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Post #1025937

Author
Alderaan
Parent topic
Rogue One * Spoilers * Thread
Link to post in topic
https://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/1025937/action/topic#1025937
Date created
30-Dec-2016, 8:21 AM

Part 4:

After her father dies, Jyn returns back to Yavin 4 and lobbies the Council to attack Scarif, in an attempt to steal the Death Star plans. You’re absolutely right Tavor, Galen’s death should have been reserved for the film’s climax, and moreover, the research facility on Eadu and the Imperial base on Scarif were redundant and should have been combined. There was no need for two different settings when one base would have sufficed.

Anyway, because the bad scriptwriting needs melodrama, the Council rejects Jyn’s pleas even as Cassian and Mon Mothma and others conspire to help her or at least condone her actions. These people evidently hated when Saw went rogue, but when Jyn–someone with questionable loyalties and no track record of aiding the alliance-- does it, well shucks, let’s just smile and decide at the last minute to help her out.

The more I think about it, the more this movie is starting to piss me off because the scriptwriting is just so damn lazy. I can complain all I want about the terrible composition, the lack of any interesting cinematography, the PTSD editing, the pacing and rhythm problems, and the CGI and bad acting in some roles throughout the film, but first and foremost a film begins and ends with the quality of the script; and in Rogue One, the script is not good at all. I mean, we’re not Mary Sue-ing our way through shots of Starkiller simultaneously destroying relatively small planets clear on the other side of the galaxy, but this isn’t good screenwriting either.

What are some other ways it could have been better? How about shortening the dialogue all throughout the movie. The worst example was in the Galen Erso hologram message at Saw’s place on Jedha. The guy just rambles on, and on, and on…and on. He literally speed-reads through a message that is as long as these ridiculously long posts of mine. When the actors read their lines, there is no rhythm or timing to any of it. For that matter, there is no rhythm or timing to any of these scenes. Ah, **** it, let’s just move on to the cool last battle, undoubtedly the best part of the film.


So our heroes steal away to Scarif and **** starts to go down. There is actually one well shot or at least animated sequence where the camera doesn’t cut every two seconds. I don’t remember the whole sequence, but it takes place in space above Scarif, and eventually Rogue One or some other ship makes its way to the shield gate. It was kind of a sweeping ten seconds that I really enjoyed. The space fx look great too, especially the whole shield gate thing. Good things in the movie are starting to happen.

But meanwhile, what were the bad guys doing during this time? Well we get a pointless filler scene with Vader and Krennic, just so we can see Vader’s CGI animated castle or something. Listen, I LOVE LOVE LOVE the last scene with Vader in the movie, don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t want that cut out of the movie for anything–but that other scene or two he’s in? The dialogue is off. He doesn’t have anything to do. He’s just pointless filler. Save the best for last!

And what about the bizarre scene when Krennic arrives on Scarif? The commanding officer arrives with orders to dig up every one of Galen Erso’s communications, but how does he order his officers to do that exactly? In case you missed it, I will tell you, because I noticed it during the film: Krennic doesn’t look any of the imperials in the eye. He doesn’t even break stride on his way over to his penthouse view of Space Bahamas. He literally walks into the room, fails to acknowledge anyone, gives orders to nobody in particular, and hastily makes for the big window so he can look out at the pretty blue sky.

Really?

Oh well, I’ve rambled on a little too long I guess. Hard to criticize a film for being too wordy when my posts are this long. I promise I will finish my review in Part 5: the Battle of Scarif!