Star Wars (1977 - present)

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  • jake24jake24 Sitting at your desk, kissing your lover, eating supper with your familyModerator
    Posts: 10,591
    Just saw it. Absolutely epic.
  • edited December 2016 Posts: 6,432


    Spoilers! Rogue One Easter eggs, potential spoilers for Rebels also.
  • edited December 2016 Posts: 6,432
    Vader scene is on YouTube, posted it here then had second thoughts don't want to temp anyone who has not seen the film. That scene is off the chart!
  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    Posts: 24,173
    Going to see Rogue One a third time.
    My local theatre has a real size snowspeeder in the hallway, so I have two reasons for going. :)
  • Posts: 4,615
    Just leaving now, after 40 years of going to see movies, isn't it great that you can still be excited by a new release?
  • CraigMooreOHMSSCraigMooreOHMSS Dublin, Ireland
    Posts: 8,216
    I've gone to see every Star Wars film with my Dad since '99. ANH is one of his favourite films (he was 12 when it came out) and that transferred to me. He has gone to see all of the most recent films despite each previous one (starting with The Phantom Menace) being huge disappointments.

    He didn't like The Force Awakens.

    Rogue One was the first time in nearly 30 years that a Star Wars film made my family's old-timer happy.
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    There are both brief and long apperances of old familiar places and faces. One of those scenes was a pleasant surprise for me. I am glad I didn t know everything beforehand.
  • Posts: 4,615
    So good, so engrossed, so excited that I forget to open my packet of wine gums. I can't think of higher praise,
    do we need a seperate thread with spoiler alert so we can discuss in more depth?
  • Agent007391Agent007391 Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, Start
    Posts: 7,854
    I think spoiler tags will suffice.
    Goddamn, Rogue One was an amazing movie. The opening has a few too many jumps to establish characters, but once that's out of the way, it moves at the best pace possible for such an epic. The characters are relatively likable, even though Bohdi Rook doesn't actually do jackshit until the third act. Director Krennic wasn't exactly the best of Imperial villains, but thank God we had a resurrected Governor Tarkin to pick up the slack. I will say, however, that Krennic is significantly more interesting if you've read Star Wars Catalyst prior to seeing the movie, and I finished it just a few hours before seeing the movie, so it was all fresh in my mind.

    The returning characters were appreciated, even the minor ones like Ponda Baba and Dr. Evazan (from A New Hope's cantina scene) and Chopper (from Star Wars Rebels). Many of them were surprising, such as Leia, Red Leader and Gold Leader, but all of them were appreciated.

    Saw Gerrera's relative lack of screentime was disappointing, but that's more because I enjoyed the character in Star Wars The Clone Wars than his overall service to the story. Given he was only there to push the story forward, his limited screentime worked, and Forest Whitaker did a decent job with the role.

    The CGI recreations of characters like Tarkin, Leia, Red Leader and Gold Leader wasn't as off-putting as I was led to believe. The only times I felt any sort of uncanny valley with Tarkin was when his reflections were in shot, because it was relatively obvious that they weren't spending as much time on the reflections as they were his foreground likeness.

    The third act battle sequence has eclipsed the opening battle of Revenge of the Sith as my favorite battle in the series. Considering how many of their forces the Rebels lost at Scarif, it makes a great deal of sense why their force attacking the Death Star in A New Hope was so small. But the whole thing, the ground assault, the space incursion, all of it was just one moment of excitement after another. Episode VIII will have one hell of a challenge topping that third act, and I won't hold it against them if they can't.

    The soundtrack wasn't up to par, in my opinion, compared to other non-Williams scores such as Shadows of the Empire, The Clone Wars and Rebels. There were good moments, but overall, this has had the most forgettable soundtrack in all of Star Wars.

    And last but most certainly not least, Darth Vader. I wasn't too keen on his "don't choke on your ambitions" pun. Maybe if this were early Vader, and his tendencies as Anakin Skywalker simply hadn't been completely erased, I could accept it easier, but it was probably the only thing I had a problem with in the whole movie. The rest of his screentime was more than excellent, especially the moment he boards the Rebel frigate at the end. As soon as his lightsaber activates, if those Rebels weren't pissing their pants, I'd have been amazed. Never has Vader been this terrifying or effective, even in The Empire Strikes Back.

