Who was the true hero behind the Rebel Alliance's victory in Rogue One?

[Khatti]

I'll venture this much - if Lucas is not writing any dialogue, that's an improvement right there.

Yeah, no one is ever going to confuse Lucas with the late Robert Parker or the late Roger Zelazny.

I had that one made so I could represent the Internet Lynch Mob. It's really popular.

I'm worried that after November the real thing might come back into vogue. Now I got to hunt up these emojis for my own, nefarious purposes!

 

[Noisy Rhysling]

Yeah, no one is ever going to confuse Lucas with the late Robert Parker or the late Roger Zelazny.
I'm worried that after November the real thing might come back into vogue. Now I got to hunt up these emojis for my own, nefarious purposes!

http://rationalia.com/z/index.html

 

[Khatti]

@Noisy Rhysling this is hilarious!

 

[Noisy Rhysling]

@Noisy Rhysling this is hilarious!

Some folks don't like smileys, hence the title of the page.

 

[DennisN]

A new trailer:

 

[Rubidium_71]

Great trailer, glad to see more of Madds Mikkelson.

 

[Noisy Rhysling]

Great trailer, glad to see more of Madds Mikkelson.

Love that guy. "Valhalla Rising" was amazing.

 

[Rubidium_71]

Haven't seen Valhalla yet, but Madds did a good Hannibal. Looking forward to seeing him play the villain in Dr. Strange.

 

[Noisy Rhysling]

Haven't seen Valhalla yet, but Madds did a good Hannibal. Looking forward to seeing him play the villain in Dr. Strange.

"Valhalla Rising" is not easy to watch, you keep wondering how the human race ever survived this long.

 

[BillTre]

"Valhalla Rising"

Not Valhalla Rhysling?

 

[Noisy Rhysling]

Not Valhalla Rhysling?

Probably not.

 

[DennisN]

A new trailer (two days ago), looks like we are in for some action...

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

Just got back from seeing it! Pretty good! Nice to fill in that gap of the story.

 

[Noisy Rhysling]

Just got back from seeing it! Pretty good! Nice to fill in that gap of the story.

It was slightly confusing that when the SWU got fleshed out there was no mining of it. Disney was aware of the fan base, Lucas wasn't?

 

[arivero]

this is a side-story

they told it was going to be a side story.

 

[RooksAndBooks]

I would give it somewhere between three to four stars. I did think the movie served its purpose well, but I had a few issues with it that slightly ruined it for me.

My five big issues:

Spoiler

1. Saw Gerrera. I didn't think he went out like he should have. He basically died due to the fallout of blast of Jedha, although he did look like he could've boarded a ship. If you have watched the Clone Wars, you will know that he is a resilient, ambitious warrior. He, along with other members of the Onderon militia, took over the city of Iziz and then as a result took over Onderon back from the Separatists. He is not some side character that I felt should have been killed without taking multiple blaster shots. A nit I also have is that his eye color changed, seeming somewhat arbitrarily. The Saw Gerrera in Rogue One had brown eyes. On Onderon, he had green-ish eyes. I thought that his change of eye color was unnecessary, and I thought they should've changed it because they changed Chirrut Îmwe's eyes.
2. Chirrut Îmwe. I thought he was pretty empty (at least compared to the other characters) and was vexing due to his constant reiteration of the phrase, "I am one with the Force, the Force is with me."
3. Settings. At times, the capricious change of setting was overwhelming. Towards the beginning of the movie, it changed the settings more than once in what felt like less than 10 minutes; this included the Ring of Kreffne, Wobani, and so on.
4. Uninspiring soundtrack. Star Wars music is arguably some the best movie music. From masterpieces such as Duel of the Fates to Imperial March, audiences never fail to admire the music of Star Wars. However, the songs in this movie were somewhat uninspiring. It felt as if they just copied the original pieces and changed a few things. Some of the music, in my opinion, was just flat out boring as well. I believe that the music in this movie represents the least of what Star Wars music has to offer.
5. No/little mention of the Geonosians. The Geonosians played a major part in the creation of the Death Star. At the end of Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, you can see Poggle the Lesser handing the Death Star plans to Count Dooku. It was a shame to me that there was little, if any, mention of them in the movie.

 

[DaveC426913]

The first half was OK. The second half made me happy, seeing all my old friends from 40 years ago: X-Wing, Y-wing, etc.

Spoiler: Some comments

• Looks like they took a page out of Independence Day: The climactic tension centred around ... uploading some data.
• Where were all the Bothans? Many died to bring them that data! I kept waiting to see them appear in the final act.
• I kept wondering why the main characters were not memorable. It wasn't until the end that I realized why. They had to go. They are not in the next movies, which begins about two minutes after this one ends.

 

[phinds]

Just saw it. One of the worst movies I've ever seen. Nice story-line tie-in w/ the death star plans getting to Princess Lea and a good through-line with the fighter pilots towards the end, but basically just boring as all get out.

 

[Rubidium_71]

I liked it. It reminded me a little of the Dirty Dozen. It was good they stuck with the suicide mission dynamic. I saw it twice over holiday break, once with my wife and again with my brother. Both times people in the theater applauded at the end, which was a little surprising. The best part is the last minute or so of the film, I think that is what pleased the crowd. I wouldn't have minded more Sith action beyond the little bit we saw. Maybe a little less of the dandy in his white cape and a little more of Vader.

