Star Wars: The Thread Strikes Back

[Reply #680 on:]

So I'll put this in spoilers, but even then keep it relatively spoiler free - just some musings I can think of after watching it:

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So even without spoilerising much, let me start by saying GO AND WATCH THIS FILM! RIGHT NOW!

You back yet?
Anyway, see whether you agree with the following points...

Does it feel like a Star Wars film? YES
Does Michael Giacchino successfully emulate John Williams? YES
Does it rank among the best? YES

Is it perfect? no...

It definitely succeeds in fleshing out the universe, making us believe that we're seeing the familiar sights from a different angle, and everything fits in okay - except perhaps certain troopers, fighters and vehicles that are everywhere in the movie and nowhere else in the saga.

If the original movie was akin to a fantasy painted over in sci-fi, this does also work as a war movie painted over in sci-fi, but probably one from the 60s or 70s.

It's even better than the trailer indicated, but some really impressive scenes from the trailer were obviously cut, which is disappointing. The dialogue was no where near as cheesy as I feared, so that was another positive.

There were a few arching cliches and at least one massive plot hole that take some of the shine off - a couple of things that link to ANH but appear jarring, although there are several things that fit very well. There are also some lovely nods to the EU. I adored some of the cameos, but some of the others just ventured into uncanny alley a bit.

Also, I'm almost convinced I saw JonTron in this movie... I think people may understand where I mean...

It compares very well to TFA, in fact in some respects it does things better. One thing I will say though, though the characters are good, well-rounded and well-acted, I don't think I ever quite found the same attachment that I did to the likes of Rey, Finn and Poe.

Also, the film was so action-packed, so suspenseful (even if you sort of know the outcome already) that it's very hard right now to see how the Han Solo film will top this, unless it's going for a highly-different take altogether.

We shall see though!

Thanks for spoilering, Zed!   But... can you give a star rating or even a thumbs-up/thumbs-down?

I've been a fan since I drove my motorcycle 800 miles from Newport to Dayton the first week of June 1977 to see the original!  (Well, OK... I hadn't actually heard of the movie until I arrived, and I went to see it on a lark)

One of our resident SW nerds saw Rogue yesterday(?) and was highly impressed, which gave me a tremendous feeling of relief after hearing the frightening news a few days ago that

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George Lucas actually liked it a lot.

[Reply #681 on:]

Well, then. There are only 2 films I've seen in the cinema that have made me sit with my jaw dropped throughout entire scenes, and they are Interstellar and Rogue One.

Specifically, in Rogue One,

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that scene near the end when Vader goes absolutely bonkers on the rebel troops. This is how Vader should be portrayed. Absolutely terrifying and completely unstoppable. I was just blown away by the sheer awesomeness in this scene. Good lord.

The rest of the film, though, is also absolutely phenomenal. I love each and every character so much, I've seen lots of complaints in reviews that they don't get enough time to be fleshed-out, but I still feel you make a strong connection to all of them.

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Which makes it all the more depressing when they get killed off, one-by-one. But we all saw this coming, right? Of course, my hero, K-2SO, had to die first. (To quote my brother after we left the screening: "the black guy always dies first" - in this case, LITERALLY black (not counting Saw, even though he died before K-2).)

I felt that the amount of little references to previous films were handled well, not shoved in your face like in The Force Awakens. I love the locations and planets featured in the film, and the special effects were fantastic.

If you love Star Wars, go see this film asap. It doesn't feel like it was crammed into the lore just for the sake of making a film (aka $$$), Gareth Edwards really put love into this and it has paid off, big time.

[Reply #682 on:]

Yay!  Thanks, Dan.  I plan to see it at the end of the month.  Actually, I had planned to see it on a Wednesday afternoon, but just realized that I have no more vacation left after scheduling a day off for a micro-Peelathon :-/  Why, yes, I *am* a blond.  How could you tell?

