Rogue One trailer

[Goat Boy]

The music wasn't very good. Apart from that, I thought it was a great Star Wars film and not much else. The Droid was by far the best thing about it, alongside the continual nods to the Star Wars universe via ships old and new and characters (such as Dr Evazan) that repeatedly fired synaptic pellets of nostalgic pleasure into my brain.

I'm not sure how I feel about that though. Part of me wishes they'd just cut the chord and show new stuff instead of inserting footage from 40 years ago even if it's all very well done. It just jars a bit but, like you say, it does hit pleasure spots. Both new films have hit those spots for me but Episode 8 needs to really stretch out and do something new. I think it will. In the meantime this hit the spot. It's not a great film - are any of them really? - but I don't need that from a Star Wars movie. This was comfortably above what I was expecting.

[sloopjohnc]

The music wasn't very good. Apart from that, I thought it was a great Star Wars film and not much else. The Droid was by far the best thing about it, alongside the continual nods to the Star Wars universe via ships old and new and characters (such as Dr Evazan) that repeatedly fired synaptic pellets of nostalgic pleasure into my brain.

I'm not sure how I feel about that though. Part of me wishes they'd just cut the chord and show new stuff instead of inserting footage from 40 years ago even if it's all very well done. It just jars a bit but, like you say, it does hit pleasure spots. Both new films have hit those spots for me but Episode 8 needs to really stretch out and do something new. I think it will. In the meantime this hit the spot. It's not a great film - are any of them really? - but I don't need that from a Star Wars movie. This was comfortably above what I was expecting.

http://io9.gizmodo.com/the-director-of- ... 1790978464

[fange]

I really enjoyed it. Yeah, it’s a straightforward Dirty Dozen style war movie but it ticks all the boxes and deepened the story nicely. I mean you know the empire are Evil and the rebellion is on the edge but not quite this much on the edge. The highlight for me was the rush towards the end of the movie as it segues into A New Hope. That made me go a bit tingly. I think they handled that really well and of course Vadar in the tunnel is the highlight of the whole movie. Total badass and there’s real desperation from the rebels there. The dude shouting “help us!”, the door ajar just enough to hand the disc through, the dude shouting “launch!”, Vadar staring out into space. So close yet so far. Great stuff!

I did find the CGI Cushing slightly jarring I have to say. The Carrie Fisher one less so. I’m not sure they needed to show Leia’s face though. It might have been nice to just see the disc being handed over or something. Any fan recognises the dress, we know what’s going on and the significance of it. It’s a huge moment in the saga of course and seeing what came before and then seeing the moment from a new angle was nice. Like I said, there was a real rush there, like watching history unfold but from a fresh perspective.

I’ll go and see it again soon.

Yep, agree with you on pretty much all counts, except for the Cushing/Fisher aspect. I had no problem with seeing Cushing on the screen again like that, but found that final view of Leia's face quite jarring. A little more subtle, side-on angle was probably all they needed to complete the circle of the story .... but in many ways that was THE money shot for the whole 2nd half of the film. And it is Star Wars after all, so subtly isn't really an essential part of the deal.
The Vader scene at the end was fucking great, and in general i liked the way the story had a darker side - several characters in the film are clearly 'scarred' in some ways, and they discuss/react to some of these issues in ways we kind of haven't seen since "The Empire...". They do and say some things which show them to be torn between their own right and wrong in quite human, real ways, at least for a Star Wars film.

[Goat Boy]

I watched it again with the old man at the weekend. I found the Cushing thing less jarring I have to say. I think it helps that the scenes were usually quite dark when he was involved. Some of the mouth movements aren’t right but it was less of a problem this time around. Certainly it’s better than anything comparable I’ve ever seen.

I have to say the film went up in my estimation 2nd time around. There’s a few clunky moments of dialogue – as you’d expect – and some convenient plot devices (obviously) but really this is cracking stuff and raises the bar for Episode 8. It’s not Empire level (it lacks Star Wars magic but it's a very different film tonally) however it’s better than Jedi, it’s better than the Force Awakens and it’s miles ahead of the prequels. The team did a great job. I'm really looking forward to Episode 8

[sloopjohnc]

I watched it again with the old man at the weekend. I found the Cushing thing less jarring I have to say. I think it helps that the scenes were usually quite dark when he was involved. Some of the mouth movements aren’t right but it was less of a problem this time around. Certainly it’s better than anything comparable I’ve ever seen.

I have to say the film went up in my estimation 2nd time around. There’s a few clunky moments of dialogue – as you’d expect – and some convenient plot devices (obviously) but really this is cracking stuff and raises the bar for Episode 8. It’s not Empire level (it lacks Star Wars magic but it's a very different film tonally) however it’s better than Jedi, it’s better than the Force Awakens and it’s miles ahead of the prequels. The team did a great job. I'm really looking forward to Episode 8

My son and I liked Force Awakens way more.

