Star Wars Rewatch Project: ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY

10,703 Views | 95 Replies | Last: 3 yr ago by Dekker_Lentz
PDWT_12
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Back again after the latest rewatch. I love this movie. It had been a while since I watched it, so I was happy to see that it still holds up really well. Like others have said, the first act is especially a mess, but it also has some great moments to counteract the clunky story line. As always, I apologize for how repeating and rambling this will get.


What I Like:

Starting from the beginning, the opening scene is just really cool. Very different from almost anything else we've seen in a Star Wars movie. No major battle sequence or anything like that, just a cool setting on this green field, with Krennic and the black armour of the death troopers marching across it. I don't know why it stuck with me so much this time around.

The fight scene on Jedha in the city streets is awesome, the highlight of the first act easily. Just plays in perfectly with the Middle Eastern vibe you get from the city, the guerilla warfare, etc. It's great.


K-2SO is awesome. Agreed that he is the best droid we've seen in movies. Like a much less murdery HK-47 (From KOTOR). From the moment he arrives ("Congratulations. You are being rescued. Please do not resist") to the moment he dies on that control board, Alan Tudyk owns the movie.

Which brings me to my next point, I think all the performances are really good. I would love to see Felicity Jones in more stuff and am absolutely interested in Cassian's prequel series. That's without even mentioning Ahmed, Yen, and the rest of the cast who basically have a little over an hour to make you care about the fact that they're all going to die, and they do it extremely well.

It's something that even Solo touched on, but the early stages of the rebellion, and all the different factions that are working with and at times against each other to overthrow the Empire is cool to see. Particularly the darkness of it, as in the past we'd seen the crisp pilots and commanding officers of the rebellion, but not the seedy, desperate espionage side.

Scariff is probably one of the best pure battle scenes outside of Hoth in ESB. The AT-AT getting blasted in the head, then slowly, angrily turning towards Malbus and then the X-Wing blowing it up is so freaking cool every time. Oh and Admiral Radish is a badass.

Nothing needs to be said about the Vader scene other than it was perfect. I could watch it on repeat.

What I Don't Like:

The first act is clunky and brings out the only character I have a hard time caring about. Saw's role is nothing more than a plot device to bring the main characters together and it's almost a relief he chooses to die on that planet. The idea of him is interesting, a half-crazed rebel leader (And Forest Whitaker gives it his best), but everything from his dialogue to his mind-reading octopus just do not work for me.

That's really about it. I suppose you could make some complaints about the forced references to the OT (They don't bother me so much) or comment about Vader's fairly lame choke joke, but overall, I really really like this movie.

Favorite Tracks:

The score for Star Wars movies is tough to pull off when you are not god-man John Williams, but I think Giacchino does a better job here than Powell did with Solo.

The Jyn Erso/Hope Suite
Your Father Would Have Been Proud of You
The Imperial Suite

Honorable mention: Rogue One, Scrambling the Rebel Fleet, Jedha Arrival

This is by far my favorite thing we've seen from the Disney Star Wars era. And even with it's troubled production (Which seems mild now in comparison to what we went through with Solo) it managed to put out an incredibly fun and rewatchable product, and continues to give me hope for what we could see in future projects that aren't focused on the story laid out in the OT.


In summation... I am one with the Force, and the Force is with me.


Rankings so far are:

1. Rogue One
2. Revenge of the Sith
3. Solo
4. The Phantom Menace
5. Attack of the Clones
Bruce Almighty
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1. Revenge of the Sith
2. Rogue One
3. Phantom Menace
4. Solo
5. Attack of the Clones
AgHawkeye
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.....but Darth Vader's neck? WTF?
Ag-Hawkeye
jokershady
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AgHawkeye said:

.....but Darth Vader's neck? WTF?
Vader was wise enough not to choke on his aspirations
Yoda
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My family went to Disney World the day this opened, so I had to wait until we returned to finally see it. A good friend had given me his short non-spoiler review letting me know I'd love it. Took my sons with me to see it when we got back to Texas. Walked out of the theater on a total Vader high, and texted my friend to start geeking out.

