Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (12/16/16) *SPOILERS*

[Prime Clone]

Whats the threshold for again?

So we can call BvS a failure.

Plus, humans like round numbers and $1b has lots of zeroes.

 

[Darth Snoopy]

Most of those earning were from Khev's repeated trips to the theater...
XD

I caught my third viewing this last Saturday and the theater, to my surprise, was packed again.

 

[ZaCHw117]

I really need to see this one more time before it leaves my local theater.

I don't think I've ever seen a SW movie just once in the theater, especially a good one.

 

[xipotec]

So we can call BvS a failure.

Plus, humans like round numbers and $1b has lots of zeroes.

 

[Khev]

I really need to see this one more time before it leaves my local theater.

Yeah, and there's just so much to take in with this one. Not necessarily story-wise because that is pretty straight forward but it's fun to soak in parts of the atmosphere (particularly the Trading Outpost, Jedha Holy City, and the Space Battle) because there are so many interesting details.

And I realized that I never caught that when they're all in Saw Gerrera's prison that Chirrut Imwe says "Baze Malbus used to be the greatest of all Guardians before he fell away" (or lost his faith, whatever the line was.) "Baze Malbus" is such a weird name and that combined with Danny Yen's accent made it hard to comprehend what he was saying the first two times. So they actually DID spell out that Baze wasn't just some heavy gunner merc which of course gives a much more satisfying arc to his final scene.

 

[ZaCHw117]

Yeah, and there's just so much to take in with this one. Not necessarily story-because that is pretty straight forward but it's fun to soak in parts of the atmosphere (particularly the Trading Outpost, Jedha Holy City, and the Space Battle) because there are so many interesting details.

And I realized that I never caught that when they're all in Saw Gerrera's prison that Chirrut Imwe says "Baze Malbus used to be the greatest of all Guardians before he fell away" (or lost his faith, whatever the line was.) "Baze Malbus" is such a weird name and that combined with Danny Yen's accent made it hard to comprehend what he was saying the first two times. So they actually DID spell out that Baze wasn't just some heavy gunner merc which of course gives a much more satisfying arc to his final scene.

wow that's awesome, I'll pay extra close attention to see that. the more I think about it, Baze is probably my favorite character. Him, or K2.

 

[Wor-Gar]

What an "eff you" from Tarkin.

For this alone, he deserves a 1/6 figure.

 

[Khev]

For this alone, he deserves a 1/6 figure.

Word. "Target Director Krennic himself, single reactor sequence. You may fire when ready."

It's too bad that Seven Samurai will forever cast an infinite shadow over films like RO but if you exclude Kurosawa's masterpiece then I think RO easily ranks among the best of the "handful vs. a horde" movies. Not that's thats the most respected sub-genre of films by any means but for it's part, damn does it deliver.

And the SW geek in me can't help but love how they treated the legacy characters. Vader, Tarkin, Mon Mothma, even Leia. None of them diminished in how they were portrayed, none of them undermined by the "new" characters, I actually like each and every one of them more because of RO. You can't ask much more from a prequel than that.

 

[NAZGUL-KING]

Yeah, and there's just so much to take in with this one. Not necessarily story-wise because that is pretty straight forward but it's fun to soak in parts of the atmosphere (particularly the Trading Outpost, Jedha Holy City, and the Space Battle) because there are so many interesting details.

And I realized that I never caught that when they're all in Saw Gerrera's prison that Chirrut Imwe says "Baze Malbus used to be the greatest of all Guardians before he fell away" (or lost his faith, whatever the line was.) "Baze Malbus" is such a weird name and that combined with Danny Yen's accent made it hard to comprehend what he was saying the first two times. So they actually DID spell out that Baze wasn't just some heavy gunner merc which of course gives a much more satisfying arc to his final scene.

We've seen this twice now and I found it even better the second time. It was easier to take in all the new characters and locations etc... and focus on things that I missed the first time.
Going back to 1977 I've seen every original release Star Wars movie twice in theaters, this might be the first movie (Star Wars or otherwise) that I'm considering seeing in theaters for a third time.

 

[mrdbios]

It didn't occur to me before that since the Death Star vaporized the top of the Citadel Tower before striking the planet of Scarif out in the ocean that Krennic *alone* was actually taken out by the laser itself. Everyone else was just hit by the blast wave. What an "eff you" from Tarkin.

Keep in mind Tarkin also told his officer on the DS to let Vader handle the fleet, he was only concerned with Scariff! Definitely an assassination with the biggest gun in the galaxy.

 

[Wor-Gar]

an assassination with the biggest gun in the galaxy.

That's what makes Tarkin cool... and lethal.