* Tachy's brain whirrs *

Well, I'll think of something!

...I've seen lots of complaints in reviews that they don't get enough time to be fleshed-out, but I still feel you make a strong connection to all of them.

So, perhaps an extended version might be on the horizon?

[Reply #683 on:]

Sorry - I realise now I left that too vague, putting my rating in with plot spoilers. Anyway, my first words were to compel everyone to see the film, so that should tell you all you need to know.

I'm not sure an extended version really needs to be on the offing, because another thing I could praise the film about is the pacing is really very good as it stands.

I'd certainly agree with Dan on his other points, and I'd like to especially agree on the point on Gareth Edwards.

About the characters, I said I didn't get the same connection as I did with the characters from TFA, but make no mistake, I still like them a lot.

When more people have seen the film, I'll go over my own feelings in a lot more detail. There's so many good things to say about this film though it does have a couple of flaws.

[Reply #684 on:]

Thanks, dude!

FishyJoe just invited everyone to see Rogue One with him tonight at the midnight showing and I would love to go.  The only issues are 1) he probably hasn't purchased any tickets yet, and 2) it's about a 3,000 mile drive

[Reply #685 on:]

Did you enjoy the movie Zed?

[Reply #686 on:]

Very much so, Winna - I'd give it 4/5.

It's funny, I actually dreamt last night that I got my parents to sit down to watch a few trailers to encourage them to watch the movie, but even though it sort of told the same story, all the scenes were completely different, in completely different settings; the main characters were sort of akin to X-Men, the final battle involved all manner of mythical creatures and it appeared more akin to something out of Narnia (and wasn't nearly as spectacular), for some inexplicable reason the film starts and finishes in present-day Britain and only once was I able to say "oh look, it's definitely Star Wars" when it had Jyn rallying her troops while dressed in captured Stormtrooper armour.

Then I woke up and thought to myself "thank God that's not what happened in the film!"

I think that may have been a subconscious reaction to reviews on facebook that said it didn't feel like a Star Wars movie. Well I really must insist it did to me. It was a tale set within the universe and I guess you have a spectrum, where on the far left you've got something that's almost just a wholly standalone story with the franchise logo stuck on top - like some episodes of Star Trek - or you've got an overblown fan-project that never quite feels believable and inserts fan-service with the subtlety of a speeding freight train, but which has the same relevance to the story as a speeding freight train (unless the story's set inside a dream, or involves fugitives trying to escape prison I guess)

Point I'm getting at is that (imo) Gareth Edwards balances this really well. Perhaps it veers ever-so-slightly towards the right of that spectrum at times, but genuinely, to link this back to Dan's earlier point, this is the sign of a skilled director and writer who clearly love and respect the universe they have been given.

[Reply #687 on:]

I'm super psyched to see it.  LeiaPadme77  went to see it today, and 3/4 of the way through the film the entire area lost power!  And she still hasn't seen the ending :-/

[Reply #688 on:]

Oh crap, that's really terrible
I hope compensation could/can be sorted out

[Reply #689 on:]

...I actually dreamt last night that I got my parents to sit down to watch a few trailers to encourage them to watch the movie...

What a wild dream, Zed!

Oh crap, that's really terrible
I hope compensation could/can be sorted out

She said that everyone got a free movie pass, presumably good for use at any of the chain's cinemas.  Sadly, it's unlikely that she and her husband will have the opportunity to see the film together until it's released on home video because of the hassle of coordinating time off and babysitters for her very young kids.

Yesterday I txted FishyJoe and asked whether he was joking (when is he ever not joking?) when he wrote his FB comment about Rogue One seeming mediocre.  Apparently the viewing conditions were far from ideal, in a packed theatre late at night with drunk people talking throughout most of the movie and he said that the lousy atmosphere may have been a factor in it not making a great impression on him.

