While it was a good movie, it is not the movie I thought it would be from the teaser. I expected to spend a lot of time deep in enemy territory (not just a raid on an installation or two). I expected to see our mains hunted down in chase scenes in empire-run cities, I expected rebels to be captured and broken. I expected a station-wide alarm to go off initiating a large-scale foot chase, etc.
The final product definitely is missing several scenes from the trailers, including some cringeworthy dialogue ("I rebel") and just a few scenes that didn't take place. They also made it seem like we would see more about Jyn's life before she got locked up, because I basically assumed Jedha was where the team would run into her. It also made it look like she was the one who blew up the tank with the stormtroopers when that wasn't the case, but I don't mind that too much.
I liked this film, but not as much as I liked The Force Awakens.
We're very much in agreement. Call me a heretic but The Force Awakens is at least my second-favorite film and maybe my favorite, I'm not even sure. I just thought it was incredibly well-done. Not flawless of course, because no Star Wars film is. Or any film.
The droid is really likable, I just wish his voice was more different from 3PO, also I didn't like the fact that he kept using the "chances of success" type jokes multiple times. Those jokes belong to the original trilogy, they aren't new, and they are overused in this film. Anyone seeing these movies in timeline order would have 3PO's jokes spoiled by this movie.
Did Threepio really use percentages that much outside of Empire? I know he often said things like "We're doomed" in the movies, but I feel like the percentages were only confined to Empire. It makes sense to me that K-2SO would use them though, droids are logical and calculating.
Tarkin and Leia being CG bothered me. I could tell they weren't flesh and blood. Maybe because I've done a lot of digital modeling myself. Tarkin's dialogue just seemed too much like what he says in A New Hope and his physical presence is stiff, lacking any physical gestures that reveal character habits.
I for one thought the CGI work was incredible and was uncertain at first if Tarkin was digital or really good makeup. However, whether or not the CGI was good is apparently the most contentious part about the movie.
The mind-reading monster was terrifying and cool, but what happened? Did it read the dude's mind? Was any information obtained? Did the dude lose his mind?
That creature would be Bor Gullet, which has become a minor meme in my JvS circle. But you're right, that scene sorta... came and went. It was to show that Saw was a bit of an extremist, but we never really learned what it actually did or what Bodhi went through at its hands... er... tentacles...
Vader's action scene rocked, but it's really hard to believe he could be so close and fail. Also I don't see Vader as the type of character to drop a one-liner like that. It would have worked if he just said it casually while he was choking him, instead of forcing it.
As far as "failing," I tend to see it as, even though the Rebels were clearly terrified by his very existence, they were enough of a distraction to allow the plans to get through, although the guy should have given up on the door and tossed them quicker, though I could buy him losing all sense of reason by virtue of sheer terror. As for the pun, I admit, I laughed and loved it. To be fair, he's not without humor in the OT, including such quips as "I find your lack of faith disturbing" and "Apology accepted, Captain Needa." Plus, it felt like a decent bridge between the Anakin of the past, who wasn't above snapping off jokes on occasion. More so in The Clone Wars than in the on-screen prequels, though those had a couple too.
This is the only Star Wars movie to have text onscreen to tell us locations. I could have done without that. The designs of Krennic's shuttle and the modified Ties were awesome, as was the space battle. I liked the blind guy a lot. I wish the music could have sounded more unique to this film instead of reusing familiar pieces.
I liked that they didn't overuse Vader or Leia (Tarkin we could have seen less). I like that the mains didn't have a romance. The Jedi Temple was cool to have. Not sure if the empire would really test their weapon so early, but it's alright. Great visuals throughout. Loved the beach planet.
I didn't hate it, just a few things I questioned.
Tackling these ones in bulk. Anyway, I don't mind the way the film did a few things different, such as labeling the planets, because, after all, it's a spinoff and meant to feel different from the numbered films. Which is okay with me, and it certainly did feel a bit different.
The space battle was indeed awesome, especially the use of the Hammerhead shuttle ramming the Star Destroyer around, because that was just clever. Interesting note, that ship originated in the Knights of the Old Republic games, were brought back in Rebels, and found their way onto the big screen.
Chirrut was my favorite character, said blind guy. I admit his mantra got a little annoying but I loved everything else about him. I kind of want to know more about him and his partner Baze, and there is a tie-in novel coming out in May I just might have to look into. On the note of characters though... other than him, K-2SO, and Baze, I never really connected to these new characters very much, making it hard to really care when they were killed off. I felt like they rushed them a bit, especially in the beginning; we never get to really learn who Jyn was or what she was doing. Even Saw, who was set up in The Clone Wars, was fairly uninteresting and could have been just about anyone, not a fairly popular character from the cartoon. It's really my only complaint with this movie.
Agreed about not overusing Vader and Leia, though I thought Tarkin's screentime was decent; he was somewhat essential, to be honest. It certainly made Vader's impact at the end a lot stronger, and I still think that's one of the best scenes in the entire Star Wars series now. As for Leia, I kind of wish they hadn't shown her face at all; just because they can do something doesn't mean they should. Keep her hidden, save the reveal for A New Hope. But it doesn't bother me too much.
And yes, no romance is good. It would have been forced and it's good to see an onscreen male/female pair that are no more than comrades for once.
The test worked for me. Tarkin wanted a demonstration, Jedha was a bit of a lawless city full of relics and people that were not fond of the Empire, plus Saw's rebels were based there. They wipe out that bit of history and their enemies and also get to see just how well the giant space beam can work.