He just blows up entire planets to get his way -- first to eliminate a job position, then later blowing away Leia's homeworld just to obtain some driving directions.

 

[user 6734]

after second viewing... still amazing great !! such a depressing sad and dark movie .. just love it.. the vader scenes could have gone double as long...

 

[Khev]

Keep in mind Tarkin also told his officer on the DS to let Vader handle the fleet, he was only concerned with Scariff! Definitely an assassination with the biggest gun in the galaxy.

Indeed. A moment of overkill not likely to ever be topped.

Final assessment of the movie after three viewings:

1. Overall probably an 8.5/10. It's just so solid throughout. ROTJ I might give a 7.5 or 8/10, but that's because most of it is a 6/10 (with even a few 4 or 5 level moments) punctuated by moments of 10/10 brilliance. Rogue One doesn't have that yo-yo effect in quality throughout. It's constant in all areas of filmmaking (not Academy Award winning or anything but a constant 7-8 throughout) with an occasional grand uptick to 10/10 (or even 11/10 for that finale, lol.)

Do I see this being nominated for anything? Maybe visual effects or sound/sound editing. Or Film Editing if that is graded on "degree of difficulty." Probably won't win anything but neither did movies like Die Hard, Mission: Impossible or True Lies.

2. Plot holes. Very under the radar and overlap with ANH plot holes which makes them pretty forgivable. Now that I know that Jyn's incarceration was added later it does seem strange that the Empire would have allowed her to keep her kyber crystal necklace (and her entire outfit as well) all through her initial incarceration, sentencing, and deployment to a labor camp. But.....Leia got to keep her gown in ANH (and assumedly anything she was wearing underneath it) so I can accept it as just one of those "Star Wars" things.

I believe I noticed some recycling of Jedha's background aliens at the Trading Post. Makes sense because again, that scene was added later and they were no doubt spending a lot to add the extra visual effects, redress sets, etc., so I can't say that I blame them for sneaking in some of the same costumes to pad the scene.

3. Silliest moment probably goes to Dr. What's His Name and Walrus Man. I watched a little bit of a funny "Kylo Ren reviews Rogue One" video and he said, "So these guys are on Jedha, pick a fight with Jyn and Cassian, and then IMMEDIATELY jump on a ship to leave before the city gets destroyed just so they can go to Tatooine and start picking fights there like two days later? I admire their relentless drive to pick fights on every single planet they can."

But the Doctor did go off to Luke about how they're wanted men on so many systems so that might actually fit. Glad that they resisted a moment like Walrus Man grabbing Jyn's coat and her saying something like "Move that arm or lose it." Phew.

4. CG Tarkin and Leia. So good on Tarkin, still not RDJ Civil War good but impressive nonetheless. Leia looked fantastic in profile but when she faces the camera they lose the likeness a bit. It really did sound like her saying "hope." I wonder if they lifted that word from her famous hologram recording in ANH?

5. And then the rest would just be a massive laundry list of all the things I loved about the movie which I've mostly covered over the past few weeks. I say 8.5 overall as just a general attempt to be an objective reviewer but with regard to my personal rankings you might as well give me Jim Cameron's crazy blue and purple shirt because it's a straight 10 piece of entertainment (or very high 9.) I actually loved the score but of course it will never match Williams, and the saga's most iconic moments and importance will always fall to ANH and ESB but Rogue One really does bring a level of tension and excitement that might have only existed previously in 1977's original trench run but RO spreads those moments out across multiple battlefields and with greater (by 2016 standards) visuals.

For that reason I could see RO being equally capable of any future "go to SW fix" as any of the original three films I might be inclined to experience going forward. Great stuff.

 

[jye4ever]

Well after my 5th and final viewing, what he said /\

 

[Khev]

 

[Prime Clone]

SW always about cheesy dialogue but at this moment I cannot think of any films with double helping of cheesy dialogue found in PT (but I bet their out there)...."I am haunted by the kiss........." aiyee......

It was perfectly suited to the Shakespearean space tragedy Lucas was shooting for. Unfortunately most old-school fans wanted

the x-wing fights and the space battle and the ground battle at the end.

 

[Khev]

One thing I noticed, that tight shot of Jyn clipping the plans to her belt was the greatest ass shot in the history of the saga. Don't know if that was Felicity or a double but either way, damn...

 

[jye4ever]

Ok the weekend actuals are in and RO DID lose to Hidden Figures therefore RO had 3 weekends at # 1, not 4 weekends.

I wonder how much Disney paid box office mojo to report RO as winning the weekend lol.

 

[Khev]

So you're saying the final box office figures were...hidden?

 

[DiFabio]

I think you mean Hidden Fences Jyecat.