Today I've been lazing around home all day 'cause it's too cold to go cycling (-10C just before dawn, and peaking at a balmy -2C late this afternoon).  And just this moment I was struck by the urge to re-watch Force Awakens, not having seen it since last April.  So... I'm off to the corner store for a submarine sandwich and then some Star Wars with the sound cranked up!

[Reply #690 on:]

I probably won't see it until after it's hit the video rental store.  Obviously I'll make a vhs copy of it, because I enjoy copying floppies and driving around in downloaded cars.

[Reply #691 on:]

That sucks about LeiaPadme. And further to what FishyJoe wrote, I must say/admit I am in an extremely fortunate position right now to be able to pick and choose my times to see films. As I had a morning shift on Wednesday I went to see the movie in the early afternoon with only about a dozen other ner- people which would have changed the atmosphere massively.

[Reply #692 on:]

I think FishyJeff probably wasn't feeling like putting in the effort to defend his opinion against your fandom, Tachyon, and so made excuses to avoid having to do so. Having seen the movie myself, I am fully in line with his opinion. The movie was fine, good even, but not great or amazing. The Force Awakens was a far stronger movie with a much stronger script and characters. And that's not saying I think The Force Awakens was a perfect film, even if I did think it was great. Whereas Rogue One was enjoyable and didn't have any major flaws, but didn't stand out in any big way. It's a competent movie that I think huge fans of the original trilogy are going bonkers over because it has a lot of fanservice and it doesn't fuck up enough to bother anyone. Star Wars fans have been deprived of quality filmmaking for so long that they're hungry enough to gobble up a good movie and call it monumental.

I'm not trying to destroy anyone's expectations. You'll go see it an you'll enjoy it, maybe even a lot. But I wish people would let their fan-brains cool off for a moment afterwards and temper their rhetoric about just how good it is.

[Reply #693 on:]

Is it possible for people to cool down their fan brains?  For me, I think I've shut that part down for the most part.  I don't have much of a need to consume media, let alone analyze or evaluate any major aspect of it, or argue about what its value or utility to either individuality or society.  I expect that it has a value whether good or bad, as it is a made thing, but that's all it is to me mostly anymore.  A thing which was made, and I can appreciate it in a variety of ways from a variety of perspectives observing it on multiple levels of scale, either as a whole, its contributions to human considerations, or any of its variety of details or aspects either in regard to the process of its creation or its composition as being created.

I don't sense that level of objectivity in other people though.  That's fine by me in general, and I suspect it's largely because people incorporate created things as a form of identity for themselves: ie, I like Star Wars, I am a person who likes Star Wars.  Furthermore this sense of identity allows people to feel accepted in groups: ie I like Star Wars, other people like Star Wars and they are like me, we are the force of Star Wars together.  Even further srtill this combined sense of group identity breeds another idea in which there are some out there to negate that identity and thus are a challenge or obstacle to who we identify as: ie I am one who likes Star Wars, there are those that like Star Trek but not Star Wars, they are a phantom menace to my identity and to my group of fellow Star Wars Jedis and they must be shot first before they attempt to assimilate us and destroy our dirt farming, wampa rat way of life.

This is probably less consciously considered by such individuals in my opinion, whatever that is worth.

I also haven't been immune to these observations about people, there's a reason I'm still posting on a message board for a thrice died sci-fi parody cartoon.

[Reply #694 on:]

I have to agree with Josh. I liked Rogue One, but found I couldn't love it.

[Reply #695 on:]

Which is perfectly cool, of course.  I've had Star Wars in my blood since '77, and have a resonance with it, of a sort.  It just grabs the emotional centres of my brain

[Reply #696 on:]

For Star Wars nerds or filmmaking buffs only:

This is the story of the recreation of the original theatrical release of Star Wars, despite Lucas never making the original available after the VHS release.  The LaserDisc version was just a crappy transfer, and all subsequent official releases were altered in numerous ways.

