. This is also the story about the Empire's zillion-credit boondoggle. The terror weapon to end all rebellions. We get to look inside the decision making process, the petty and not so petty intrigues, the casual use of WMD, and the inevitable futility of trying to keep a secret so big. Symbolism! :D And Darth Vader did a power cameo that reminds us (after the softening treacle of the prequels) just why people on both sides grabbed their brown pants when he made an appearance.
I heard it compared to MSG and The 08th MS Team in regard to point #2 there. It's an apt metaphor as this is the side story to the main Skywalker/Amuro tale of years past.

The Empire seems actually quite able to keep things like that a secret given the insane scale of building such a thing and how they went through superweapons in the expanded universe. World Devastators, Galaxy Guns, and my personal favorite, the Eclipse class Star Destroyer. It's like everyone was stuck trying to one-up the original or something.
In short, you'd think that someone would have heard about this long ago. Heck, maybe they did, but couldn't really put all the pieces together as one to come to the conclusion of what was ultimately being built.

As for Vader, I was kinda annoyed that you could almost see his eyes though the costume, but the rest was spot on to the black clad badass that none in the west could rival as a sci-fi villain. His stomp through the corridor reminded me of waltzing through the first level in The Force Unleashed 1 with impunity and nothing could stop you.
SNT1 wrote: +I feel like Krennick got pushed around a bit, but it kinda cements Tarkin as THE big bad here and IV:ANH.
Agreed. You really saw how he became the smug douchebag he was in ANH and stayed until the moment of his end.

It is a pity that they went the Tomino route on the main Rebel cast here. They all didn't NEED to die, but I can see why it was done even if it was not required to be so.

Speaking of the Rebel cast, I loved the cameos be Gold Leader, Red Leader, and the rather unfortunate Red 5. Sorry bub, but the hero of the tale needs a flight spot, and your number came up on the dice.
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Vent Noir
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Re: Star Wars Rogue One

Saw it last night, in Imax. That ending...
Spoiler
Are we sure Kill-Em-All Tomino didn't ghost-write it?
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Re: Star Wars Rogue One

Vent Noir wrote:Saw it last night, in Imax. That ending...
Spoiler
Are we sure Kill-Em-All Tomino didn't ghost-write it?
The Bald Wizard's arm has grown long if he can affect the script in Disney's halls. *Was just reading Lord of the Rings*
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Re: Star Wars Rogue One

tHeWasTeDYouTh wrote:I watched the Redlettermedia review and I have not seen the movie, please let everything they said be wrong!!!!
While I think better of the film than they did, they are right for the most part. People have a better opinion of the movie simply because of the Star Wars name, if it were called something else, something relatively unknown, it would have been torn to shreds.

To explain:
Spoiler
1. Poor character development and explained motives
What really do we know about Jyn. Her father was kidnapped and her mother killed by the empire. That's it. I really know nothing about her beyond that. Same goes for the male main character, Cassian Andor, whose name I couldn't remember half way through the film. Both of them came off bland and kind of boring. Jyn herself was really confusing. She hated the Empire for kidnapping her father but after the Rebels killed him, she forgave them immediately, and even sat in one their strategy meetings. How did we go from two so different places in a matter of minutes. That speech she gave was also really corny for a 'serious' war film. We know almost nothing about Andor other than he has been fighting since he was six. He could have sniped Jyn's father, which he was ordered to, but didn't, for reasons never explained. Note that he killed the nobody earlier in the film, but not the guy whose existence put his in jeopardy. He and Jyn have a forced moment near the end, which was silly since they did nothing to establish this throughout the entire film.

The supporting cast isn't much better. That cargo pilot who defected betrayed the Empire for reasons unknown. Why we couldn't we have gotten an explanation for this? Saw Gerrera also came off as silly. He was billed as an extremist, yet we never saw him do anything extreme. When the Death Star fired near his base, instead of leaving with everyone else, he stays behind and says he isn't running away anymore. However, this made no sense. By choosing to die in that blast for no good reason, he actually was running away.

2. Over reliance on fanservice
They did this a lot in Force Awakens and did it even more in Rogue One. They flashed a ton of references and call backs into this movie, so much so you have to wonder if it is to distract the audience from its failings. I don't mind some fanservice, but I believe it is much better to do so when it has relevance to the plot. Instead they shove a whole bunch of stuff from the past just for the hell of it. I guess we can't have a Star Wars movie without seeing R2D2 and name dropping Obi Won.

