I really enjoyed seeing Rogue One on Thursday; as a movie, I think is is better than The Force Awakens. (Though as a Star Wars experience, I don’t think much could top TFA.)
Here are some quick reflections on how my expectations from Wednesday turned out (warning: there will be some major spoilers ahead).
- I liked Jyn Erso and all of her ragtag team. I was pleased that Jyn is quite different from Rey, and although her character didn’t have huge depth, she wasn’t any worse that a standard action hero.
- I have a feeling that Michael Giacchino’s score is going to be one of the most divisive elements of the movie (along with the use of CGI). If this had been any other movie, the music might have felt like a poor knock-off of John Williams’ original themes, with the way it danced around them. But I actually thought the music was quite effective in the movie. It did seem to lack any hugely iconic themes; I’m planning on getting the soundtrack soon (it’s on my Christmas list), so we’ll see how I feel about it then.
- K-2SO was wonderful! From his first line (“Congratulations. You are being rescued.”) he was perfect.
- The tone was great. The ending was PERFECT. At first, I thought they were just going to kill off K-2SO and leave the humans alive, but they really went for it, and I definitely felt emotional about all of the deaths. None felt cheap or overlooked.
- The movie really did feel like an EU story to me. I loved the space battle, which felt like an X-wing story, and the ground battle, which felt straight out of a video game like Battlefront. I loved how they showed the infighting on both the Imperial and Rebellion sides, and the Darth Vader scenes were perfect (minus the dumb pun).
- One last thought: I was surprised by how much from the trailer did not make it into the final film. I guess that’s what big reshoots and editing will do. Not that it’s a problem; the final cut has plenty of stunning shots. That moment when the AT-ACTs first materialized over Baze’s shoulder, my breath caught.
It wasn’t a perfect movie, and probably not the best I’ve seen this year, but it was really enjoyable. While the lead characters were not as compelling as TFA‘s, it also didn’t have TFA‘s plotting issues. What did you guys think?
Jedi by Knight 
I plan on seeing it over the holidays. I’ve heard good and bad but the gist is, it’s not The Force Awakens but still a good go see 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hope you enjoy it!
LikeLiked by 1 person
okay, i really have to get my review up. I must not have seen the same movie everyone else has, or I’m just being too harsh. I thought it fell flat and I was meh-ed most of the time.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Haha, no I’m sure we all saw the same movie. They certainly didn’t play it safe with this one, and I think that’s why opinions are so all over the place. Looking forward to your review!
LikeLike
This came up on my reader the other day and I purposely didn’t read it, until today, after I saw it for myself. As a stand alone film, it was very good, the problem was it came with a lot of expectations and history to live up to, but I really did like it, especially the Hammerhead Spaceship. Technological improvements in film making was really highlighted in this film (odd looking aliens is one thing, but to have Peter Cushing standing there was mind blowing). What’s not to like?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, I think a lot of how people felt after seeing it had to do with their expectations coming in. It matched my expectations, so I enjoyed it. I thought the hammerhead ship part was great! I’ve seen some of those in Rebels before, so that was a nice tie-in, too. And you’re right that Star Wars has always been about pushing technological boundaries…I heard some people didn’t even realize he was CGI!
Glad you liked it 🙂
LikeLike
Pushing boundaries is exactly it, they were at the limit of technology on each film, and developing techniques to make the next one possible. For that alone they need credit. Just compare the Peter Cushing scenes with the Alec Guinness ones where he appears as an apparition. Can”t wait for the next one.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m skipping right past your post, but looking forward to coming back after I see the movie, glad you liked it (I read your opening line..) and now I’m looking forward to it even more!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Good post! I like the mix of nostalgia and at the same time still have its own tone. I also liked the connections to A New Hope. The last Darth Vader scene is soooo good. I’m def. looking forward to more standalone Star War movies.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I was like “Whoaaa” through that whole scene. I’m hoping they can continue like Marvel, making movies with a variety of topics and themes, but keeping the quality high.
LikeLiked by 1 person