Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (Gareth Edwards, December 16, 2016) Movie • Page 43

I think it is far more "okay fine I'll help build this thing because if I don't someone else will. AND I will ensure it has a weakness that can destroy it all, hopefully before it can be used."

That's a more accurate view of his motivation. Him working with Krennic also allowed Jyn to be free, although she certainly did not have a #blessed life.

 

I wish we could have seen more of her life.

And I wish we could have seen Galen wrestle with it more. He should be despondent, just destroyed, about what he did. The scene where he sticks up for his engineers wasn't a meaningful exploration of it. Would have loved if he and Ben Mendelsohn could have been one on one and just really had a face off about what they created now that they've seen what their weapon can do, and know what it can further do. Not only would two of the best actors on the planet get to have a philosophical and moral debate, but you could explore the "just following orders" concept more and develop both their psyche's a little more. Then you could have Mendelsohn lead him out onto the platform and then you still get all the same stuff with Diego Luna considering killing him and Jyn coming to save him and the Rebels attacking, and you don't have a scene where a guy who, intentions aside, is still responsible for accelerating the construction of a weapon that can and does kill literally billions, defending a bunch of other people who helped him build that weapon. I might be alone in that being such a roadblock into accepting Mads' character arc/the point of the movie, I get that.

Overall I did like it. The dogfight at the end was fucking thrilling, maybe the best in the series (though why include Not-Admiral-Ackbar? He looks a lot like him and sounds exactly like him... either have it be him or do something a different). Edwards did some of the best action direction Star Wars has ever seen, maybe THE best, with a Hitchcockian understanding of stakes and tension (which Abrams lacks) and the technology and skill to make it look absolutely exhilarating.

 

I assume Ackbar wasn't there because the fleet we see mostly gets wiped out.

 

It was more that he sounded exactly like him and looked extremely close. Not a big deal at all but it was in my head whenever he was onscreen.

 

David Ehrlich's review aligns somewhat with my feelings

‘Rogue One’ Review: The First ‘Star Wars’ Spinoff Is a Scrappy Space Adventure That Plays Things Painfully Safe

 

I felt he was a different enough color and size to me. It's all good.

 

Wasnt there supposed to be some crazy 360 shot? I don't recall anything like that. Did I somehow not catch it?

Also, in one of the preview reviews I checked out said this answered some big question that had been asked since the OT and I can't think of anything like that either.

 

The stuff about Jyn is true. Her transition in mindset could be more fleshed out. You know, maybe cut the tentacle monster scene to free up some time...

 

I'm also curious what they were referring to here.

 

TFA > RO

 

Rewatching the teaser alone shows that the ending was changed a good bit by reshoots. It shows the trio running in their rebel clothes with the data. As well as that would be iconic shot of them running on the beach towards the AT-ACT's.

 

Agreed. I think once everyone's Vader boner goes down that will be the general consensus.

 

The review I posted touches on Tarkin and Vader, and how their presence takes away from Ben Mendelsohn's character. He gets no payoff because he dies unceremoniously and without realizing a thematic vision. He has helped create the Death Star and Tarkin takes all the credit, but that idea doesn't turn into anything. His last actions should be about ensuring the Death Star, his legacy, lives on. Which is there in its bare essentials, he tries to stop Jyn from uploading the plans, but his psyche isn't there in the writing. He's just shooting at the good guys. He was friends with Mads, he knew Jyn, why doesn't that play into anything that happens? What if he had a serious conflict of character? What if, instead of the scene where Vader lives in the tower of Barad-Dur on Space Mordor, where Mendelsohn gets force-choked, he instead accompanies Mendelsohn to question Mads? You could have Mendelsohn have that one on one scene with Mads I want so much where two amazing actors debate morals, Mads lamenting the death they're directly responsible for, Mendelsohn lauding their unprecedented scientific accomplishment and what it means for them and the empire, trying to convince his longtime friend to confess to Vader so that he won't be killed. Then you could have the same scene of Mads sticking up for his fellow Nazi engineers, and Vader gets to be the ruthless one, executing them all, stabbing Mads so he lives long enough to see Jyn, and Mendelsohn is horrified and devastated by the loss of his friend. Then in the final act you have some really interesting pathos, in the face of his biggest challenge, he's got to choose to serve the ruthless Empire having a weapon he built that can blow up planets, or he can try to help Jyn, the daughter of his old friend, and help her realize his friend's vision. And honestly either choice would be dramatically intriguing. But no he gets some fodder bad guy lines before being shot. Seriously he's one of the best actors currently working in the world, and you're going to make him endure that horrific Darth Vader pun?

 

pretty sure the question was why would the death star have such a silly fatal flaw in it, which was answered in a great way I felt.

 

I don't know if anyone else has seen The Guns of Navarone, it's an older film, great film, highly recommend it. but I got a lot of vibes of that movie in this one, really enjoyed that. Too early to say where this ranks exactly for me, but it's definitely very high, for me higher than TFA, which I really liked.

 

ROGUE ONE Trailer Moments That Didn’t Make It Into The Film

 

The Jyn/ tiefighter scene was so great in the trailer. Definitely a bummer it didn't make it in.

 

Pretty sure I heard a wilhelm scream at one point.

 

When?

 

Oh, maybe. I always felt it was because of the arrogance of the Empire and their low view of the rebels. I didn't really see that as a question. But you could be right.

I thought they might reveal that, but I didn't see as some long time unanswered question.

 

I imagined the question was how the rebels got the plans

 

Answering that question is my second least favorite thing the movie did. The hubris of imperialistic empires is a main theme of A New Hope, especially in its Vietnam politics. Making it an inside job by a sort of double agent cheapens/erases that, canonically.

 

The thing I saw was not referring to that, for sure.

 

I felt like that was a lame question, so yours does make more sense, ha

 

Yea, I did not need that "answer". It being a flaw vs a planned out short fuse to be lit makes a big difference.