Drags a bit in the very beginning, but a good watch for members of the above two categories

[Reply #697 on:]

I've had Star Wars in my blood since '77, and have a resonance with it, of a sort.

Yeah, but everything outside of the original trilogy isn't really Star Wars, is it? It's a continuation of story telling within that universe, but a lot of it doesn't really have the spirit or the feel of the originals. It doesn't quite have that indefinable factor that the first three films did.

It's mass-market fluff. It's a shameless nostalgia grab. It's a cynical cash-in. It's manufactured by committee, produced by brand names, and stuffed so full of references to the originals that at times it all feels like a series of films and TV shows which are simply intended to be fan-created commercials for them.

Some of it, of course, is enjoyable. Some of it is worth tolerating the existence of the rest of it. Some of it is downright wonderful, like the battle of Scarif. That (and to be honest, quite a bit of Rogue One) actually feels like it fits within the original Star Wars universe and continuity without being a bit of marketing fluff designed to make us buy shit we don't really need.

But quite honestly, the original trilogy feels like nothing else. The original trilogy is a series of films that even if you provided the same damn script, the same filming resources, and the same actors as it was made with, wouldn't turn out the same today.

The way we shoot, direct, act, edit, and produce effects for films has changed. All of these things have undergone changes both for the better and for the worse. All of these things are subtly different to the way they used to be done, and all of those differences add up.

The feel of the original films is therefore something that I don't expect to ever be fully recaptured, even though some of the scenes in Rogue One and The Force Awakens did come pretty damn close. Close enough to gladden even my withered little heart.

So, even if everything outside the original trilogy feels like MegaBloks compared to Lego, I guess I'm happy enough with it. But the fact is that I know there's a difference and I'm just not quite as excited by MegaBloks as Lego.

Your mileage may (and probably will) vary, of course.

[Reply #698 on:]

It's mass-market fluff. It's a shameless nostalgia grab. It's a cynical cash-in. It's manufactured by committee, produced by brand names, and stuffed so full of references to the originals that at times it all feels like a series of films and TV shows which are simply intended to be fan-created commercials for them.

Yes, it certainly is.  And I pretty much eat it up, because I don't look at it objectively.  I don't *want* to look at it objectively; I simply want to enjoy it.

In other universes I do look at the movies more objectively.  For instance, objectively speaking, I don't think that there's any known force in existence that could salvage Alien 3.  Or Terminator Salvation.  Or Jurassic Park 2.

Fortunately, some incredibly dedicated fans did manage to salvage Star Wars I (barely) along with II and III.  And others restored the original trilogy to pretty much the versions that were originally released in the cinema.  As far as the galaxy far, far away is concerned, I prefer to don my rose-coloured glasses and just go with it

[Reply #699 on:]

I just came back from seeing it. I dunno how I'd rank it among the other Star Wars movies but I enjoyed it quite a bit. The climax was fantastic and the way it seamlessly ties into the original is great. At some point, I'm gonna have to watch them both back-to-back because it feels like Rogue One was made for exactly that.

I'm also glad they had the balls to

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actually kill off all the characters instead of having them escape and live happily ever after. I got some real Halo: Reach vibes from that.

Oh and one last thing: Carrie Fisher is looking great for a 60-year-old woman.

[Reply #700 on:]

I'm also glad they had the balls to

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actually kill off all the characters instead of having them escape and live happily ever after.

This pleased me lots, as long before the film came out everyone was saying it had to happen, but I always thought

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"Disney won't have the balls to allow it" - apparently, the original ending was much happier and Disney were the ones who wanted them all to die!

[Reply #701 on:]

I'm going to contrast my deep sadness with a dig of irony and inappropriateness.

Unless a cruel twist of fate saw Leia already doomed to follow Han's fate in Ep8, it'd seem really unjust not to give Leia and Carrie a fitting, parting shot as it were. But how would that be possible now?

And the thought just struck me, with Rogue One's attestation, they could do whatever they'd like...

