Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
Rogue One...
... is a good movie in its own right.
... feels like Star Wars even without serious Jedi presence.
... is a good example of how to expand the universe and fill in gaps without feeling overly cheesy and pandering, which is something the prequels didn't manage.
... does not feel overly stilted and scripted like the prequels did.
... is a darker story overall, feeling closer to Episode V than VI, for example.
... feels like it could have been a campaign, especially in the West End Games era of the Star Wars RPG.
I very much enjoyed the movie. I didn't enjoy everything about it, but the whole felt good. There are genuine emotional moments that feel earned. Character arcs feel a little rushed, but work.
I knew I was going to see it, so I didn't follow the rumor mill very closely. In the end, I got a Star Wars movie that I didn't fully realize I wanted. It sets things up for A New Hope pretty perfectly by telling its own solid story.
There are several details that bug me, but I sort of accept as par for the course in a Star Wars movie. Short cuts are one of those things. In general, I prefer a story to be told in longer chunks rather than bouncing back and forth - and the beginning of the movie started to bug me right away with bouncing back and forth a few times before settling more or less on Jyn. I understand the drive to introduce characters, but that put me off a little.
Also, the technological asthetic (and stagnation) of the universe is a minor pet peeve. In this instance, I sort of liked that the AT-ACTs went down a bit easier than the AT-ATs (hey, they refined a design!). S-Foils, though... ugh. Those always bugged me as functionally over-complicated for something that just sort of looks cool, but seeing them on the "U-Wing" made them feel even more pointless. The first time they folded those wings out, I thought "maybe it's a take-off and landing thing?" That was disproven almost immediately. "Okay, maybe it's about better atmospheric control somehow?" Nope, apparently not that either. All they do is give the ship a larger profile. It looks neat I guess...
And, really, does Stormtrooper armor protect from ANYthing?
The use of CGI human characters was... very good, but still runs into an "uncanny valley" issue. No matter how good Tarkin and Leia looked there, those shots with any facial movement still felt "wrong."
And the one thing I would have yanked completely was the scene with the antagonistic pair from the Mos Eisley cantina. They didn't need to be there, and that raises too many questions of how they survived Jehda to get to Tattooine. I think all the other cameos worked for me, helping establish the timeline. Vader's appearances were great, building up that era of Darth Vader, the Badass.
K-2SO proves that snarky droids get all the best lines.
I feel like the political "message" in the movie is a dangerous one. While the Empire of Star Wars is a prime example of control-through-terror-and-force, glorifying people who are doing whatever it takes to bring that down treads awful close to advocating terrorism. "Rebels" aren't always good just because they firmly believe they are.
I actually love the way the movie sets up the Rebel Alliance as having established some level of power at this point. They have a real fleet. But they burn through much of it committing to the battle at Scarif. That sets the stage for a Battle of Yavin where the Alliance is strung out and probably can't immediately field more than a few wings of fighters. That felt surprisingly "right" to me.
Interestingly, it's the first Star Wars movie to make me feel like hyperspace travel between worlds regularly takes a matter of minutes/hours rather than days or more. Most of the movies up to this point left hyperspace travel as sort of vague, happening more at the speed of whatever was required by plot, but here, both Allied and Imperial forces respond quickly - in time to join in on active engagements. That actually has some pretty huge implications for the canon.
In the end, Rogue One is a story of sacrifice. Often, that bums me out, but here... it seems to work. It's a bit sad, but it feels fitting and satisfying.
... is a good movie in its own right.
... feels like Star Wars even without serious Jedi presence.
... is a good example of how to expand the universe and fill in gaps without feeling overly cheesy and pandering, which is something the prequels didn't manage.
... does not feel overly stilted and scripted like the prequels did.
... is a darker story overall, feeling closer to Episode V than VI, for example.
... feels like it could have been a campaign, especially in the West End Games era of the Star Wars RPG.
I very much enjoyed the movie. I didn't enjoy everything about it, but the whole felt good. There are genuine emotional moments that feel earned. Character arcs feel a little rushed, but work.
I knew I was going to see it, so I didn't follow the rumor mill very closely. In the end, I got a Star Wars movie that I didn't fully realize I wanted. It sets things up for A New Hope pretty perfectly by telling its own solid story.
There are several details that bug me, but I sort of accept as par for the course in a Star Wars movie. Short cuts are one of those things. In general, I prefer a story to be told in longer chunks rather than bouncing back and forth - and the beginning of the movie started to bug me right away with bouncing back and forth a few times before settling more or less on Jyn. I understand the drive to introduce characters, but that put me off a little.
Also, the technological asthetic (and stagnation) of the universe is a minor pet peeve. In this instance, I sort of liked that the AT-ACTs went down a bit easier than the AT-ATs (hey, they refined a design!). S-Foils, though... ugh. Those always bugged me as functionally over-complicated for something that just sort of looks cool, but seeing them on the "U-Wing" made them feel even more pointless. The first time they folded those wings out, I thought "maybe it's a take-off and landing thing?" That was disproven almost immediately. "Okay, maybe it's about better atmospheric control somehow?" Nope, apparently not that either. All they do is give the ship a larger profile. It looks neat I guess...
And, really, does Stormtrooper armor protect from ANYthing?
The use of CGI human characters was... very good, but still runs into an "uncanny valley" issue. No matter how good Tarkin and Leia looked there, those shots with any facial movement still felt "wrong."
And the one thing I would have yanked completely was the scene with the antagonistic pair from the Mos Eisley cantina. They didn't need to be there, and that raises too many questions of how they survived Jehda to get to Tattooine. I think all the other cameos worked for me, helping establish the timeline. Vader's appearances were great, building up that era of Darth Vader, the Badass.
K-2SO proves that snarky droids get all the best lines.
I feel like the political "message" in the movie is a dangerous one. While the Empire of Star Wars is a prime example of control-through-terror-and-force, glorifying people who are doing whatever it takes to bring that down treads awful close to advocating terrorism. "Rebels" aren't always good just because they firmly believe they are.
I actually love the way the movie sets up the Rebel Alliance as having established some level of power at this point. They have a real fleet. But they burn through much of it committing to the battle at Scarif. That sets the stage for a Battle of Yavin where the Alliance is strung out and probably can't immediately field more than a few wings of fighters. That felt surprisingly "right" to me.
Interestingly, it's the first Star Wars movie to make me feel like hyperspace travel between worlds regularly takes a matter of minutes/hours rather than days or more. Most of the movies up to this point left hyperspace travel as sort of vague, happening more at the speed of whatever was required by plot, but here, both Allied and Imperial forces respond quickly - in time to join in on active engagements. That actually has some pretty huge implications for the canon.
In the end, Rogue One is a story of sacrifice. Often, that bums me out, but here... it seems to work. It's a bit sad, but it feels fitting and satisfying.
Yes, I thought much the same. Excellent movie and definitely in the WEG Star Wars RPG mould. Dark? Hell yes, but would definitely recommend it. The Force Awakens might be a more polished movie, but this felt more like old-school Star Wars. Loved the Droid, K2, best character in it. And voiced by Wash of Firefly to boot.
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