    Of every movie that came out this year, Rogue One was most certainly the best, and I'm not just saying that because I'm a Star Wars fan for life, I'm saying that because the movie was excellently crafted, exquisitely acted and just plain amazing. Disney and Lucasfilm made a great choice having this as their first Star Wars standalone. I don't care if it's great, the Han Solo film won't be able to live up to this.
  • Great to see so many loving this film, this piece of music was awesome during...
    The hallway scene
  • Seven_Point_Six_FiveSeven_Point_Six_Five Southern California
    Posts: 1,257
    Just got back from seeing it a second time. Still had a blast, still love it. I want it on Blu Ray now.
  • Mendes4LyfeMendes4Lyfe The long road ahead
    edited December 2016 Posts: 8,395
    I'm more worried about the implications as far as stifling innovation. Also, film is less of a collaborative process once there is no actually actor giving a performance. Think about how many classic moments from your favorite films are pure improvisation on the part of the actor.

    I hope Bond doesn't adopt this technology anytime soon. I certainly wouldn't have any interest in seeing a Bond film with CGI young Sean Connery in it.
  • CraigMooreOHMSSCraigMooreOHMSS Dublin, Ireland
    Posts: 8,216
    Great to see so many loving this film, this piece of music was awesome during...
    The hallway scene

    Great sequence. Pure dark lord power.
  • pachazopachazo Make Your Choice
    edited December 2016 Posts: 7,314
    Overall, I liked it. It was a beautiful looking film with some excellent action scenes. Felicity Jones gave a great performance. Really, all of the actors did a fine job. As others have mentioned, perhaps there were too many characters, and as a result we barely got to know some of them. It's not a masterpiece, but it's definitely worth your time.

    Major spoilers below. Please do not click if you haven't seen the movie.
    Mads Mikkelsen is such a great actor that I wish we could have spent more time with him. Instead of adding some of these other extraneous characters, like the pilot, I would have preferred to have gotten to know Galen better and further explored his past/present relationship with Krennic.

    Forest Whitaker and Donnie Yen were both great but their characters could have been combined into one. It should have been the same person that found Jyn, raised her and then joined her for the final battle.

    I was in complete shock at CGI Tarkin. I couldn't believe they did that. And then I wished they hadn't. I mean, maybe for one small scene or something, but it did start to become distracting. I would have much preferred they'd gone the Mon Mothma route and just recast the role. Or better yet, not have him there at all. Perhaps he could have taken over after Krennic died?

    I know I'm going to be in the minority here, but I found Darth Vader to be the worst part of the film. The story wouldn't have missed a beat without him. James Earl Jones sounds like he's 100 years old, which is no fault of his own, but I'm sorry, it was incredibly jarring. And everyone's favorite scene? I really disliked it. It was nothing but complete fan service. I just think it was out of character - especially for A New Hope Vader - to just go and attack Rebel soldiers on his own, without any stormtroopers clearing the way for him or to provide back up.

    Speaking of fan service, did we need a CGI Princess Leia? I hope this isn't setting a precedent. Also, it was odd to see that guy and his alien friend from the cantina scene in A New Hope.

    The music was alright. It sounded like it fit in with the rest of the franchise, but nothing was particularly memorable. It would have been nice for Giacchino to have taken more chances.

