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Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (SPOILERS)

some thoughts now that I'm on a computer

The good:
- This movie was exactly what I wanted: a classic WWII commando raid against impossible odds. Super fun; the battles were great, pacing was good.
- They handled Vader really well, i thought. They had a big task to both get fanbois excited and happy and basically re-introduce this character to those watching the films in chronological order in a way that makes sense and keeps him menacing. Moonz is right; that hallway scene might be fan-service but damn it's an awesome scene and just illustrates how bad ass Vader is.
- I think the movie's explanation for the exhaust port plot hole is great.
- I love that they were able to maintain the level of tech seen in the ANH. The details make the movie.
- I liked that Forrest Whittaker's character is like the Rebellion's zealot/Darth Vader, half machine with breathing apparatus. Wish we knew more about him.
- They did a great job of making the Force mystical again. I think it works in-universe, too, because they jedi are "extinct" so the religion would have basically have died out, I guess, but it's nice that we have 'believers' and see "the Force" in action.
- Tailing on that, I guess this movie 'explains' why the storm troopers in the main movies are terrible shots: the Force simply protects those who channel it.


The problems:
- The movie was pretty incoherent for my wife (and by extension non-fans). She's seen all the films but is not really a "fan" and still needs large plot points explained or reminded of. The movie really assumes you know and care about what the hell is going on.
- Rogue One's plan is fucking dumb. Noble, but dumb. Jyn and the gang decide to steal a ship and zip off to Scarif to somehow steal the plans from an Imperial installation with no Rebel support. They just luck into the Calamari admiral taking a whole fleet w/out orders to help them out.
- The script takes what is typically an arrogant but clever Empire and turns them into (literal) cartoons. It makes zero sense for Tarkin to blow up Scarif to somehow prevent the Rebels from getting plans for the death star, especially since he's not aware of some kind of fatal flaw.
- I don't care about any of the main characters because there are too many of them and because this movie was re-shot. I know there's a lot more to Forrest Whittaker's character but wtf, why should we even care if we haven't seen clone wars/read books?


I'd really like to see a director's cut, if there ever is one.
 
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Agree on them making the force more mystical again

I also still don't get why there is frustration the Empire blew up Sarnoff to try to blow up plans. As Ph said whether they knew of flaw or not rebels having plans is no bueno
 
DeacdeTejas said:
Agree on them making the force more mystical again

I also still don't get why there is frustration the Empire blew up Sarnoff to try to blow up plans. As Ph said whether they knew of flaw or not rebels having plans is no bueno
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Because they have a planet-destroying spaceship that has passed operational tests that they believe is invincible and they are fighting a rag-tag bunch of underequipped rebels who are so far on the ropes that they can barely cobble together a single raid on an outpost. Nuke from orbit on a hunch confers a sense of fear/respect that isn't otherwise demonstrated anywhere in the plot. If it's so sensitive, maybe a second guard in the hallway outside the chamber?

It's not the end of the world (well, unless you are Alderan), but it doesn't fit within the flow of the plot to me.
 
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It's just good risk management. Nuke it from orbit, risk eliminated. If they do get the plans, risk introduced.
 
DeacHead said:
It's just good risk management. Nuke it from orbit, risk eliminated. If they do get the plans, risk introduced.
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I give. Perhaps the disproportionate response is proof of the degree of their evil-doer-ness. Genius!
 
DeacdeTejas said:
Agree on them making the force more mystical again

I also still don't get why there is frustration the Empire blew up Sarnoff to try to blow up plans. As Ph said whether they knew of flaw or not rebels having plans is no bueno
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seems like a little bit of sniveling cartoon evil to just blow up a whole installation to prevent it. Hell they almost prevented it when the rebels attacked with a surprise assault. The death star attack didn't help at all.
 
DeacHead said:
It's just good risk management. Nuke it from orbit, risk eliminated. If they do get the plans, risk introduced.
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They don't decide to destroy Scarif until they are aware there is a breach and they aren't confident anybody on the ground can do anything. It was the quickest response they could muster.

And they sent their #1 badass to retrieve the plans as a backup plan.
 
PhDeac said:
They don't decide to destroy Scarif until they are aware there is a breach and they aren't confident anybody on the ground can do anything. It was the quickest response they could muster.
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I don't get that read at all. tarkin decides to blow up the station as another demonstration of power.
 
All these reasons don't even include that they had a new toy and we're just looking for excuses to test it.
 
vadimivich said:
What's funny is that everyone I talked to who didn't know Tarkin was CGI going into the film (most just don't follow Star Wars that closely) all were like "WTF, he was CGI? I had no clue" ... I think it's one of those things where if you knew, you payed extra close attention and started to pick up little things the "normal" audience never spotted.
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Agree with this
 
it was definitely a show so any other Rebels wouldn't think to mess with them
 
ImTheCaptain said:
- Rogue One's plan is fucking dumb. Noble, but dumb. Jyn and the gang decide to steal a ship and zip off to Scarif to somehow steal the plans from an Imperial installation with no Rebel support. They just luck into the Calamari admiral taking a whole fleet w/out orders to help them out.
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Wasn't the entire fleet re-routed by the dude on Yavin 4 when they realized what was going on?
 
Oh, and I like how the blind dude blows up a fucking tie fighter with a bow an arrow, but he just takes out one dude in a sea of stormtroopers responding to their attack. Maybe use that explosive arrow on that occasion too?
 
EatLeadCommie said:
Wasn't the entire fleet re-routed by the dude on Yavin 4 when they realized what was going on?
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possibly, but I thought i remembered him running to inform Motha(?) that they were receiving/intercepting Imperial transmission of activity at Scarif and that the calamari ship was heading there (w/out being told). And then Motha smiles to herself.
 
Finally was able to see it yesterday. I was geeking out during that last scene. I thought that we saw the last of Vader earlier in the movie or it would pan to him going after the Tantive IV on the star destroyer or something, not him going beast mode. Really cool ending.
 
Just to report my thoughts - if the movie is indeed mostly fan service, well, I'm a fan, so I was serviced and really enjoyed it.

Any thoughts I had, good or bad, have been expressed upthread many times and I won't list a litany of nit picks, but just one that really stuck in my craw - punny Vader. "Don't choke on your ambitions" made me groan. That's not his style, he's not James Bond.
 
guess none of the dudes at the round table mocking the Force in Ep IV got wind of what Vader did a little while before to the Rebels
 
DeacHead said:
Just to report my thoughts - if the movie is indeed mostly fan service, well, I'm a fan, so I was serviced and really enjoyed it.

Any thoughts I had, good or bad, have been expressed upthread many times and I won't list a litany of nit picks, but just one that really stuck in my craw - punny Vader. "Don't choke on your ambitions" made me groan. That's not his style, he's not James Bond.
Click to expand...

+1
 
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