joefavs

Just got back from seeing it. I definitely liked it, but I didn’t instantly adore it like I did TFA. I think most of the characters were a good bit weaker (the exception being Chirrut, who is seriously in my top five favorite characters in the entire saga now [I liked Bodhi as well, but it had more to do with the performance than the writing]). This is probably a symptom of the size of the cast coupled with the pacing. We never get more than vague allusions to troubled pasts from Jyn and Cassian; other than that, everything they say and do is strictly to move the plot along. Likewise, I think Krennic and Galen were underwritten, especially given how insanely charismatic the actors playing them are (I didn’t have as much trouble getting invested in them, though, because I got hip to their dynamic through Catalyst). This is kind of par for the course with Gareth Edwards, though, so it didn’t shatter any expectations.

CGI Tarkin was exactly as bad as I feared he would be when that rumor first hit, but it wasn’t nearly a big enough deal to break the movie. I thought Leia looked just fine.

Now that we’ve finally seen Vader full on wreck some shit, I hope they leave him well alone going forward. I thought he was fine in this, but James Earl Jones just sounds tired these days. I really appreciate how plodding and un-acrobatic he was in his slaughter scene at the end. The tank scene was absolutely chilling, too.

I thought the score didn’t use nearly as much Williams as it should have. Liberal use of the rebel fanfare and a few more Force themes could have anchored this to the saga more firmly.

I agree that the first twenty minutes or so after the flashback were all over the place and I had real trouble finding the film’s rhythm, but once it calmed down I thought it moved at a really good clip. The whole final act was absolutely stunning, and I was 200% all-in.

Retconning the exhaust port into an intentional sabotage was kind of brilliant. I’m glad they found a way to put that to bed once and for all.

Anyway, I need to go to bed. Final verdict is that Rogue One is flawed but supremely entertaining. I can’t fault it for being more ambitious than TFA, but I think its reach exceeds its grasp. I give it a low B. Subject to change on repeat viewing, but right now I’d rank it at number 5, between Return of the Jedi and the ouroboros that is my ever-shifting opinions on which prequel sucks the least.

I honestly expected exactly that to happen after Gary Whitta tweeted that rebels fans should “watch (and listen)” for references.

Twelve hours to go. Saw a couple of “X character is/isn’t in the movie” spoilers this morning, but I’m still more or less completely in the dark about what actually happens in the film. I think I’m going to stay off the internet before I see something more substantial. See you guys on the other side.

God, I hope I wasn’t supposed to buy Family Guy before downloading this, because that’s not happening.

luckydube56 said:

Seriously, Star Wars was one of those films that people either ‘get it’ the first time they see it and are hooked or ‘dont get it’ and think to themselves ‘meh’ or even “I liked it but I’m not going bonkers over it”.

Its the former category. And it doesnt matter which of the films you liked the best although around here there is a clear preference.

This, absolutely.

The guy from TCW is credited on IMDB.

De-aged Anthony Hopkins was more than passable on Westworld, and they did that with a fraction of Rogue One’s budget. My guess is that the real problem is that they overuse Tarkin. The tech is definitely there to pull off this kind of thing in brief segments.

I’m sorry, now that I think of it a bit more i’m pretty sure it was call sheets, not a shot list. I don’t believe the document itself was ever made public; the guys at Making Star Wars obtained it and parceled descriptions of it out in a series of articles. It turned out to be pretty legit; they had all the major beats laid out something like nine months before the movie came out.

I haven’t been going out of my way to avoid spoilers, but even without any amount of vigilance I’m going into this one a lot cleaner than I did for TFA. I don’t know if that shot list that leaked for TFA early on was a blessing or a curse, because having a good idea what to expect well in advance probably allowed me to enjoy it a lot more than some of the folks who felt blindsided or cheated by how safe the filmmakers played things. In any case, this is a much different experience and I’m enjoying it immensely.

Can’t recall if the alleged track listing for the soundtrack album has been discussed here.

