Just came out from a screening, and again, somethings are quite disturbing, but it is far far better than Disney Awakens the Force, and personally for me, up there with the OT.
The soundtrack feels somewhat odd, certainly not a JW OST, but the movie closes with classic star wars credit music. And I think that’s my feeling about the movie, it might be different but it indeed earns to be called a Star Wars film, probably the first since the 80s.
Things I liked:
Break out of War!!! One line -this is Admiral Raddus of the Rebel Alliance- made it for me. The previous debate (even if Felicity’s speech was a Disney® moment) was gold. Should the Rebellion risk an open War against the Empire? This was the first battle, the Rebels first open incursion against the mighty Empire, and it was on the verge of just not coming to be.
The high steaks, intelligence assasinations, etc. There is no Death Star says Vader. The Senate doesn’t know anything. There IS a lot of political tension amidst a war film.Great, excellent prequel material. I liked seeing some Old Clone Wars vehicle at the beginning as well, and Coruscant was just criteriously used as a memory of a long forgotten past…
Tarkin. Great, great and promising technology. I agree the results are a little off, but I put it all on Guy Henry’s acting. You can Mocap his face and get it replace by Cushing, but he just isn’t Peter Cushing, nor has his gestures. This is what I think was the reason behind the uncanny valley feeling I got sometimes during the movie. For instance, they got the mouth part to be quite accurate. Eye movement is even correct, but eyebrows seldom get a vertical movement, which is a key feature when someone is surprised/tense. Now is that a fault on the thecnology or is it just an actor perhaps playing it light perhaps because he knows he is to be replaced?
In the end…OT era. Boy how I missed this. I can’t help not giving a damn about The First Order and Kiloren or Battledroids or Mace Windu. This IS the classic Star Wars Era. All the designs and schemes of the OT prove to be so timeless I wouldn’t mind if they just got stuck doing films set in this timeframe.
Things I didn’t like:
Well, the soundtrack: Both Imperial themes from the OT weren’t used enough. ANH’s wasn’t even used, and Rebel Fanfare was in a Yppieeee Disney version, not militaristic enough.
ILM/Technology: Yes, used universe and whatever they want to sell to E-Entertainment and SDCC, but there’s no point in putting half the budget in 3D modelling entire catalogues of model pieces only to use them in OT ships. What I mean is, they got Star Destroyers and the Death Star quite right [just speaking of the models, the lighting felt off, and very Star-Trek to me] but the new designs weren’t digitally built with such model pieces, so the movie ends up having on purpose low-detailed model-like Star Destroyers but classic CGI full detailed U Wings, Rebel Cruisers, Scarif Building or Krennic’s Shuttle. Perhaps I’m asking too much, but it should have all looked as those old and loved 80s models.
About the lighting of the space scenes, well I might be a nitpicker, but it’s just that it didn’t match OT’s more uniform and plain light, instead there’s a super-accurate Gravity-like approach of lighting.
And, the last thing I didn’t like is…Vader. I think Edwards cinematography didn’t help him at all. Vader is there to be filmed from below, and he just keeps putting the camera at the height of his eyes, which renders an angle not so familiar of his mask, and certainly not imposing at all. Combine it with the fact that JEJ didn’t get the tone quite right, and also the fact that well, he doesn’t quite have anything to do in the movie other than fan service and you’ll have a strange presence in the film. (which on the other hand, I welcome because what is Star Wars without Darth Vader?)
The last shot of Vader standing there in open space even looked fan-film like.
When did fun little nods become “fan service”? I friggin’ hate that new term! I’m a lover of nostalgia, it’s excellent and charming. People out there quit giving dorky ass names to things whilst trying to harpoon the fanbase!