[Geezee]

Absolute poo. It was by the numbers money spinner. Couldn't make out a word the lead rebel actor dude was saying. About 2/3's way through the film, it was like "fuck, we forgot to throw in a bit of romance. We'll suddenly make it that the two lead actors fall for each other even though they have no chemistry at all and it hasn't been suggested anywhere through the film".

Just saw that as well. There are some very good bits in it - the final scramble to get the plans away, leading essentially straight to the opening sequence of IV, is fantastic - probably the best entertainment I've had in an extended sequence of Star Wars for 30 years. Amazing. I actually quite like the lead rebel guy and not sure why it was difficult to understand what he said - but don't think Jyn Eyrso was very well developed. How many orphans do we need here? I see almost no differences between Rey, Jyn and Leia, it's a bit tiring. Also a bit tiring with the strong focus on the Death Star (again)...feels like there should be other storylines out there that must bring a new dimension to this - particularly for something that has been positioned as being outside the official cannon. Otherwise, it just seems many of these characters could be broken out to have proper storylines of their own - Saw Guerrera was critical/mythical, but barely there. There were probably 2-3 characters too many - something that Serenity also suffered from, but at least it had a TV series behind it. After initially being not quite sure about Tarkin's appearance I ended up really quite liking it and wishing there was more - he was far more demonic than the main bad guy. But yeah, that final scene, really not sure about that. It has shock value for sure.

(after I wrote this I read the reviews here and a lot of what I felt about it has not surprisingly already been picked up on...and it seems GD already had his impression set in stone after the trailer...although I generally agree that what is obviously a very dark end of the movie loses its impact because you haven't had time to grow attached to most of the characters, and the romance falls flat)

[Darryl Strawberry]

We got it on Blu Ray and so watched it again for the first time. Fucking fantastic!

Now it's time for the Last Jedi thread!!

[Ranking Ted]

I watched it at the weekend - and thought it was ace. Loads of little "yes!" moments, loved the reanimated characters - Tarkin showed real hissable evil and the payoff scene was great. The last third with the fight them on the beaches WW2 feel was a series highlight and Vader, as has been said, rocked. Just an absolute charge, pure entertainment. Episode 7 and this deliver so much more than the prequels it's funny. Roll on Episode 8...

[fange]

Just finished watching it again, and reaffirmed my thinking that it really is a mighty fine film of its type.

If you strip away the more obvious Star Wars trappings - in particular the uplifting score, and the way we see things like the Death Star, the Star Destroyers, droids, Walkers, etc. which are inescapably part of the series' visual language - what you are left with is quite a dark but entertaining story about several generations of life during wartime. The types of loss, pain, hope, betrayal, sacrifice depicted by the various characters are pretty clear just beneath the airbrushed surface, and i find it the grittiness very welcome.

Really, try to watch it without some of the stirring Star Wars music going; it has a very different feel.

Absolute poo. It was by the numbers money spinner. Couldn't make out a word the lead rebel actor dude was saying. About 2/3's way through the film, it was like "fuck, we forgot to throw in a bit of romance. We'll suddenly make it that the two lead actors fall for each other even though they have no chemistry at all and it hasn't been suggested anywhere through the film.

Dead wrong about a lot of things here. And i could make out what the guy was saying just fine.

[The Great Defector]

Absolute poo. It was by the numbers money spinner. Couldn't make out a word the lead rebel actor dude was saying. About 2/3's way through the film, it was like "fuck, we forgot to throw in a bit of romance. We'll suddenly make it that the two lead actors fall for each other even though they have no chemistry at all and it hasn't been suggested anywhere through the film.

Dead wrong about a lot of things here. And i could make out what the guy was saying just fine.

No I'm not times infinity +1.

[fange]

Ok. But don't give up your day job.

[Darryl Strawberry]

Fange is right. It is a great movie, has just enough Star Wars to keep nerds like me on the edge of our seat, but it a great standalone war film too.


And it has the most amazing Darth Vader scene ever. My head nearly exploded in the cinema when the red sabre appeared.

[The Great Defector]

Ok. But don't give up your day job.

It's more an afternoon/evening job but yeah I need the cash, so I won't.

[WG Kaspar]

Actually if you're not a Star Wars fans it's really just OK and certainly nowhere near a good standalone war movie.

[Darryl Strawberry]

Actually if you're not a Star Wars fans it's really just OK and certainly nowhere near a good standalone war movie.

IYHO

[WG Kaspar]

So you think it's as good a war movie as Black Hawk Down or The Hurt Locker or Jarhead?

[Goat Boy]

Oh god yeah. It's better than any of those as a movie

[WG Kaspar]

It's obviously not, but then you are a Star Wars fan and you buy into that concept. I'm not and I don't so I beg to differ.

[Darryl Strawberry]

So you think it's as good a war movie as Black Hawk Down or The Hurt Locker or Jarhead?

Why would I choose to watch any of those films?

[WG Kaspar]

Maybe because you said this

but it a great standalone war film too.