On the subject of Rogue One, I watched it again with the rest of my family the other day and I have to say, I think having forgiven it for some (some) of the issues that bugged me the first time round, my appreciation for it only rose. I can understand how it can be divisive but genuinely I love it and I also now think I prefer it to The Force Awakens (in certain aspects).

But oh boy will the ending be unintentionally more evocative now.

[Reply #702 on:]

Oh and one last thing: Carrie Fisher is looking great for a 60-year-old woman.

Oh fuck off. Why did I have to make that joke.

[Reply #703 on:]

I had planned to see Rogue One this week (not wanting to see it on a weekend with a bunch of bratty kids), but mismanaged my vacation balance and couldn't figure out when I could see it in peace.

But a few minutes ago, mArc reserved a set of centre-row seats at one of the best cinemas in the country for a showing late tomorrow night, for four Peelers and one significant other!

[edit]

Update: We caught the 10:45PM showing last night at The Cinerama.  mArc, Randi, Zoidberg227, and me.  There's no way I can think of to properly describe the quality of the image and sound.  "Stunning" is flatly inadequate.  "Perfection" is accurate, but insufficient.

As for the movie itself, I let it suck me in completely.  If I had been watching in a detached manner I might have been annoyed with some plot elements and some of the enthusiastic acting, but that of course was not my intent.  I wanted to completely immerse myself in the moment and let myself be carried through through the story.  Yes, it's Space Opera, and it contains some space opera tropes.  But it's STAR WARS, dammit!

And I loved every second of it, save one brief moment near the end.  I don't have any idea of its running time, and could easily have sat through another hour and enjoyed it.  We were in the centre of the second row and it was a bit close to the screen, but not ludicrously so.  I still put on my glasses so that I could catch all of the detail.  We watched the entire roll of the credits, and near the end of them I cried when I saw Carrie Fisher's name scroll past.

If you're into high cinema and often confuse Star Wars and Star Trek then you'll only be mildly entertained by Rogue One.  But in that case, you wouldn't be here

[Reply #704 on:]

If you're into high cinema and often confuse Star Wars and Star Trek [...]

There's a difference these days?

I kid, I kid. Star Wars is a lot better. I'm sorry but/and it's true.

[Reply #705 on:]

So, it's been announced that Episode VIII is subtitled "The Last Jedi".



The red font is mysterious. Very much so.

[Reply #706 on:]

Is it implying that a Sith somehow redeems themselves?

Also, how can there be a "last Jedi" (singular or pleural) in Episode VIII?  Who will star in Episode IX? 

[Reply #707 on:]

I like the title from the get-go, unlike The Force Awakens, which took me some time to warm up to.

Also, how can there be a "last Jedi" (singular or pleural) in Episode VIII?  Who will star in Episode IX? 

This. This is bugging me, too. Luke might be the last Jedi currently, but pretty sure Rey will become a Jedi by the end of The Last Jedi or in Episode IX. Also kind of makes the title of Episode VII redundant, but okay.

[Reply #708 on:]

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Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Star Wars: The Last Jedi

Star Wars: The Force Goes Back to Sleep

For some reason I'm only now overcome with curiosity about how Rogue One was originally intended to be cut and whether the story beyond the main plot had been pretty much the same but tempered down to a "fluffy bunnies and happy kittens" level, or whether there was significant divergence.  And how it may have been intended to tie into later events in episodes VIII and IX, if at all.  Did someone very adamant and powerful came along and have Edwards carve up the Rogue One script like Anakin slicing through younglings in the Jedi academy, hell-bent on making it an air-tight standalone film with no loose ends?  Or did everyone at Disney just hang back and let him make RO his own?

[Reply #709 on:]

Star Wars fans may be interested in this twelve minute podcast from the BBFC which discusses the UK classifications of the various films in the series.

[Reply #710 on:]

First cast pic from the Han Solo movie!

