Rogue One (spoiler free)

Discussion in 'Off Topic Area' started by Travess, Dec 15, 2016.

  1. Travess

    Travess The Welsh MAPper Supporter

    (Literally) Just walked back in the house, from a morning showing of 'Rogue One', which before commenting on, I will preface with the fact that I personally loved Force Awakens...

    So, yet again, I find myself transported back, back to a time when Star Wars was still new to me, still exciting and still fuelled my imagination. TFA did this by tapping in to my nostalgic love of the SW universe, reintroducing, rekindling and reconnecting me with familiar faces and a familiar mythology. RO does this by telling me a story already known, but never before experienced, whilst the connection to the next chapter is kept ever present.

    I will give specific mention to Donnie Yen's character though, as not only was he (finally) used to his fantastic potential in a western production (something I was genuinely concerned about) but he also had the funniest (IMO) line in the whole film.

    Can't wait to see it again!

    Travess
     
    Last edited: Dec 15, 2016
  2. Frodocious

    Frodocious She who MUST be obeyed! Moderator Supporter

    I went to the 12.01 showing on Thursday morning and really enjoyed the film. I enjoyed it more than TFA which I felt didn't do the series (and the old characters in particular) justice. I think with Rogue 1, the fact that it was new characters that I wasn't invested in helped. It isn't a great film, but it is an enjoyable scifi film. There were a few issues with it, I found the droid annoying and the film didn't have the same dry humour the original trilogy had but I will be going to see it at least twice more (another 2D viewing and an Imax viewing) over the Christmas holidays.
     
  3. Ular Sawa

    Ular Sawa Valued Member

    I saw it in IMAX last night. I thought it was quite good. In fact, it was way better than The Force Awakens.

    I agree with Travess that Donnie Yen did a lot with this role.

    I look forward to seeing it again.
     
  4. Fish Of Doom

    Fish Of Doom Will : Mind : Motion Supporter

    Saw it last night. Also enjoyed TFA but I consider that Rogue One far exceeded it, and hit the mark everywhere that TFA tried but missed. Everything from the humour to the references and in-jokes, to the cameos was excellent. Only thing I was mildly disappointed in was that Darth Vader's voice wasn't quite on point, but then again, neither is James Earl Jones, what with being 85 and all :p (and he more than made up for it with one particular line :p)

    And yes, Donnie Yen had the funniest line by far :D
     
  5. Frodocious

    Frodocious She who MUST be obeyed! Moderator Supporter

    Interesting that you mention the humour. It was one of the things I felt didn't quite hit the mark in Rogue One. It was, however, far better than the humour in TFA. I also felt that the music was a let down, but that's a minor grumble.
     
  6. Smitfire

    Smitfire Cactus Schlong

    So this thread is spoiler free so only open up my comments if you want to stay spoiler free. You have been warned. :)

    Some peeps have seen me say this on facebook but...me and my daughter were just bored by Rogue One. Doubt I'll watch it again which is sad as I love Star Wars.
    It was too long, there was too much verbal exposition as people explained what was happening. But what was happening was too convoluted and a bit baffling.
    I didn't like the moral ambiguity of the main male character (who was very bland and so boring I can't even remember his name). Star wars should be good v evil. What next...Jabba the hut gives generously to charity?
    Moral ambiguity is great in adult films...but a kids adventure film? Hmmmm.
    Forest Whitaker was like some sort of comedy character. Not menacing or edgy at all.
    The CGI Peter Cushing and Carrie Fisher were unconvincing. The Princess Leia at the end very nearly worked...it should have just been a rear view of her famous Star Wars hairstyle as she pulled her cowl over her head. That would have been enough. Subtle. Instead we got a full CGI front on view that didn't work.
    Mads Mikkelson is one of my favourite actors and he was woefully underused. He should have been some bad ass lone Jedi. Or he should have played the Forest Whitaker character. Mikkelson can play unhinged and menacing.
    The tension created was utterly artificial. Everything they need to access was "over there". Accessing the schematic file was turned into some sort of arcade game. Resetting the satellite dish was handily just along that precarious gangway.
    A couple of positives were the world was very well created. The Vader corridor massacre was great. Although looking at Vader again I realized how goofy his helmet is. Jyn Urso was a good character but not fleshed out enough. I wanted to see her life and training with the Whitaker character.
     
