Rogue One (SPOILERS)

[P-Siddy]

  I can't imagine how someone would want to live at the scene where they were burned alive after having three limbs cut off.

Don't forget he also "killed" Padme there, too.  I just think the reminders of his loses allows him to focus on his anger.

[Darby]

I agree, I think his being on Mustafar is a manifestation of just marinating in his own pain and suffering, which feeds his power. Funny thing about the planets - Coruscant is now in 5 of the 8 movies to date, the same as Tatooine.

[Nicklab]

True.  Vader's power truly manifested itself when Palpatine told him of his role in Padme's death at the end of ROTS... even with that terrible "NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!" that followed.

But OMG, what about Vader taking on those Rebel Fleet troops?  That was something that I think a lot of people have been looking forward to seeing for a long time, and it did not disappoint.  Seeing him fight his way through Admiral Raddus's flagship as the Alderaan troopers were trying to get the Death Star plans away from him was one of the most thrilling moments of the film.  Especially since that melee ended with the Tantive IV undocking from the Profundity (yeah, that's really the name of the ship), and jumping into hyperspace.

Another incredible moment that I took from the space battle?  The Y-Wings making their ion torpedo run on the one Star Destroyer, essentially disabling that ship.  And THEN when Admiral Raddus ordered the Hammerhead Corvette to ram to the disabled Star Destroyer into the other, eventually taking out the shield gate?  WOW!  This may have been the best space battle I've ever seen in a Star Wars movie.

I also have to hand it to Genevieve O'Reilly who reprised her Mon Mothma role.  I think she did a great job.  And it was good seeing Jimmy Smits back as an older Bail Organa, right down to him ordering Captain Antilles around.

[Darby]

The space battle was everything I wanted and more. I had really no expectations for one before. The Jedi battle is one of my favorite things in movies to this day and nothing has come close, until now. Just amazing bits all the way through. The Red / Gold leader cameos. Maybe the biggest cheer in the theater. The transport running into Vader's destroyer as it comes out of hyperspace. The wrecked fighters skidding across the shield. Vader.

Genevieve O'Reilly was great. I loved seeing her and Jimmy Smits again. I really appreciate them embracing the PT as much as they did. This movie is sort of a continuity fan's wet dream - it ties together every aspect of the saga from the prequels, OT, CW, Rebels and while it doesn't seem to extend to the sequels, I'm going to say it does in a way we don't know yet. Jyn obviously isn't Rey's mom  but it would be odd to wed so much of the saga together and leave the sequels out.

[P-Siddy]

Vader's butler is Snoke!    There I've just connected Rogue One to the Disney Trilogy.  Just kidding, but if it were true, the butler would provide Kylo Ren with some intimate knowledge of his grandfather and his cult of personality.

The one minor nitpick I have about Vader facing off the RFTs on the Profundity would be that we couldn't see the lights Vader's life support system before he ignites his lightsaber.  As I said, minor, but accurate.

[Darby]

I've seen the Butler = Snoke theory elsewhere on Twitter, presented with a straight face.  I do think we'll see the castle on Mustafar again though. The Visual Dictionary is loaded with little nuggets of info, but I think the most fascinating one is

SPOILERS

Vader's planet of birth is listed as UNKNOWN. This is a major retcon of continuity sort of thrown in with an avalanche of other stuff. I think we're going to see a major, major resetting of what we know of Anakin's birth / conception in the force, specifically as it relates to what is going on in the sequels. I've been on of the mind that the seemingly tangential element of the Church of the Force in TFA (reinforced in RO through Chirrut and very quietly with Lyra Erso) has something to do with Rey and / or Jakku, which seems to be a place of significance to the Sith in the Aftermath books.

[Nicklab]

I just knew that people were going to read into Vader's servant in that way.  And once again...




As for some other nuggets?  I like how the temple on Jedha involved the Ancient Order of the Whills, which in itself was the angle for the inclusion of Chirrut Imwe and Baze Malbus, both late of the Order.  The whole concept of the Journal of the Whills is something that dates back to one of George Lucas's initial treatments for Star Wars.  And the Order of the Whills seems to link into the Church of the Force which we were introduced to in The Force Awakens.  Chirrut's faith in The Force leads you to believe that had circumstances been better for him, he may have been a Jedi.  And Baze seems to have had more of a crisis of faith in The Force following the sacking of the Temple by the Empire.  This, plus Jedha's status as a holy city, combined with this reverence for the kyber crystals is really fleshing out our concept of The Force in some interesting ways.  It's not just magic or midichlorians anymore.

And what about all of the shots from the trailer that didn't make the final cut?!?!  OMG!!!  Jyn mouthing off to General Draven?  Gone.  Krennic walking through the water?  Gone.  Saw talking to a younger Jyn (what will you do when they break you)?  Gone!  Krennic's "Power is immeasurable"?  GONE!  That is some cutthroat editing if I've ever seen it.

[Darby]

I love the idea of them exploring the concept of faith in Star Wars. This is a galaxy where there is this real, tangible higher power yet it is not readily accessible to say 90% of the people. What's the impact of that? What's the disposition of people who want to be part of the Force but aren't? Are they humble? Envious? How big would the drive be for non force users to discredit the idea of the force altogether? if the Jedi are so mythic to go from part of the galactic bureaucracy to 'did they ever exist?' in 20 years, then there has to be a large element of doubt in the galaxy about the force.

[Jesse James]

Jyn in her head scarf?  The captured Rebel Pilots?  Lotta stuff gutted.

More when I get to a computer but yeah, saw again and loved it as much.  Would like to catch it a 3rd time.

[Scott]

After unboxing some Rogue One guys tonight and setting them up near ANH stuff it's odd but still sorta coool that OT Aliens seem to be few and far between (same went for TFA).  I'm not really complaining it's just a little odd that Edwards and Abrams both decided to try their hands at making new species...most of them far more better than the crap that was the PT Aliens

[Jayson]

Folks really need to read through the Visual Guide for Rogue One and then see the movie again. It provides a great backstory for many of the background characters from Saw's crew to all of the rebel pilots and so much more. I found this book to totally enhance my 3rd viewing. The more I think of the film overall, the more I love it.

I think Star Wars Rebels hasn't been given enough credit in terms of world building and how we see the development of the rebellion. Looking back on the series overall, they probably could have left all of the Kanan/Ezra Jedi stuff out (which is still good) to focus on different groups forming the Alliance, but I guess that's what we'll be getting moving forward.

[Diddly]

Apparently there was a Rogue One boycott, and it totally worked! Star Wars is BTFO! If you ignore the actual ticket numbers and money grossed, but don't let pesky facts get in the way.

[Nicklab]

Here's a cool article about how Red Leader and Gold Leader found their way into ROGUE ONE.

[Nicklab]

Apparently there was a Rogue One boycott, and it totally worked! Star Wars is BTFO! If you ignore the actual ticket numbers and money grossed, but don't let pesky facts get in the way.

It looks like the one guy who was such a malcontent/ne'er-do-well that he managed to get bounced out of Vice Media after helping to found that magazine was part of this, too. 

Yeah, $155 million in opening weekend box office receipts is a bomb if I ever saw one. 

[Darby]

The less I saw about this boycott nonsense the better.

Going to see the film for the second time today. Can't wait. I've devoured the visual dictionary and the art of book and I am excited to see the film with a deeper perspective.