3. CGI Tarkin
It didn't look good at all and was really jarring. Why couldn't they have used Vader more instead of using him? If they had to use Tarkin, who not just recast him like they will do with Han Solo when his spin off comes out? And like they did with Mon Mothma in this very film? And if they had to use CG, while not use it sparingly, like with his back turned or over a holocron or something.

4. Bad plotting
- A tentacle monster was introduced that was supposed to destroy the pilot's mind, but at most only made him dazed for a few minutes

- The blind warrior kicked major ass when he was introduced by using sound to detect his opponents. He proceeded to never do that again

- The Rebels, who were too scared to fight against the Empire, completely changed their minds once Jyn and friends do so. Because there certainly was no threat now, right. It's not like the Death Star wasn't still around, or the threat of it being used. And did they even consult with everyone? Clearly there were those who wanted to go with the plan, so why just shut it down unilaterally. They even discussed putting an end to the Alliance because they were afraid of the Empire? They were already killing people all over the galaxy, so what were they afraid of?
I'll admit that the last fifty minutes was pretty cool, but that alone cannot save the entire film.

Oh, and Happy New Year.
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Re: Star Wars Rogue One

Saw it last weekend, wasn't terribly impressed. The female leads in the force awakens and rogue one look and sound so similar it doesn't surprise me at all that the ending was rewritten to dispel rumors of some sort of relationship or kinship between the two. :roll:
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Re: Star Wars Rogue One

Toxicity wrote:Saw it last weekend, wasn't terribly impressed. The female leads in the force awakens and rogue one look and sound so similar it doesn't surprise me at all that the ending was rewritten to dispel rumors of some sort of relationship or kinship between the two. :roll:
Jyn is clearly Rey's half-aunt. 15 years is a long time for Galin to have been abstinent.
Spoiler
I hope I just made that up. Who am I kidding, someone out there probably swears by this...
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Re: Star Wars Rogue One

It had some neat set-pieces, action scenes, and special effects. Otherwise, the characters were too bland and numerous, the story wasn't very focused and seemed like a series of excuses to for the next thing to happen or to cram-in Star Wars™ fan-service.

A supercut of all the 'splosions and AT-STs and Star Destroyers and X-wings and TIE Fighters and Darth Vader and Death Star and 'splosions and lightsabers would make it the best Star Wars fan-film ever made.
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Re: Star Wars Rogue One

Hazardous Waestrel wrote: Wed Apr 05, 2017 2:40 pm It had some neat set-pieces, action scenes, and special effects. Otherwise, the characters were too bland and numerous, the story wasn't very focused and seemed like a series of excuses to for the next thing to happen or to cram-in Star Wars™ fan-service.

A supercut of all the 'splosions and AT-STs and Star Destroyers and X-wings and TIE Fighters and Darth Vader and Death Star and 'splosions and lightsabers would make it the best Star Wars fan-film ever made.
Out of all the star wars movies what number would you rank rogue one?
Last edited by Jangon on Mon Oct 25, 2021 5:26 pm, edited 3 times in total.
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Mu La Flaga
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Re: Star Wars Rogue One

I'll put this out there some people may like it and some will disagree.
But I liked Rogue One ALOT more then Force Awakens overall.
For a sidestory movie it was a strong movie it had LOTs of things I liked, good fire fights, vehicles and the space ships.
Hell it even had Darth Vader and Leia in it.

The only thing which I felt could've been better is IF John Williams worked his musical magic on the score somehow though.
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Re: Star Wars Rogue One

Mu La Flaga wrote: Tue Sep 26, 2017 7:17 am I'll put this out there some people may like it and some will disagree.
But I liked Rogue One ALOT more then Force Awakens overall.
For a sidestory movie it was a strong movie it had LOTs of things I liked, good fire fights, vehicles and the space ships.
Hell it even had Darth Vader and Leia in it.

The only thing which I felt could've been better is IF John Williams worked his musical magic on the score somehow though.
No Im with you on this one, the only hope is the other spinoffs are as good or better... Only wish the news coming out of the han movie were better.
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