  7. bassai

    bassai onwards and upwards ! Moderator Supporter

    Just got back from watching it and I can honestly say , I enjoyed it.
    However , my 11 year old son absolutely loved it , and let's face it , he's pretty much the demographic the film's aimed at.
    All I will say is it made empire strikes back look like Mary Poppins !
     
  8. Thomas

    Thomas Combat Hapkido/Taekwondo

    Absolutely loved it - even better than the Force Awakens. The pace was good and I liked the characters, plot, cameos and everything. Especially enjoyed seeing a movie that can be enjoyed by kids and adults without an over abundance of cursing, bloody violence, sex, and such. Nicely done on all levels!

    My only minor gripe was the music... yes, I wanted a John Williams score and this guy does a pretty good job, but he's no John Williams (and I felt a few spots the music was too overwhelming.

    I feared Donnie Yen's character was going to be cheesy... a force sensitive Jedi-wannabe who can beat up armoured stromtroopers with a stick (what is the armor good for anyway?), but he did a nice job with the character without it being cheesy.
     
  9. Smitfire

    Smitfire Cactus Schlong

    Reading the reviews and seeing what other people think about Rogue 1, and how much they love it, I feel like the odd one out. So many good reviews and I was just a bit bored. And all that for the best part of £20.
     
  10. Fish Of Doom

    Fish Of Doom Will : Mind : Motion Supporter

    @smitfire: But it's not a kid's adventure film, it's a war/guerrilla film about stopping a regime with a weapon of mass destruction.
     
  11. Smitfire

    Smitfire Cactus Schlong

    So I guess there aren't any toys and merchandise aimed at kids in the shops then?

    http://www.toysrus.co.uk/toys/browse/brands/star-wars/rogue-one/_/N-104287

    It's a Star Wars film. Star Wars films are for kids. Yes adults enjoy them but this could have easily been more exciting and fun without compromising that sort of context.
     
    Last edited: Dec 19, 2016
  12. bassai

    bassai onwards and upwards ! Moderator Supporter

    To be fair , it felt more like a war film than a star wars film to me.
     
  13. huoxingyang

    huoxingyang Valued Member

    I think Rogue One felt like it was primarily pitched at the older Star Wars fans without forgetting that Star Wars is essentially family/kids entertainment. That said, much was made of the reshoots and stuff which happened and my guess is that the film was originally further from the original films in tone than it ended up being.

    By comparison, I feel that The Force Awakens was probably intended primarily to rope in a new generation of kids as fans, and relied on the nostalgia element to satisfy the older fans. As such it has a much more family friendly and mainstream tone from the outset.

    I think I enjoyed Rogue One more than I did Force Awakens - although I definitely liked both.

    My main criticisms of Rogue One are:

    1) The music - some of it just felt too "John Williams wannabe"
    2) The pacing - it is a bit slow to get going
    3) The CGI - those bits everyone is talking about... I just wasn't convinced and my heart sank as I fell into the uncanny valley
    4) Awesome as it was, I felt that the final act also wrecked the film's status as a "stand alone" story

    Donnie Yen though :) And I actually liked the droid :p
     
  14. Ben Gash CLF

    Ben Gash CLF Valued Member

    Saw it today, for me the best Star Wars film.
    I'm confused by Smitfire's review, to me it was pacier and had far less exposition than most Star Wars films????
    For me I've always felt the strength of Star Wars is it's military scifi, and they pulled out all the stops here. The third act is completely off the chain, and if you had the 80s airfix type battle scene diorama kits it was nostalgia inducing too.
    In the first film Han Solo shoots someone to avoid paying a debt that he owes. You see the charred, still burning skeletons of Luke's family. The original films are fairly adult, and many critics feel that it's one of the areas the prequels really fell down on.
     
