Star Wars Rogue One MASSIVE SPOILERS BY BERKUT

[Habbaku]

I hope we eventually find out what the script was like before the rewrites and reshoots.  I suspect it might be better without the Disney input.

[Berkut]

Yeah, I really liked the movie, but I have to say going back and re-watching the teaser (thanks garbon), THAT seems like a much more...intriguing movie...

[Delirium]

At risk of seeming a rebel (hah), I thought there was quite a bit of pandering to the audience/fanboys in the Vader "storming a ship and kicking ass with the force" scene.  Especially as it greatly contrasts with the opening scene from ANH, where Vader does absolutely no fighting, and lets the stormtroopers do the "vulgar" work of fighting lowly "rebels/normals".  Just as I thought the spinning-Yoda-of-death scenes from the prequels were, while cool to watch, really quite silly.

Agree completely. Darth Vader in ep 4 is above storming a lowly rebel ship. If he wasn't, why bother sending in the stormtroopers in the first place?

Or perhaps it as simple as Lucas et al had not yet conceived of Vader and Jedi masters as the kind of super heroes that they become starting with Phantom Menace and onward?

[Josquius]

A paranoid thought; so they changed a lot from the original....
The trailer contains nothing about Jin going after her dad....
What if they made these changes to emphasis the father and daughter side all to remind people of the Rei mystery.

[Syt]

Finished the Tarkin audio book. Written by Luceno, like Catalyst (the Rogue One prequel), I thought it was much better than the newer book. I hear that Catalyst required major rewriting after Rogue One was changed, so that may have caused some of the "by the number" feel of Catalyst.

This book has Tarkin and Vader look into a series of seditious incidents and uncovering a conspiracy. It's still early years for the Empire - they're still mostly using the V-Wing instead of the TIE-Fighter, and some of the structure still has to gel. Flashbacks show how Tarkin was raised, how he became so ruthless, and how he first met Palpatine.

The interactions between Vader, Tarkin, and Palpatine are pretty good, and Tarkin's analytical ways give him occasionally a bit of a Sherlock air (which would be fitting, considering that Cushing played the detective in movies).

The book was one of the first of the new canon, and it brings back a host of familiar names from the Expanded Universe, though mostly just name dropping them. Armand Isard (father of Ysanne Isard of the X-Wing books), Screed (the Imperial from the Droids cartoon and Star Wars Rebellion game), the planets of Jomark and Obroa-Skai from the Thrawn trilogy, Interdictor Cruisers, Victory Class Star Destroyers, CC-7700 frigates (also from Star Wars Rebellion), Carrack Cruisers, TaggeCo, and plenty more.

[Josquius]

Jedha. Jedi.

The name seems a bit odd being so close to a real life place....but....what if there is a reason....that being it is from the same in universe root as Jedi.

Snoke=not a Sith but some kind of dark side force priest ala the cool blind guy?

[garbon]

Jedha. Jedi.

The name seems a bit odd being so close to a real life place....but....what if there is a reason....that being it is from the same in universe root as Jedi.

Snoke=not a Sith but some kind of dark side force priest ala the cool blind guy?

Are you currently on something?

[Barrister]

Went and saw the movie on the 30th.  Finally able to discuss.

Really liked it.  Did NOT like it as much as TFA for some reason.  Perhaps it's just because I've never liked prequels, even when well done (which this was).  Really liked how it was more grey - the Rebels weren't perfect, and even Krennic wasn't an absolute evil (though there's no doubt who is a good guy and who is a bad guy).

Story did feel rushed.  Felt like there would be a bit more backstory to the blind guy and his buddy, but honestly I never even really retained their names.

The CGI Tarkin just felt wrong - perhaps just due to too much screen time.  The brief moment of young Leia worked fine for me though.

Felt like I could hear the age in Vader's voice (James Earl Jones is 85 after all).

I have decided not to take the boys.  Not that I think they'd be scared, but honestly I think it's a bit too long.  All the guys like Star Wars, but I only took oldest Timmy to see TFA in the theatre.  I think it's easier just to wait for the DVD/streaming release and show it to all the guys.

[Caliga]

Took the girlfriend to see it the day before yesterday.

She had never seen any Star Wars movies before so I made her watch the original trilogy a few days before, which she loved.

One of her first comments to me post-movie was "the actor who played Tarkin has aged really well!"  I guess that means the CGI recreation of Peter Cushing was really convincing.  I felt like I could tell it wasn't him, but then again I knew Cushing had been dead for a while.

I also felt like Vader's voice sounded weird.  Maybe they should have recast James Earl Jones?  Surely there are others who could imitate him, just like that kid I saw on Ellen who can do Don LaFontaine's voice perfectly.

Overall I loved the movie, thought it was better than TFA, and would rank it at #3 overall, between ANH and ROTJ.

[jimmy olsen]

Saw it with my girlfriend yesterday. I loved it, I would also rank it above Jedi and only behind Empire and New Hope. She'd never seen a Star Wars movie before, but she liked it. The fact that everybody died turned her off a bit though. 

[Grinning_Colossus]

The fact that everybody died turned her off a bit though. 

I know, right? Tarkin should have known better than to waste a talented project manager like Krennic. 


Apparently, before the reshoot, Jyn and Cassian made it back up into orbit, only to be killed by Vader on the ship.

[Drakken]

Apparently, before the reshoot, Jyn and Cassian made it back up into orbit, only to be killed by Vader on the ship.

That would have made the scene too awesome to handle. Disney was right to reshoot it.

[Valmy]

What is up with platonic relationships and Star Wars? First Rey weirdly friendzones Finn in The Force Awakens and then after there was this tension between Jyn and Cassian (congrats on being a new Star Wars hero with more than on syllable in your name btw) they hold hands and hug chastely while dying? What is this? It seems like a conscious choice I just don't understand why.

Though considering how having children usually goes for Star Wars characters maybe it is just a self-preserving instinct.

[Zoupa]

I just had an offer to see this again. Like a sensible person, I said no thanks.

Thanks for the info!

I was also wondering what you had for breakfast. Please keep us updated.

[HVC]

I just had an offer to see this again. Like a sensible person, I said no thanks.

Thanks for the info!

I was also wondering what you had for breakfast. Please keep us updated.

Probably tea. he's gone native. sad really.