[Reply #711 on:]

Is that a new Friends series?

[Reply #712 on:]

Damn, the guy playing Chewbacca looks spot-on.

[Reply #713 on:]

So, over the past few weeks I watched all of the Clone Wars. It's... a pretty stupid show. In fact it's a pretty crap show at numerous points, with all the crazy plot armour, silly leaps of logic and Jar-Jar fucking Binks. However I'm glad I watched it because there's some really great content there if you can look past the grime. It takes the smart move of portraying the clones as individuals rather than faceless cannon fodder, and gets surprisingly dark for what is basically a kid's show.

It's definitely not for those who despise the prequels though, for the reasons I stated above. But there's a few excellent story arcs in there that are far better than any of the prequels.

[Reply #714 on:]

I been utterly busy theese months so i couldnt find the time to drop here ..

In short: I absolutelly loved Rogue One.. i loved it the first time.. but you had still that sensation when seeing new highly hyped movies where you still are not much sure... second viewing erased any doubt.. third was even better..


Yes it has its problems and its far from perfect.. but as StarWars movies go.. imho its much better than Episode VII.. of course inmenselly better than the prequels.. and ..oh sacrilege .. i even have the doubt if it might replace Return of the Jedi as the third ...  

I love ROTJ..  but if you analize them ROTJ has big problems.. i dont like at all the entire Jabba thing wich wastes half movie.. and the entire Ewok think is horribly propostrous and that taints the entire product.. but i usually manage to alienate those and center in whats worth it: the final confrontation between the Jedi and Sith.. the Alliance and the Empire.. the end of the road (yes ..until recently) ..
Rogue One doesnt have those big issues.. For example the octopuss thing .. it could be entirelly out of the movie and simply have them torture Rook..or even use a reprogramed interrogation droid .. but not that big deal in the end..

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-While the first half of the movie was a bit confusing the first time i saw it due to the constant jumping between planets and locations.. second viewing it wasnt confusing at all and worked much better..
-The characters are very good.. not brillianty great and not bad either.. they are spot on for this spin-off movie telling us at last a big event in the StarWars universe ..  People complain they were not much developed.. they were enought for me.. Jyn was the outcast and represents a big percent of the galaxy right now.. she does not love the empire but she lost much hope and will to fight and is even willing to look away (or down) on the empire as she tells Saw .. and she is like forced into the thing..  her turn arround when seeing the message from her father might be a bit forced.. but its more a process between that and him dying in her arms later on Eadu..
Cassian was great.. my fav character of the movie (curiously they didnt gave him mexican accent in spain dub where he had in the VO, where they gave a clear french accent to Body Rook and asian to Baze/Chirrut)... it was great seeing finally that dark part of the alliance who will murder even allies if needs to and its totally worn out and obfuscated on just following orders.. it was curiously spot on when Jyn calls him a stormtrooper.. it seems stereotypical discussion.. but hits deeper than seems so...
K2SO was the most hated character by some coworkers.. i was totally fine with him.. it was his own personality and not just a copycat of 3PO or other character before..
Chirrut and Baze were also very very interesting... we finally got to see the guardians of the Whils .. any hardcore or longtimer star war fans will be familiar with the Whils and it was nice seeing them inserted into canon.. while both are not much development we get enought information for 2 very interesting positions (wich they clearly represent) Both were guardians of the temple.. thats people who wanted to serve and support the Jedi Order but couldnt be a Jedi Knight.. but they were allowed to help the Jedi .. after order66 they were expeled from the temple (or survived that.. i can imagine the Whils not giving up without a fight) and lost their porpouse as the Empire took control of the Galaxy and the very thing that gave their lifes porpouse was being erased from history.. at this point 20 years later Chirrut still grasped desperatelly to hope and the force and turned into religious fanatism to keep going.. while Baze had long given up on the force considering that it had failed them ..or that would it be real it wouldnt had allowed that to happen (reminds me much Malcon Reynolds relationship with god in the pilot.. where the battle of Serenity makes him turn away clearly from religion and god and being resentful about)..like Jyn any survivor who knew or served the Jedi by this point was probably in one of those two positions

