Rogue One

[fbhjr]

Last night my wife and I went to see the new Star Wars offshoot movie: Rogue One.

I’ve been a Star Wars fan since 77 when the first one came out. I’ve liked them all. Yes, even the prequels. Maybe not as much as the original ones, but I still liked them.
And, I liked Clone Wars, Rebels and even Droids.

So, just because I like this new one doesn’t mean you or anyone else will.

But, I did like it. A lot.

Of course a movie where even the title is a self aware joke, you know I’m going to like.
(It is the first Star Wars movie not following the main storyline. You know, the rogue one…)

One of the things I liked about this movie was seeing old familiar faces.
I’m not talking about Vader. I’m talking about Tarkin.
When they first show him it is in reflection and I thought “well, that’s one way to handle the actor having died 22 years ago. At least he’s in it.”
But, it turns out the motion captured someone and computer animated him.
When he turned I really did say to myself “Holy Shit! It’s Peter Cushing!”
OK, as the movie went on, it was more clear that it was a computer animated image.
But, that first moment it really was like a long dead actor had returned to the screen.
Someone else in the audience even said out loud “wow!” when it happened, so it wasn’t just me.

Red & Gold leaders? That was great! I know it was literally just clips from another movie, but it fit in really well with this and was like seeing people you knew long ago.

And, major spoilers:





I like that everyone died.
I know the plot says they should. In the original movie Vader is very clear about Leia “she is now my last link”. It’s clear the others are all supposed to be dead.
But, Disney now owns Star Wars.
I was very worried there would be some sort of secret happy ending.
“Vader thinks they are dead, but they all snuck off to Space Aruba and decided to stay” or something like that.

Over all, I liked it a lot.
I hope to see it in the theaters again.

Mostly because the theater totally flubbed showing it last night.

Between shows they project slides of ads and trivia stuff in the hopes to keep people entertained. Those are “full screen” format while the movies are “wide screen” format.
So, when the slides stop, the curtains on the screen should open more.

Last night, they never opened.
I went and complained while the previews were going. Two other people complained while I was there.

Then, the sound went out. Folks went and complained about that.

Then, they sent in an usher to explain to us that it was all Disney’s fault because they didn’t give them time to test show it and debug it and they force small times between shows.
And, they couldn’t open the curtain because it’s all computer controlled and Disney controls the computer.
They did pause the previews until they got the sound working, but never got the curtains open.

Then, because the paused it, in the last few minutes of the film the slide show came back on and started projecting trivia and adds over the end.
But, in a Star Wars movie you never have to worry about a bit climax at the end, right?

The usher explained that to get your money back you had to walk out of the movie. If you stayed and watched it, you wouldn’t get your money back. And, all the other shows were sold out so you wouldn’t get to see it later that night.
No one walked out.

So, the theater experience itself was awful.
But, I do like the movie.
I’ll go see it somewhere else.

Comments

[chaquir.livejournal.com]

we're planning to see it with the 4 of us when Wouter is here

[ravena-kade.livejournal.com]

oh good. I read another review and it did not sound like a movie that took you back to the Star Wars experience.

[fbhjr.livejournal.com]

I'd say that really depends on what you think of as the Star Wars experience.
This isn't a Jedi story. There is very little Skywalker screen time. The story isn't about them.
For some folks, that makes it less Star Wars.

But, it is totally a story of the rebellion against the Empire. And, a war story at that.
So, I think it totally fits in the experience.
But, that's me...

[ravena-kade.livejournal.com]

I am just looking for some good escapism for me and Dad.

[hindustar.livejournal.com]

wow yesterday just wasn't your day. *hugs*

[beccadg.livejournal.com]

I was very worried there would be some sort of secret happy ending.

While my dad was disappointed EVERYONE died, he also wasn't thinking it needed a "they all snuck off to Space Aruba and decided to stay" secret happy ending. I think a way to put it is he was hoping for one of those Shakespearean "lone survivors" the kind Hamlet asks, "Absent thee from felicity a while, and in this harsh world draw thy breath in pain to tell my story." I understood his wanting it, I generally want at least that, but somehow I was just content that Jyn and Cassian were alive and together to face the end that way. I can't help wondering if it had been released before The Force Awakens would some people have reacted differently to what happened with Han in that. I mean with Rogue One's talk about taking every chance until they ran out of chances.

[brickhousewench.livejournal.com]

I have mixed feelings about the movie. I suspect it will grow on me with repeated viewings.