"Did you hear about Carrie?" was his return text. Apparently, news of her heart attack on the plane broke while I was in the theater. Very strange experience to go from seeing her recreated as an 18 year old again to learning we may have just lost her.
Cinco Ranch Aggie
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Quote:

Very strange experience to go from seeing her recreated as an 18 year old again to learning we may have just lost her.
Agreed. Had a similar experience to what you described, only I found out about her passing via a news app on my phone while at lunch.
Brian Earl Spilner
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I was on the beach in Mexico when I heard the news at the pool. Was having such a nice day and it just hit me like a punch in the gut.
MaroonStain
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Best
Star
Wars
Movie
Duncan Idaho
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The complaints about saw are fair. That while bit felt like so much was left on the cutting room floor. It kinda made sense if you were pretty damn familiar with the clone war show AND rebels. But requiring off screen background to understand a character is a bad idea for a movie.
Engine10
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Absolutely love this movie - but thought they used up their music in the second trailer. That music gets me jacked every time, especially after the Imperial Fleet alarm sound.
Urban Ag
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Duncan Idaho said:

The complaints about saw are fair. That while bit felt like so much was left on the cutting room floor. It kinda made sense if you were pretty damn familiar with the clone war show AND rebels. But requiring off screen background to understand a character is a bad idea for a movie.
Agreed. Saw was a bit ridiculous and the octopus thing should have had the CGI dollars repurposed to something else. I loved everything about else about Jedha except they could have toned down the amount of ass the blind dude kicked with a stick. That was a little out of control.
PDWT_12
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I feel extremely dumb because I'm just now learning he has backstory in those shows. Everything makes so much more sense now. I've always compared him in my mind to General Grievous.
TrustTheAwesomeness
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Overall one of the better SW movies. I think the troubled production and editing kept it at "Good" for me when it could easily have been "OMG! Epic!".

But having said that, the last battle (ground/air/space) were truly epic! And of course, we got the Darth Vader we always wanted. After we exited the movie, my son and I immediately went home and put in Star Wars ANH.

PRO TIP: Watch RO from the start of the final battle to the end. Then immediately start ANH.

Watching the beginning of the chase scene to retrieve the Death Star plans in RO and then immediately going into ANH is truly amazing. The huge battle in RO including all of the sacrifice and loss really sets the mood for ANH. There is even more of a feeling of doubt that the Rebels can pull it off after that huge defeat on Scariff. (Spoiler - They do.)

<No Bothans were harmed during the writing of this review.>

94AGBQ
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Bor Gullet!
The Collective
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94AGBQ said:

Bor Gullet!


Lies! Deception!
Engine10
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Off topic but I'm guessing you're an Expeditionary Force (Alanson) Fan?!
TrustTheAwesomeness
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Skippy the Magnificent is my hero.
AgLaw02
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The Rebels Easter eggs were cool - General Syndulla's name being called on the loudspeaker, Chopper, and all the Ghost sightings in the final space battle.
Mr. White
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My cable service gives RO three stars. Horse feathers!

What about y'all's?
Ag Since 83
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I'm really busy this Star Wars Day, but did find time to watch Rogue One this morning while I got some work done.

I still can't believe how wrong I was about Vader. I didn't want him in the movie. I had fully bought in to the concept of a this movie not having characters from the main saga so that it would stand on its own.

But this film really showed just how much we needed a badass Vader scene. The entire final act of Episode III (or maybe the whole movie?) should have been that kickass. Instead we got him killing some kids. Off screen.

So thank you, Rogue One, for giving me something I never knew I always wanted.
cbr
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It was the best Vader scene ever. It was THE defining Vader scene. It, and the whole movie made watching the original so much better and more urgent and filled so many plot holes.

Truly brilliant.
Fat Bib Fortuna
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CJS4715 said:

94AGBQ said:

Bor Gullet!


Lies! Deception!