1. He’s Here For Us
2. A Long Ride Ahead
3. Wobani Imperial Labor Camp
4. Trust Goes Both Ways
5. When Has Become Now
6. Jedha Arrival
7. Jedha City Ambush
8. Star-Dust
9. Confrontation on Eadu
10. Krennic’s Aspirations
11. Rebellions Are Built on Hope
12. Rogue One
13. Cargo Shuttle SW-0608
14. Scrambling the Rebel Fleet
15. AT-ACT Assault
16. The Master Switch
17. Your Father Would Be Proud
18. Hope
19. Jyn Erso & Hope Suite
20. The Imperial Suite
21. Guardians of the Whills Suite

I am absolutely losing it over that last track. I remember being nine years old or so and bored spending a night at my grandparents’ house and coming across my mom’s paperback copy of the novelization from 77 and being so baffled and intrigued by that fleeting reference at the beginning. If they’re actually going to explain the Whills onscreen, this film could be a way more significant event in my personal history as a Star Wars fan than I ever expected it would.

I was uneasy about the cinematography while the trailers for TFA were coming out (particularly that whip-zoom on the Falcon entering the Star Destroyer wreck), but I’ve grown used to it and it doesn’t bother me at all any more. It’s certainly better than that god awful slow zoom thing that’s going on perpetually in the PT.

The review embargo ends tomorrow at noon EST, FYI. If you’re avoiding spoilers, tread lightly after that.

Oh come on, with the rifftrax commentary it’s pretty enjoyable.

I’m guessing to avoid confusion in promoting Rogue One. I expect we’ll get a title soon after the release. Ideally they run a teaser with Rogue One, but I’m trying not to get greedy.

I’d like to see them start another series elsewhere in the timeline before they go past IX. They ought to do a decade of Old Republic stuff or something before another Skywalker trilogy. Give us a chance to miss it.

My local theater added 9:00 and 10:00 showings in addition to the 7:00 and midnight ones on Thursday so now I can make it on the first night! I was going to have to wait until Saturday, and I did not trust myself to stay off the internet for that long.

There’s no way they use “Force” in the title again. I’m betting “Forces of Destiny” is some kind of shitty cell phone game or something.

Oh dear.

http://www.starwarsunderworld.com/2016/12/rumor-more-prequel-character-cameos.html?m=1

Not sure if anyone’s seen this yet, but the IMDB page credits some guy I’ve never heard of as Admiral Raddus, and then Stephen Stanton as Admiral Raddus (voice). Now, Stanton voices Tarkin on TCW and Rebels. Could this be a Khan/John Harrison situation?

RE: the ronto, I’ve always figured they weren’t indigenous to Tatooine, but rather that they were imported somewhere along the line. I suspect there was some legends stuff somewhere along the line that contradicts that idea, but as far as I know it’s a valid theory again.

suspiciouscoffee said:

Picked up Catalyst today. Hope it’s good!

I liked it fine. Not the most exciting Star Wars book, but there’s a lot of really interesting state-of-the-galaxy stuff. And Krennic is cool as hell.

It would be neat if we heard Hera on the radio during the battle. I don’t really want to see any of the Rebels characters played by actors, though.

Eh, since it’s not an actual episode, I’m not really much concerned with chronology or comprehensiveness in this situation. I just want to engender good Star Wars vibes and get the mood up for next weekend, because this one kind of snuck up on us and it hasn’t really registered yet that there’s a Star Wars movie coming out in nine days.

These actual clips from the film are making me uneasy about the score. I know it can’t be the case with the amount of money Disney has to throw around, but the orchestra feels kind of synthetic, like it was a video game or a TV show from ten years ago. I dunno, it sounds kind of cheap and chintzy to me.

Bumping this rather than starting a new thread. I was just wondering what, if anything, you guys are planning for the lead-up to Rogue One? I hosted an OT marathon with one group of friends and attended a Machete order marathon with a different group last year for TFA, but rather than repeat that I think I’m going to save the full-saga marathons for numbered episodes. I’ve got some folks coming over on Saturday for some sort of pre-R1 Star Wars viewing, and I think I’m going to show ANH, TFA, and the Holiday Special with the Rifftrax commentary.