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Ness and Obadiah like this
Post by OdanUrr on Dec 17, 2016 9:08:48 GMT -6
Watched it. Rogue One is, at its heart, a war story that just happens to take place in the Star Wars universe. Picture any WWII-era film like, say, Guns of Navarone, where you have a small team that needs to go behind enemy lines and gather intel or blow up something. It's also a film that's not afraid to show the Alliance's darker side. There is a war going on after all, and many a Rebel is called upon to do questionable deeds for the sake of having a fighting chance against the Empire. I liked a particular dialogue that Cassian Andor's character has with Jyn after an op on Eadu where he comes clean with her. It's a hard truth for Jyn to swallow but one I welcomed nonetheless: the Rebels aren't saints, they're just made of people, and when people are backed into a corner they go to desperate lengths to back out of said corner. I wish Rogue One had also taken the chance to tell (part of) the Empire's story, maybe via a captured stormtrooper or something, to further drive the point that even in the Empire there are people who think they're doing the right thing, especially in light of Saw Gerrera's merciless campaign against the Empire... and everyone else that happens to stand in his way. What else, what else... I'm afraid the music was far from memorable, I can't quite recall any piece that struck a cord with me. Maybe if I watched it again or if I listened to the OST on its own. There are plenty of cameos in this film. I won't spoil exactly who but expect a few of them to incorporate CGI, something that was fairly noticeable, though it didn't take me out of the movie. There were a few that even took me by surprise and made me happy at the deft manner in how they were incorporated, further tying Rogue One to A New Hope. Vader's scenes are few but used to great effect, especially his scene in the third act of the movie that ties directly into the events of A New Hope. Yes, you will see him put that lightsaber of his to good use, not to mention he goes all-out with the Force as well. The movie's intro and end credits felt rather abrupt to me, as were the first 15-20 minutes of the movie where we would be constantly switching from one planet to the next: cut to planet A, this thing happens; cut to planet B, this thing happens; cut to planet C, this thing happens; etc. I also get the feeling that there originally was another ending based on the footage I've seen in trailers and such since a few scenes are missing. I get the impression that, initially, some members of Rogue One, like Jyn and maybe Cassian, got to escape Scarif before the Death Star blew it up. I'm going off of this scene, basically, where we can see Jyn and Cassian escaping with the Death Star plans, probably making their way to a shuttle. For whatever reason they must've decided that everyone dying was the better route to take. Unfortunately, that also means that we won't be seeing any more movies involving the Rogue One team. In any case, rest assured that Rogue One won't sequel-bait you, unless you count A New Hope that is. As far as character development goes, I think Cassian's character got the better deal out of everyone. Jyn undergoes a fast-tracked transformation from "I don't give no crap about no Alliance" to "Rebellions are built on hope!" Other than that I really liked her character, she's able to convey emotion really well, particularly in that hologram scene (for those who've seen the movie). I also liked the characters of Chirrut Îmwe, the blind protector of the temple at Jedha, and his partner, Baze. Together with K-2SO, they provide a lot of comic relief throughout the movie. The villains are, unfortunately, villainous to the point of predictability. Don't expect to see a Thrawn-like character here, but that's why we get Vader. I don't know how I would rank it with the other Star Wars movies. I can say without a shred of doubt that it's the most action-packed of the lot, what strengthens and hinders it at the same time. The ground battles are very realistic and while we don't see much in terms of space battles, what we do see is damn impressive. If we can expect all spinoffs to be this good, then I won't mind if the Skywalker saga ends with Episode IX. |
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