Looks like a hentai preview ... I've been told
John Matrix
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I can't add anything else that hasn't already been said, but I'll try anyway- Rogue One is simply the best film since the OT and it's kind of not close

I really hope that new trilogy from Riann Johnson and the Game of Thrones guys follow the Rogue One blueprint-a film that featured the aesthetic of the OT, but told the story from a new perspective.
jokershady
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So I finally got around to watching Rogue One for our re-watch....and yup....still ****ing awesome!

2 things to add:

1. I can't confirm...but have read the scene where K2SO slaps Cassian on Jedda when he's pretending they're prisoners.......that moment was improvised by the motion capture guy....and when the actor playing Cassian covers his face he's actually trying to hide his laughter.

While watching tonight I rewind and watched that specific scene several times and it certainly looks like that's the case.

2. My 14 month old didn't move a muscle and stood there the entire time watching the Darth Vader scene....I don't think he even blinked....then turned around and smiled at me once it was over
West Point Aggie
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LOVED this film...this thread makes me want to rewatch it again!
LoudestWHOOP!
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CJS4715 said:

Cinco Ranch Aggie said:

Grand Moff Tarkin. I knew Peter Cushing was dead, but damn, the CGI was so very well done that it was difficult to tell any difference. At the very end, when we first see Princess Leia with her back to the camera, I was actually hoping that would be all we'd see. Now don't get me wrong, I was happy when she turned around, but the CGI didn't work quite as well for her as it did for Tarkin.


Exact opposite for me. Leia looked just fine; Tarkin made me cringe each time that I saw him; thought I was watching Polar Express.
Tarkin CGI created from a prop Life Mask made for the Movie "Top Secret"

I did like the Rogue One movie, but my problem is that I have read and played enough in the Star Wars Universe that I know that is not who did it and how it happened.

Kyle Katarn?

But honestly I need to give RO another watch.
chimpanzee
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Seems like there is a lot of opportunity to bridge from Ep. I-III, Solo, and RO.

Maybe unpopular, but I liked Solo a lot more on the rewatch.
Fat Bib Fortuna
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Solo is such a fun movie. I could watch Donald Glover as Lando reading the phone book.

The only criticism of it that I can understand is that Han is the nice guy at the end, not the hardened "I'm in it for myself" scoundrel we meet at the beginning of ANH. Of course if Solo had made $450 million instead of $211 million, I'm sure they would have another 1-2 movies letting him descend into Harrison Ford's Han, most likely after some interplay with Jabba, Boba Fett, etc. Too bad that they blew the marketing and didn't put it out at Christmas time like the others. Hard to complain about a movie with Han, Lando, the Falcon, Chewie, Kessel, Corellia, seeing the sludge of the Empire at war, and my daughter's absolute favorite ,Enfys Nest.
cbr
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Solo was pretty decent - but was a bad idea. You cant follow harrison ford with some rando and expect it to work.
Ulrich
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cbr said:

Solo was pretty decent - but was a bad idea. You cant follow harrison ford with some rando and expect it to work.

Agreed. It was a good movie, but it was the wrong movie at the wrong time.
schmiddy94
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Didn't read the entire thread so if discussed elsewhere my apologies.

But why at R2 and C3PO on Yavin and not on Leia's ship?
Brian Earl Spilner
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Well we see Bail Organa there, so we know the ship is likely there, too.
schmiddy94
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BES...not sure I'm following you.

Bail was not on Leia's ship at the beginning of ANH but R2 and C3PO were. How did they get on Leia's ship if they were on Yavin?

Well the more I think about it the rebel fleet was still scrambling to Scarif....so I guess there was still opportunity to get on the ship.

Brian Earl Spilner
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I was thinking Leia came to Yavin to get the Tantive IV from her father, but I forgot it was docked with the big rebel fleet ship. So, not sure.
G Martin 87
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I love all the elements mentioned before. RO is great, and stands up to repeated viewings. The *only* criticism I have is the operation and design of the data storage and network facility on Scarif. It's utterly ridiculous, like something out of a William Gibson cyberpunk novel written decades ago. But that's a small gripe for a movie with so much fun and emotional impact. Easily the best SW movie after the OT. Big thumbs up.
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