Rogue One

[Mr Mystery]

Currently ploughing my way through Aftermath; Life Debt.

Still the same author, so those who don't get on with his prose style will still struggle, but we're really starting to see how The First Order came to be, and it's pretty cool

[Psychosplodge]

I imagine ploughing being an apt description to reflect how much work it it to read that authors use of the english language.

[Erik Setzer]

I haven't been able to make it through Aftermath yet. And there's a whole trilogy to go through...

On-topic, though... How about those recent trailers?

[Psychosplodge]

I'll be watching the film. I find the author they've got writing the new stuff style too "not in universe" so I can't read it -it's like bad fanfic to me.

[grimmas]

I'm hoping for something a bit different from this outing. Darker certainly and I'd like to see a much more competent and dangerous Empire, they're supposed to be the great scary evil I'd like to see them perform a bit more like it. Though I'm very much looking forward to this, let's face it's the Star Wars we loved in the first place, Rebels, The Empire and Darth Vader not The Republic (new or otherwise), New order and The Resistance😒

[Psychosplodge]

Yeah lets see just how deadly a stormtrooper is supposed to be.

[grimmas]

Awesome product tie in nearly wet myself in Superdrug when I saw it.

[Psychosplodge]

*confused head tilt*

[grimmas]

It's just so totally random

[Erik Setzer]

So... The film's been out for a few weeks now. I've only seen it twice so far, but thinking of hitting it up some time this week after work (was wanting to see it with friends again, but they've been busy).

I really liked it. Without getting into spoiler territory, I have to say that though it did start a little "slow," it picked up quickly, and the last act was just incredible. They did a solid job fitting it into the original series, and I liked the use of some old footage and sound from the original movie spliced into the new stuff to add a sense of continuity. (There was one nod to the originals I feel was a bit forced, but eh, it can be forgiven.)

The soundtrack is also better than I expected. There's a particular track that, if you listen to it, you know exactly where it is in the movie, where it was used to good effect. (I can match other tracks with where they were in the movie, but this one is kind of iconic for the scene it was part of.)

I'll hit spoilers below with spoiler color.

First, the big thing: I did not expect Disney to actually greenlight that ending. Holy smokes. It's not just that they had the guts to kill everyone, it's how they did it. K-2SO bonds with Jyn... and dies. Chirrut survives to perform a necessary task, then dies. Rook (the pilot) finally absolves himself of any guilt he still felt over helping the Empire, then gets blown to smithereens. Baze watches his best friend die and then sees their escape vehicle blown, and goes out in a blaze of glory, watching the grenade that kills him tick off to explosion. And Jyn and Cassian, waiting for the explosion to overtake them... That whole scene at the end. Tarkin just blowing a city away like it's nothing (and to spite Krennic, probably). The hammerhead with the Star Destroyers. The dialogue. And finally: Vader. HOLY CRAP. The scene in his fortress was amusing, but the way he just calmly destroyed the Rebels, contrasted against their panicked screaming as they're trying to save the mission... Even though you know how it's going to end, you can't help but feel some tension there. (The track I mention above is "Your Father Would Be Proud," which is the one that plays at the climax of the battle of Scarif. Then there's "Hope," the amusingly titled track that had Vader tearing through Rebels and the Tantive IV launching. But "YFWBP" is the one that's still a bit haunting to listen to, and was just perfect with how serene it sounded at times, like they were at peace with what was coming.)

There wasn't time to really help us know the full backstory for all the characters, but there wasn't time for them to really tell each other their story anyway, and it probably would have messed with the pacing. I still feel like we knew enough about them to care about them by the end. K-2SO was definitely quotable, but others were good as well.

I like Jyn as a flawed "hero," who isn't as pure as Luke or Rey. Cassian's dark side was great, and I loved the part before the Scarif mission where he talks about all the awful things some of the Rebels had done and how it'd all be for nothing if they weren't willing to continue the fight in the face of enormous odds. It made the Rebels feel more "real." Baze and Chirrut were a good buddy combo. "Good luck." "I don't need luck, I have you."

So... yeah. I liked it. A lot.