Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)

[radiator]

...no-one waxed lyrical about sand, no cutesy CGI trolls did a musical number, nobody mentioned midichlorians and instead a lot of cool-looking stuff blew up....

No offence Tordels, but it's this sort of attitude (or at least the perception of it) that can tend to get peoples backs up a bit - ie, that we should all fawn over a movie, no matter how mediocre or messy in its execution, and that any criticism of it is dismissed as 'nitpicking', purely because it isn't as catastrophically awful as the prequels were....

It's also short-circuits my brain a bit when people can straight up admit that they don't like or understand/care about the lead character of a film, and do the required mental gymnastics to justify universally weak character writing like this:

I think TFA did a much better job creating lasting and fun characters, that wasn't R1's job... by and large these were just meat for the grinder, and their disparate motivations were subsumed into their experience of Jedha's destruction... Essentially none of them needed to endure or express much beyond their desperation and willingness to give everything to oppose the Death Star and what it represented.

...and still say with a straight face that it was still a good or even great film. And Saw and Cassian 'intiguing figures'? Really? What cut of the movie did you watch? 

I'm honestly a bit shocked at how much of an easy ride it's getting from you lot, when I firmly believe that, stripped of its familiar Star Wars trappings and associated nostalgia, and having to stand on its own merits as a generic sci fi/adventure film, its average at best.

The most alarming aspect for me is that this empty, shallow fan service seems to be what "fans" want from a Star Wars film.

Agree 100%. It's also weird how the one bit of the film that almost everyone is consistently praising is the weird tacked-on scene at the end that has almost nothing to do with the rest of the film.

[The Legendary Shark]

I think I'd agree if this was just another film, a world and story unto itself, but it isn't. It's part of a larger canvas. It's like saying you don't like this one small piece of a jigsaw because it's a funny shape or you don't like this Dredd spin-off because Dredd's in it.

[TordelBack]

Don't recall ever saying it was a 'great' film... in fact I've said more than once that it isn't really what I want from a Star Wars movie.  But I did enjoy it greatly for what it was, which is also exactly what was promised. 

It's also weird how the one bit of the film that almost everyone is consistently praising is the weird tacked-on scene at the end that has almost nothing to do with the rest of the film.

This is where I think we really differ.  The last scene has everything to do with the rest of the film - this film positions itself as being a story about how the Alliance acquired the Death Star plans, the thing Vader is chasing after when we first met him.  Vader is at the height of his powers, the Big Bad, in the period this story is set, and he is personally involved in the pursuit of the Plans: how you not include him, and how could you include him in the main body of the action without him completely taking over? Having watched our ordinary heroes' successful struggles against the Empire, here comes the unstoppable Force himself to remind us how insignificant all this fighting over 'technological terrors' is.  It's a right kick in the teeth, but at the same time permits a much-needed upbeat ending: Rogue One [spoiler]may have died in the mud, but Leia escapes to bring hope to the galaxy[/spoiler]. 

It's probably correct to argue that this is a mediocre muddled action film when stripped of its Star Wars trappings, but it also makes no sense as an accusation: it's the trappings (and their blowing-up) that make it fun, and Vader is a big part of that fun.  The film only exists, and I only went to see it, because it explicitly and deliberately leverages the nostalgia (and timeless cool) of Star Wars IP.  I want more from Star Wars than this, but this time out this is what was offered, and delivered.

As to not 'getting' Jyn, well that is a flaw of the film for me.  But it's not like this is a character study. 

[Jim_Campbell]

No offence Tordels, but it's this sort of attitude (or at least the perception of it) that can tend to get peoples backs up a bit - ie, that we should all fawn over a movie, no matter how mediocre or messy in its execution, and that any criticism of it is dismissed as 'nitpicking', purely because it isn't as catastrophically awful as the prequels were....

No offence, Radiator, but it's your persistent snotty elitism, or the perception of it, than can get other people's backs up a bit.

[Dandontdare]

saw it
Loved it
Best Star Wars film since 1983

'nuff said

[SIP]

No offence Tordels, but it's this sort of attitude (or at least the perception of it) that can tend to get peoples backs up a bit - ie, that we should all fawn over a movie, no matter how mediocre or messy in its execution, and that any criticism of it is dismissed as 'nitpicking', purely because it isn't as catastrophically awful as the prequels were....

No offence, Radiator, but it's your persistent snotty elitism, or the perception of it, than can get other people's backs up a bit.

Also, I do not agree that the prequels were "catastrophically awful".......but please carry on.

[JOE SOAP]

What did rankle, and still does, is the bizarre placement of the titles.  It's just plain awful, a starfield inxplicably wedged into the transition from Jyn-as-child to Jyn-as-adult. Having dispensed with the crawl, I would have preferred if they just stuck it at the beginning or even the end credits.  As it is, it just breaks a nice transition between scenes and adds nothing. Ugh, I say!

For me it's not so much the placement of the title but the lacklustre font and underwhelming music swell. There's no weight to it which makes it feel superfluous. It's a strange choice.

[Jimmy Baker's Assistant]

I liked Rogue One, definitely a 4/5 movie, my only real gripe is:

[spoiler]The indiscriminate massacre of all the good guys.[/spoiler]

I am surprised Disney allowed that to go ahead. Indeed, I understand an alternate version was prepared just in case they objected. I would probably have given that version 5/5.

[Jim_Campbell]

I am surprised Disney allowed that to go ahead. Indeed, I understand an alternate version was prepared just in case they objected. I would probably have given that version 5/5.

Not at all, according to an interview I read recently. Much of the re-shooting was accommodate the new ending, which Edwards originally never even suggested to Disney because he thought they'd never go for it. Disney observed that [spoiler]the primary cast's complete absence from the subsequent stories suggested that the mission didn't turn out well for them, and that they were fine with that, prompting Edwards to go for a much darker ending than he'd originally planned.[/spoiler]

[The Legendary Shark]

And they've got form - they killed Bambi's mum!

[Jimmy Baker's Assistant]

No doubt the ending made sense in the context of the original trilogy. That's [spoiler]bad news for the Star Wars Rebels crew[/spoiler], though.

I remember absolutely hating [spoiler]Sunshine[/spoiler] because of the ending, which is broadly similar. Just seemed like a slap in the face for bothering to care.

Mind you, I absolute love the way [spoiler]Blake's 7[/spoiler] finishes, so perhaps it's all about the execution, and I'm not just a total wuss.

[The Legendary Shark]

...it's all about the execution...

Badum-tish!

[JOE SOAP]

Indeed, I understand an alternate version was prepared just in case they objected. I would probably have given that version 5/5.

I believe an alternate ending only existed during scripting but Disney didn't want it.

http://www.theverge.com/2016/12/20/14022380/rogue-one-ending-original-different-gareth-edwards

[Mardroid]

Interesting, if true, although it doesn't really add to the film a whole lot itself:

https://youtu.be/TLsLvbs-NgU

[Hawkmumbler]

saw it
Loved it
Best Star Wars film since 1983

'nuff said

You know what DDD, you're alright. You're alright.