-The movie had a LOT of fan service... so what? i loved it..  
-Tarkin was a pleasant surprise.. i didnt knew he would be in the movie... but expected some reference to him.. or seeing him from the back.. or that guy who played a younger version of him at the end of ep.III.. but not seeing him face close .. it was great to see him again like this and all his iterations with the movie made perfect logic
-Some idiotic kid spoiled to me that Leia was at the end (exactly like Homer did at the end of empire strikes back) tought i suspected she would be at the end handed the plans.. but didnt expected to see her younger face.. it dodnt worked as good as with Tarkin but no problem with her either..  i watched that before Fisher sad passing away but the next times couldnt help thinking about her being gone so recently)

-The final 45m are glorious.. the theather was a party when you see the fleet arrive at Scarif and see red and gold leaders pop on screen  ...it felt natural and logic.. that kind of thing you dont expect from movies.. like violating the rule of cool .. you would expect just X-Wings and new pilots and extras (like blue leader) to be and we just asuming those other guys are there arround.. but then you are shown them right there..
-Also nice to spot the Ghost from rebels .. misses Chopper and in spain they didnt dubbed Hera's calling over the com .. but the Ghost could be clearly seeing flying arround during the battle
-Krenick was very good too.. not a super brilliand or charismatic enemy.. but he did a very good job..and his flying arround tought a bit confusing and at times convenient made logic as he was preciselly following the same leads the main characters were
-What i can say about Vader... fan service? yes.. do i care? not at all.. Vader HAD to be in the movie and he HAD to be at the end since in ANH Motti berages him " "Your sad devotion to that ancient religion has not helped you conjure up the stolen data tapes " ..wich sugested he had tried to prevent the stealing of the plans and had failed..  
-the amount of stuff that got into from the EU or other stuff like Rebels, Clone Wars its astonishing..   so was seeing in action assets we only knew from videogames.. like the ion torpedoes (wich came from X-Wing Alliance). Pablo hidalgo has posted tons of staff like that a lot of background characters in the movie were actually taken from the WEG RPG guide..  or even more obscure / nerdy stuff like that blue leader name is Merrick... and that blue leader in the Rebel Assault videogame name was....you guessed.. Merrick


-the soundtrack.. tought it seemed average and not much there at first it finally grew on  me
-The Infiltration process and other stuff in the movie were surprisingly clever.. not like the average star wars infiltration of just stealing a shuttle and thats it.. they adressed why shuttle SW0608 should be ok for that and even raised the posibility that they had updated the info on it ... even when Body request permision to land he says he was on route to Eadu but was diverted away.. the reason should be obvious due to the rebel attack on Eadu.. and that the shuttle was registered to Eadu.. however the "get their clothes as disguise" was quite plot-hole ... or the imperial officer at the gate doesnt even pay attention to his mates faces
-the movie also takes some quite artistic moments.. like the build up of the DeathStar firing on Jedha during Galen Erzo message.. how Krenick looks up to his creation as its about to superlaser him or that shot of the explosion that just vaporized our heroes (and everyone else remaining in that base) the camera pans to a shuttle and fighter escort about to board Profundity

-And they had the bravery of killing ALL main characters.. it was funny becase i had seen many people do even bets on how many characters would "disney" dare to kill and the majority of them said about 2 or 3 max.. if you know the history of the making off.. even the director tought Disney would force a happy ending ..and they started tp film the movie with a happy ending in mind until a casual conversation with Kathleen Kennedy where she said of course they could go and kill everyone.. some people have complained that they had lame deaths.. they seemed very good and beliable considering how bad/lame people dies in star wars movies
-It was also great seeing the grey side of the rebel alliance.. generals ordering assasinations even if there was a chance that the target was alied with them.. just to stop/halt develop of superweapons for the empire.. How they rescued Jyn from the labor camp only so she could help them and treatened her with returning her to the camp shall she not help them... Or how when confronted with the evidence about the Death Star and the option of destroying it (option that started by stealing the plans) instead of everyone agreeing to fight the empire bravelly (and stereotypically) there was big division and ended up voting against it.. it took total insubordination to move the alliance fleet to make the attack

