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First time seeing this since my only viewing in the theatre. It went marginally better than the last time. I understand why many like this film but it doesn't quite do it for me. This has nothing to do with me wanting 'formula' from Star Wars, but more to do with these characters just not working for me. The film is a bit emotional in places too which reminds me a bit of certain uncomfortable scenes in the prequels (never a good thing). The rebels also seem like they have been selected to meet some sort of diversity quotient and appeal to foreign viewing markets rather than because the actors playing them necessarily gel as a unit (I realize we'll have to expect more of this going forward from Disney, as evidenced from SW8-TLJ).
I know many like the battle on Scarif, but for me it goes on a bit long, although there's no doubt about it being thrilling in places, most notably when two Star Destroyers collide. Furthermore, some of the special effects during this battle appear a bit shoddy to say the least (particularly during the aerial beach explosions). I didn't find them to be in the same league as in SW7 or 8. Most annoying of all are the CGI Tarkin and Leia, which took me right out of the film in the theatre and did so again tonight (the same happened with BR2049 for similar reasons). On the plus side, Vader's fan service appearance was great to see, Krennic was particularly decent (much better than Hux) and Saw Gerrerra was interesting (I wish there was more of him). The film has a gritty war torn aesthetic which is fresh, while still inhabiting the familiar universe. Michael Giacchino's score may lack the soaring melodic cues of Williams' most famous work, but by way of compensation offers up a suspenseful orchestral sound which is different but appropriate for the film's tone.
All in all it's a decent film, but just not one which stays with me in any way. It's certainly possible it's because the film is lacking familiar characters (except CGI and masked ones) and it could also be because I'm not that keen on war films without clean happy, endings in general, and that's what this reminds me the most of.
As a kid in my teens in the 70's unhappy endings in movies was actually the norm... I think that may be why I can like RO so much, because it sure as Hell ISN'T a feel-good family film for MOST.
re your last comment, war is not clean and war is not happy. I think the ending is fine and remember, they had to kill off the main characters to offer an explanation as to why they did not appear in the next movie. It was basically a suicide mission.
Right on. I can understand people not taking to these characters as much as the others in the franchise, but I knew it was never going to be a character strong film when I was going in to it. It had the disadvantage of trying to do in one film what the prequels had to do in three - take us from an unknown place to a specific point in time that we recognise. And for me, it did it very well. The characters are very loosely sketched, absolutely, but thanks to the very strong cast they come to life pretty well and do exactly what they're needed to.
One of the things that people often overlook about Rogue One is one of the most important things for me - Krennic is by far the most interesting character and easily one of the most memorable Imperials after Tarkin and Vader. His relationship with his creation is the thing that ties the whole film together for me and makes the Death Star sequences in the next film hold even more depth when you see them.
I also disagree about the effects - I can't remember seeing anything that wasn't seamless.
The only weaklink in Rogue One for me is Saw Gerrera. I'm not really sure what exactly they were doing with him at all.
@CraigMooreOHMSS. yes I agree on Krennic. He is an interesting character and far more compelling than Hux. Regarding the effects, I definitely noticed it in the theatre and it was far more apparent to me on the small screen. All the mid air explosions and fighters during the beach sequence appear a bit unreal. I actually wondered if this was deliberate in order to more properly force fit the film into the timeline it belongs to.
I don't get the character of Saw either. He was seen in THE CLONE WARS television series, but that's pretty much it. He wasn't well explained in the prequel novel either. Makes little sense to me.
Krennic, however, is indeed a great character, charismatic and overall interesting. Unlike Hux, whom they have been labouring hard to make fascinating in several of the new canon novels but that, if you take my word for it, has never yet worked. There's just nothing appealing about Hux.
The characters are as interesting and developed as you can squeeze in, the action is great, the plot just works and adds to the original, the pacing is very good, the tone is good, the look matches perfectly with the original , the humour mainly offered by the droid (a great character) is good and by the end, personally, I'm completely absorbed (as are my kids)
Many fans hated the idea of a squeezed in prequal but have been completly converted.
PS the first scene with Krennic is as tense, well acted and shot as any scene in the whole series IMHO and does a superb job of setting the context and motivations of three of the main characters within around 3 mins. It's also a reminder that, at the heart of Star Wars, is character (rather than the science bit). This scene would be equally compelling within the context of a Western or a WW2 movie.
@DarthDimi agreed about Saw. I get the sense that they were trying to show a darker side to the rebels that really dove into the terrorism aspect. But the performance is so damn bizarre. It almost feels like they weren't happy with Forrest's performance and tried to cut out as much of it as possible.
2. ROTJ
3. TFA
4. RO
5. TLJ / ROTS
6. AOTC
7. TPM
The list is everchanging, and might be a bit different after I see TLJ a couple of times more.
Red is the new black
1. "The Empire Strikes Back"/"Attack of the Clones" (tie)
2. "Revenge of the Sith"
3. "Rogue One"
4. "The Phantom Menace"
5. "A New Hope"
6. "Return of the Jedi"
7. "The Force Awakens"
8. "The Last Jedi"
After the prequels, it was pointed out that that would be Darth Vader, as he is the one featured in all six films. It is all about his fall and redemption, similar to many myths and parables about mankind itself.
With these new films out, the only ones who have appeared in all of them, at least so far, are the droids. Turns out they are the main characters!
By the way, why are they called droids? That is short for android, which means humanlike. I get it with C-3PO of course, but R2-D2? Also funny that they use the Latin alphabet and Arabic numerals . How to explain that?
Has this been posted somewhere here? An interesting meditation on Darth Vader´s suit being a tool for the Emperor to control Vader:
In ep IX, I want to see Sith monkeys.
http://collider.com/star-wars-9-score-john-williams/
Good to try something new