abake
Rex Tremendae Majestatis
Re: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (12/16/16) *NO SPOILERS ALLOWED*
Just got back from watching it with the kids.
First impression: way better than The Farce Awakens.
In a way, it's the Star Wars movie I always wanted to see after TESB, a serious action/war movie set in the Star Wars universe. And that's exactly what this is, for better or worse.
For better because it feels like a "serious" action movie.
For worse because "serious" isn't really Star Wars, is it? Star Wars is more fun and lighthearted and optimistic, even in the dark movies. The jokes were few and slightly in a dark vein, and the action and drama were quite relentless. There was no real levity or romance either. Take away the Star Wars label, place it in a historical setting, and this is a grim war movie. Which is right up my alley.
So, I loved the action, the characters are great (very grey, no white knights in shining armour), the story is good. The cinematography is beautiful, unfortunately somewhat let down by the score, which didn't really have any highlights IMO.
Krennic was serviceable, and it was great to see he didn't overshadow Tarkin in ruthlessness. It was also great to see how feared Vader was. His first introduction is chilling. Jyn and Cassian were a lot more likeable and relatable than Rey and Finn.
K-2 (Kato? funny) was great! Sometimes reminded me of TARS and CASE from Interstellar with his dry wit and barely contained disdain for humans.
What I didn't like was Vader.
He looked like crap. The suit was just so ill-fitting on whoever was playing him it wasn't funny. The way the neck stuck out from the armour, there was even a visible gap from the edge of the neck to the chest armour, it was terrible and the shoulders sloped way too much. If this guy is going to play Vader again in some future movie they really have to make him study how Prowse moved. Even lanky Hayden Christensen managed to nail Vader's way of moving.
Of course, none of this takes away from Vader's final sequence, from the moment his Star Destroyer emerges from hyperspace to the final moments. That was all just pure geek heaven.
Lastly, the CGI still needs some work. We're really not that far from Beowulf yet...
As I said, it's miles better than TFA, and it manages to capture a lot of the Star Wars spirit even while it steers away from it.
Just got back from watching it with the kids.
First impression: way better than The Farce Awakens.
In a way, it's the Star Wars movie I always wanted to see after TESB, a serious action/war movie set in the Star Wars universe. And that's exactly what this is, for better or worse.
For better because it feels like a "serious" action movie.
For worse because "serious" isn't really Star Wars, is it? Star Wars is more fun and lighthearted and optimistic, even in the dark movies. The jokes were few and slightly in a dark vein, and the action and drama were quite relentless. There was no real levity or romance either. Take away the Star Wars label, place it in a historical setting, and this is a grim war movie. Which is right up my alley.
So, I loved the action, the characters are great (very grey, no white knights in shining armour), the story is good. The cinematography is beautiful, unfortunately somewhat let down by the score, which didn't really have any highlights IMO.
Krennic was serviceable, and it was great to see he didn't overshadow Tarkin in ruthlessness. It was also great to see how feared Vader was. His first introduction is chilling. Jyn and Cassian were a lot more likeable and relatable than Rey and Finn.
K-2 (Kato? funny) was great! Sometimes reminded me of TARS and CASE from Interstellar with his dry wit and barely contained disdain for humans.
What I didn't like was Vader.
He looked like crap. The suit was just so ill-fitting on whoever was playing him it wasn't funny. The way the neck stuck out from the armour, there was even a visible gap from the edge of the neck to the chest armour, it was terrible and the shoulders sloped way too much. If this guy is going to play Vader again in some future movie they really have to make him study how Prowse moved. Even lanky Hayden Christensen managed to nail Vader's way of moving.
Of course, none of this takes away from Vader's final sequence, from the moment his Star Destroyer emerges from hyperspace to the final moments. That was all just pure geek heaven.
Lastly, the CGI still needs some work. We're really not that far from Beowulf yet...
As I said, it's miles better than TFA, and it manages to capture a lot of the Star Wars spirit even while it steers away from it.
:
It's not my fault he walks funny 