Overall i have a feeling of things done right and with logic.. the kind of movie hardcore fans would do with incredible attention to details .. and the sensation that this was the last hurraah for us old trilogy hardcore fans..a last "here , this is your old starwars ..enjoy it at last and move on" a very big goodbye... for me it was the first time i felt like watching true unmolested StarWars since the originals ..

Dont get me wrong.. i dont hate ep VII and actually i like it .. but Rogue One is just much better.. TFA had issues like its near copy cat of episode IV .. Rey being a marysue and the horribly lame way they handled the StarKiller base.. but at least it was true to Star Wars classic form.. its just that Rogue One puts it into perspective .. gladly surprised by Gareth Edwards. Giaccino.. Jones, Luna.. maybe im just too old trilogy hardcore and cant see beyond..

[Reply #715 on:]

  Did someone very adamant and powerful came along and have Edwards carve up the Rogue One script like Anakin slicing through younglings in the Jedi academy, hell-bent on making it an air-tight standalone film with no loose ends?  Or did everyone at Disney just hang back and let him make RO his own?

For what i got.. the history was writen by old Lucasfilm/ILM member John Knoll (very well known guy for us hardcore fans) who more or less put this together arround 2003 just as a personal fun thing... (acording to him all Lucasfilm employees have their own head star wars movies they would do if allowed).. when Lucas steped out and Disney anounced they were doing 3 new movies and 3 new spin-offs during lunch with his friends they joked about proposing their "mind movies" for the spinoffs..Knoll's movie (wich would end up being Rogue One) was quite well recieved by his coworkers and they compelled him to propose the idea to Kennedy.. she liked it very much, disney greenlighted it and thats where the script largelly came.

However aparently it was a much more family frienly version, everyone lived..  Jyn was allready part of the rebel alliance.. due to it fears that Disney would not allow such grim ending.. however one day at half filming during casual conversation with Kennedy.. she told Edwards that of course they were allowed to go with the darker bloodier ending.. and they hastily changed the script  (the happy ending wasnt even filmed) and tuned the history a bit darker.. they converted Jyn into a petty con criminal instead of allready a rebel hero and her relationship with Cassian was also toned to more distrustful.

Edwards said he actually espected a call from disney ordering him to at least filming a happy ending just in case they decided to change it in editing if they didnt liked the normal ending.. but that call never came..

So basically they had a lot , if not total freedom to do what they wanted.. unlike TFA wich had much Disney input (like the StarKiller base for example) RO does not seem to have any at all

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Is this a real or spoof trailer, Dan?  If the latter, I'll watch it tonight.

For what i got.. the history was writen by old Lucasfilm/ILM member John Knoll (very well known guy for us hardcore fans) who more or less put this together arround 2003 just as a personal fun thing...

Thanks very much, Javier!  That makes sense.

[Reply #718 on:]

Is this a real or spoof trailer, Dan?  If the latter, I'll watch it tonight.

Very real! Just debuted earlier today during The Last Jedi panel at Star Wars Celebration in Orlando.

It was also revealed that Kelly Marie Tran's character is a Resistance maintenance worker named Rose.

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Not bad! I like the idea of morality becoming a little more grey. Star Wars has always been very black-and-white (I assume that's where it's going with Luke saying "it's time for the Jedi to end").

What I want to know is: does Luke still have his green lightsaber, or did he not pick it up after throwing it on the floor in ROTJ?