 

[dkotschessaa]

What a super fun movie for a date night (with my wife of course).

 

[DaveC426913]

The best part is the last minute or so of the film, I think that is what pleased the crowd.

+1

 

[dkotschessaa]

The best part is the last minute or so of the film, I think that is what pleased the crowd.

Spoiler

I saw post Carrie Fisher's death. A few people (including myself) teared up a little. sniffle sniffle

 

[john101]

I saw Star Wars when it came out and apart from the opening visual effects I found it boring. Perhaps the pre release hype is responsible. Since then I've only watched a couple of the others in the franchise. The whole premise seems contrived and forced, to me. The characters cartoonish.

I watched Rogue One last night and

Tarkin and Leia were not convincing. Obviously CGI. The facial expression were wrong and Tarkins voice was not as clipped as Cushing nor the right accent (ditto Vader)

The use of a landscape reminiscent of the tragedy of Vietnam was offputting. Apocalyse Now kept popping into my mind.

Otherwise I think it's better than Star Wars.

 

[DaveC426913]

The whole premise seems contrived and forced, to me. The characters cartoonish.

Yes and yes.

This is classic Space Opera. Different from harder science fiction.

 

[Noisy Rhysling]

It made money, so there will be more.

Off topic: I've heard that Doby had to die because he was a Sith Lord. Comic culture mash-up time?

 

[russ_watters]

I saw on Friday and really liked it. I had seen some criticisms in a USA Today review, but disagreed:
1. Overly earnest tone. I think they were entitled to it.
2. Overpowering music (both too loud and overly dramatic). Just plain wrong. If anything, the music was weak. Part of the greatness of Star Wars is that the music is essentially the narrator of the movie. This movie's music did not live up to that. Notable that it is the only one of the 8 movies not scored by John Williams himself. Big mistake, but it feels more like a missing character than exactly a "flaw". Like, 'oh, wouldn't it have been nice if _____ had been included in the movie?'

Tarkin and Leia were not convincing. Obviously CGI. The facial expression were wrong and Tarkins voice was not as clipped as Cushing nor the right accent...

I thought Tarkin was pretty good, but Leia not very good. However, I think that the fact I was really looking for the CGI impacted my impression. I'm not sure if people who aren't very familiar with Star Wars (yes, there are a few -- especially kids) will notice. And there were a few other characters from EP IV who made appearances that I couldn't tell if they were borrowed footage, new actors or digital. I'll have to look it up at some point.

(ditto Vader)

Vader was voiced by James Earl Jones as always. His problem has always been that he's not a very good actor, so if he got the accent wrong its his own fault. Caveat being that his voice had no doubt changed as he has aged.

 

[russ_watters]

And there were a few other characters from EP IV who made appearances that I couldn't tell if they were borrowed footage, new actors or digital. I'll have to look it up at some point.

Ok, just looked it up: it's all three.

 

[dkotschessaa]

I thought Tarkin was pretty good, but Leia not very good. However, I think that the fact I was really looking for the CGI impacted my impression. I'm not sure if people who aren't very familiar with Star Wars (yes, there are a few -- especially kids) will notice. And there were a few other characters from EP IV who made appearances that I couldn't tell if they were borrowed footage, new actors or digital. I'll have to look it up at some point.

I literally had no idea. I thought the face was sort of familiar, but I'm not a big star wars fan, and I wasn't aware of or looking for CGI.

Vader was voiced by James Earl Jones as always. His problem has always been that he's not a very good actor, so if he got the accent wrong its his own fault. Caveat being that his voice had no doubt changed as he has aged.

I thought the voice was great, but found the physicality of Vader to be a bit off. He seemed a little to lithe or agile or something What made him a great villain before was never his movement, but a kind of intimidating stillness he gave off even when he was fighting.

-Dave K

 

[Noisy Rhysling]

Vader's helmet was off, I think, too much "neck".

 

[DaveC426913]

I thought Tarkin was pretty good, but Leia not very good.

I thought Tarkin was near perfect. Leia too.

But my criteria is less about if it accurately reflects what I recall them looking like - and more about whether they looked like they were still trapped in CGI-dead-eye.

I would say no. This is the escape from the Uncanny Valley.

 

[Noisy Rhysling]

Tarkin's facial musculature moved better than Leia's. She looked like a balloon.

 

[DaveC426913]

Tarkin's facial musculature moved better than Leia's. She looked like a balloon.

It is possible that this is more an artifact of our having seen her constantly through an additional 4 decades on-screen, our impression of her changing as she aged 40 years.

Did she look like the 21 year old Leia as seen in A New Hope? When is the last time you watched it?

 

[Noisy Rhysling]

I haven't been following her at all, so probably not.

 

[Rubidium_71]

I thought they could have gotten away with just showing Leia from behind when she was handed the data. The flowing white clothing made it pretty obvious who it was and it was a very brief shot.

 

[Noisy Rhysling]

I thought they could have gotten away with just showing Leia from behind when she was handed the data. The flowing white clothing made it pretty obvious who it was and it was a very brief shot.

I suspect they want the public to accept these images because the company will need them in future movies.