    I'll end on a positive note. The final battle was very well done. There were moments of great tension and some touching displays of heroism. I was happy that Jyn and Cassian didn't kiss. I thought for sure they would and was impressed with the restraint shown. I half expected one of the main cast to survive. I guess we all knew how it was going to end though.
  • Posts: 4,615
    sorry, how do I hide spoilers?
  • MurdockMurdock The minus world
    Posts: 16,351
    Click the question mark symbol and put your spoilers within it.
  • Posts: 4,615
    Some thoughts
    Star Wars had many references to WW2 and RS clearly added to this. A friend described it as "the Dirty Dozen in space" and I know what he is getting at. So, if you get these references and like WW2 movies, then it adds enjoyment. Linked to that, the Empire clearly represent the Nazis and the elite within that, the SS. The first few scenes reminded me of Inglorious Bastards and the character arc is the same as the grown up girls gets her revenge. To make an emotional impact and have the audience buy into the brand new character, they must have something very dramatic early on so we can form an emotional connection etc, to assist this, you need top actors to pull it off so that explains why they used Mads on a character that had short screen time but was crucial to the stoyline.
    I loved the freedom the writers had re a one off project, so, as with the Mag Seven, I was trying to work out who from the team would die and who would survive to fight another day. This adds a new level of tesion that is lacking when you know the main characters have to survive.
    The whole feeling was of darkness, grunge, dirt and rain and I loved that. A couple of the scenes reminded me of Bladerunner,
    I do think Darth V was squeezed in, re the main plot, he had no role and the main team had no contact with him and made no reference to him. It is a complement to the movie that the strength of the new characters meant that we did not need Darth V in order to add additional drama.
    More to say later but I'll leave it at that
  • RC7RC7
    Posts: 10,512
    patb wrote: »
    Some thoughts
    Star Wars had many references to WW2 and RS clearly added to this. A friend described it as "the Dirty Dozen in space" and I know what he is getting at. So, if you get these references and like WW2 movies, then it adds enjoyment. Linked to that, the Empire clearly represent the Nazis and the elite within that, the SS. The first few scenes reminded me of Inglorious Bastards and the character arc is the same as the grown up girls gets her revenge. To make an emotional impact and have the audience buy into the brand new character, they must have something very dramatic early on so we can form an emotional connection etc, to assist this, you need top actors to pull it off so that explains why they used Mads on a character that had short screen time but was crucial to the stoyline.
    I loved the freedom the writers had re a one off project, so, as with the Mag Seven, I was trying to work out who from the team would die and who would survive to fight another day. This adds a new level of tesion that is lacking when you know the main characters have to survive.
    The whole feeling was of darkness, grunge, dirt and rain and I loved that. A couple of the scenes reminded me of Bladerunner,
    I do think Darth V was squeezed in, re the main plot, he had no role and the main team had no contact with him and made no reference to him. It is a complement to the movie that the strength of the new characters meant that we did not need Darth V in order to add additional drama.
    More to say later but I'll leave it at that
    I disagree with you re. Vader, to an extent. I had always hoped/assumed he would be a minor presence, but he basically stole the show. That to me was a tad disappointing and sort of gives credence to the idea the new cast weren't quite engaging enough to deliver those stand out moments.
  • Posts: 4,615
    Darth V brings so much baggage as a character that there is no way new characters that we first met 80 mins ago can compete, so it is tricky. If he had not appeared, it would still have been a great film IMHO and given more space to explore the back story of some of the new team. Once the decision was made to but RS directly against Star Wars, then they had to give Darth V a role. This issue will continue: trying to get the balance of having fresh, new , creative material and, at the same time, keeping the fans happy with references to the original 3 movies that fans almost worship.
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    edited December 2016 Posts: 45,489
    As is often the case nowadayz, some people fool themselves. Everyone seems to think
    Princess Leia
    is cgi, but that isn t so.
  • Agent007391Agent007391 Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, Start
    Posts: 7,854
    As is often the case nowadayz, some people fool themselves. Everyone seems to think
    Princess Leia
    is cgi, but that isn t so.
    Her face is. Her body was an actress whose name has been mentioned in another spoiler, but I can't remember.

    Same with Tarkin, his face was a CGI recreation of Peter Cushing, but his body was actor Guy Henry, and apparently his voice was Stephen Stanton who voices Tarkin in The Clone Wars and Rebels, but he sounded very different to me.
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    So, cgi enhancement of natural features then? I didn t know. Thanks.
  • Agent007391Agent007391 Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, Start
    Posts: 7,854
    pachazo wrote: »
    Mads Mikkelsen is such a great actor that I wish we could have spent more time with him. Instead of adding some of these other extraneous characters, like the pilot, I would have preferred to have gotten to know Galen better and further explored his past/present relationship with Krennic.
    Read Star Wars: Catalyst. It's exactly what you're looking for there. I finished it mere hours before seeing the movie and was very glad because of it.
  • edited December 2016 Posts: 4,615
    Was there a nod to Carl Sagan or am I looking for too much? This was one of his most famous quotes http://www.azquotes.com/quote/849755
  • Posts: 2,107
    My favorite cameo was
    the balls chin and pig face duo from A New Hope's cantina. Those I wasn't expecting.
  • pachazopachazo Make Your Choice
    Posts: 7,314
    @Agent007391, thanks for the suggestion. I'll check it out.
  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    Posts: 24,173
    @patb, I thought about that too! Seriously, I'm in the theatre, I hear the line, I turn to my girlfriend and I can see her inquisitive face so I whisper, "Carl Sagan, I'll explain later." Could be a nod, could also be pure coincidence of course. :)
  • Posts: 4,615
    I have searched online and, if it is a nod, we seem to be the first to spot it!!
  • bondjamesbondjames You were expecting someone else?
    edited December 2016 Posts: 23,883
    I don't know about everyone else but
    I wasn't all that impressed with the Leia CGI. Tarkin looked ok at the start, but the more they showed him (it?), the more I was taken out of it. The Leia thing reminded me of the Terminator Genisys Arnie. I realize why they did it, but I would have perhaps preferred if they had found another way. I don't think this will date well with time (unless they continue to update 'it' as technology improves).
  • CraigMooreOHMSSCraigMooreOHMSS Dublin, Ireland
    Posts: 8,216
    Vader's was absolutely neccessary to tie the film to A New Hope. They used him very well. I did feel bad for Mendelsohn though - he was very good in the role he was given but in a lot of his big scenes he was sharing the screen with a fan-favourite character which naturally overshadowed him.
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