  15. Ben Gash CLF

    Ben Gash CLF Valued Member

    You can also buy these in ToysRus..........
    [​IMG]
     
  16. Giovanni

    Giovanni Well-Known Member Supporter

    watched it last night with my kids. i really enjoyed it. force awakens and rogue one are terrific additions to the canon.
     
  17. Smitfire

    Smitfire Cactus Schlong

    Indeed. But Han's still the strong and established archetype of "the thief with a heart of gold". The lovable rogue. He'll save his own skin against the proper baddy in the form of Jabba the Hutt/Greedo but wouldn't eject Ben and Luke into space the moment he gets his hands on their money or murder someone that was actually helping him.
    He's out for himself (at least at the start) but still has his own sense of honour I think.
    But I'm not sure what archetype or character the main bloke (still can't remember his name) in R1 is meant to embody? The dedicated zealot that will do anything to further the rebellion? Yeah....that's a great character to hang a kids film on.
    At one point he shoots one of Saw's men while they are attacking Imperial troops. I've no idea why he did that really.

    Also indeed. But there aren't Game of Throne's lego kits, action toys, toy weapons, kiddie costumes and other things clearly aimed at kids. Game of Thrones isn't a 12a. I can't take my 7 year old to see Game of Thrones.

    I'm not saying that Star Wars shouldn't or can't have serious or challenging scenes or ideas (like seeing Luke's family burning, all of Alderaan being destroyed, arms cut off, people being eaten alive, tortured, etc).

    Just that in the original it was clear who was the goody and who was the baddy. I felt no connection with Cassian Andor (I looked him up!) as a character at all. he was in the middle ground. On the side of good but not that good.

    I'm pretty baffled as to why it's getting so much praise to be honest. There were some great bits. Lovely design, etc. The worlds were well realised. If anyone wants to see my views on R1 echoed then watch the Red Letter Media take on it. They cover much of the same things I had a problem with and also felt the film was a miss-step. I can't link it here as there is mucho swearing. :)
     
  18. Smitfire

    Smitfire Cactus Schlong

    Haha....watching the Half in the Bag review of R1 and Cassian Andor is now re-named Guy McAccent.
     
  19. bassai

    bassai onwards and upwards ! Moderator Supporter

    My feeling is , as the film itself is much darker to reflect how bad things were for the rebellion , the decision was made to make the protagonists darker , he wasn't the only one , don't forget the "real" mission he was given by the alliance council and their willingness to achieve it at any cost.
    It's also worth remembering cassians ultimate decision on that.

    The guy was going to make an attack the jeopardised jyns safety , so he shot him to protect her.
     
  20. Frodocious

    Frodocious She who MUST be obeyed! Moderator Supporter

    Went to see it again last night at the Imax - there were only 3 of us in the cinema!. It was even better 2nd time round. Yes, there are a few things I can nitpick and I find the music intrusive rather than supportive, but I like the fact that it shows the rebels as less than perfect and that there was conflict between rebel factions. I also like the that it shows how the actions of the non-famous (for want of a better way to put it) rebels helped in the destruction of the Death Star.

    Is it a perfect film? No, far from it. I still find the humour lacking and a bit forced in places - but nowhere near as jarring as in the last 4 films. I may actually buy the novel of this one, to see it it fills in the blanks and explains a bit more.

    I am contemplating a 3rd viewing! :)

    My second viewing of TFAs was a disappointment and I started to get angry with the film - it is not a film I will rewatch repeatedly. R1 on the other hand seems like something I will rewatch.

    At the moment my rankings are:

    TESB
    SW
    ROTJ
    R1
    ROTS
    TPM/TFA
    TCW
     

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