Rogue One

[Skatastrophy]

Been wondering the same. They already wrapped her scenes for Episode VIII. Perhaps find a way to write her death into the ending of that one, or have her die in the interim (maybe include it in the opening crawl for Episode IX?). Considering they already got Han out of there, maybe she wasn't going to survive the next movie anyway.

I'd prefer your suggestion over her getting the Tarkin treatment.

[brewcity77]

I'd prefer your suggestion over her getting the Tarkin treatment.

Yeah...when they first showed that I thought "okay, that was pretty cool and worked for a scene." By the end of the movie, it was way too overdone and while it looks okay now, will likely look like crap in 10 years or so.

For a comparison, before Episode VII came out, my wife and I sat down and watched I-VI. Yeah, the first ones aren't great, but just to get a full perspective and to see if they tied anything back all the way to the beginning. Some of the stuff held up (Jar Jar looks mostly okay, even if he's incredibly lame) but there was some that most definitely did not. In the second movie, before the big battle with Dooku when Mace Windu shows up, Obi-Wan is riding a lizard around. When the movie first came out, it looked fine. Going back and rewatching it now, it may as well be special effects from the 1950s. It doesn't hold up at all.

Back to Tarkin, if he had been in 1-2 scenes with limited lines, it would have been fine. But making him an actual important character with a decent amount of speaking lines and on-camera time, it just got worse and worse as it went, and will continue to get worse as the years go by. There's a reason the puppetry of Star Wars holds up better than the CGI of Episodes I-III. You can't overdo that stuff, because it all gets stale over time.

[tower912]

https://www.yahoo.com/movies/carrie-fisher-completed-work-on-star-wars-episode-viii-before-her-death-201619903.html

[Skatastrophy]

Yeah...when they first showed that I thought "okay, that was pretty cool and worked for a scene." By the end of the movie, it was way too overdone and while it looks okay now, will likely look like crap in 10 years or so.

For a comparison, before Episode VII came out, my wife and I sat down and watched I-VI. Yeah, the first ones aren't great, but just to get a full perspective and to see if they tied anything back all the way to the beginning. Some of the stuff held up (Jar Jar looks mostly okay, even if he's incredibly lame) but there was some that most definitely did not. In the second movie, before the big battle with Dooku when Mace Windu shows up, Obi-Wan is riding a lizard around. When the movie first came out, it looked fine. Going back and rewatching it now, it may as well be special effects from the 1950s. It doesn't hold up at all.

Back to Tarkin, if he had been in 1-2 scenes with limited lines, it would have been fine. But making him an actual important character with a decent amount of speaking lines and on-camera time, it just got worse and worse as it went, and will continue to get worse as the years go by. There's a reason the puppetry of Star Wars holds up better than the CGI of Episodes I-III. You can't overdo that stuff, because it all gets stale over time.

I agree, but to play devil's advocate: I went to see the film with a few friends. One of them and I were lambasting the quality of the Tarkin effects. Another buddy, who is admittedly not a huge Star Wars fan, didn't even realize that Tarkin wasn't played by a real actor. It's possible that we're over-analyzing because we're so familiar with the original trilogy. I suppose we'll see in a decade or two if it holds up

[mu03eng]

Saw it Christmas evening and enjoyed it.  Not a Star Wars guy like many of you although I have seen all the films at least once.  Here's the question.  How many of you saw what was later retitled New Hope in the theater during its original release?  Maybe better question.  How many of you weren't even born yet! 

I certainly did.  Southgate theater. For some strange reason, I still remember looking at the cardboard cutout in the lobby thinking that Darth Vader dude looked like a serious badass. Long time ago and far, far away.

My parents hadn't even met yet so yeah

[mu03eng]

Yeah...when they first showed that I thought "okay, that was pretty cool and worked for a scene." By the end of the movie, it was way too overdone and while it looks okay now, will likely look like crap in 10 years or so.

For a comparison, before Episode VII came out, my wife and I sat down and watched I-VI. Yeah, the first ones aren't great, but just to get a full perspective and to see if they tied anything back all the way to the beginning. Some of the stuff held up (Jar Jar looks mostly okay, even if he's incredibly lame) but there was some that most definitely did not. In the second movie, before the big battle with Dooku when Mace Windu shows up, Obi-Wan is riding a lizard around. When the movie first came out, it looked fine. Going back and rewatching it now, it may as well be special effects from the 1950s. It doesn't hold up at all.

Back to Tarkin, if he had been in 1-2 scenes with limited lines, it would have been fine. But making him an actual important character with a decent amount of speaking lines and on-camera time, it just got worse and worse as it went, and will continue to get worse as the years go by. There's a reason the puppetry of Star Wars holds up better than the CGI of Episodes I-III. You can't overdo that stuff, because it all gets stale over time.

Here's the thing though, it's mo-cap, I'm willing to bet they can update the graphics as it improves since it's based on an actual physical actor that they then overlay the CGI. This is totally different than how they did the PT movies which was stand alone CGI married with live acting.

Also think we are over analyzing as super nerds and that the graphics will ultimately work on the small screen really well.

Lastly it works with the story and was necessary. Unlike all the CGI in PT that were there so GL could prove a point

[warriorchick]

Saw it Christmas evening and enjoyed it.  Not a Star Wars guy like many of you although I have seen all the films at least once.  Here's the question.  How many of you saw what was later retitled New Hope in the theater during its original release?  Maybe better question.  How many of you weren't even born yet! 

I certainly did.  Southgate theater. For some strange reason, I still remember looking at the cardboard cutout in the lobby thinking that Darth Vader dude looked like a serious badass. Long time ago and far, far away.

I saw it at the movie theatre near Harding Mall in Nashville.  It had been playing there for over a year (54th big week, I believe the ad said).  That copy of the film was in bad shape by then.

[brewcity77]

Lastly it works with the story and was necessary. Unlike all the CGI in PT that were there so GL could prove a point

I didn't think it was necessary. I'll be going to see it again, probably this week, but they could have used a different device than Grand Moff Tarkin. They could have shown Tarkin once or twice and had Krennic deal with an intermediary the rest of the time. To me it felt like they were using him for the sake of using him, to show what the technology was capable of.

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

I agree, but to play devil's advocate: I went to see the film with a few friends. One of them and I were lambasting the quality of the Tarkin effects. Another buddy, who is admittedly not a huge Star Wars fan, didn't even realize that Tarkin wasn't played by a real actor. It's possible that we're over-analyzing because we're so familiar with the original trilogy. I suppose we'll see in a decade or two if it holds up

I knew Tarkin was in the film and they had used CGI for his parts so I was looking.  Perhaps simply because I was looking I felt Tarkin looked like he was out of The Polar Express, that animation type.  Although it did work just fine.

[drewm88]

Saw it the other day and loved it.

Avoided all news about the film in advance, so didn't know about Tarkin going in. I don't consider myself a gigantic fan, but I've seen each of the seven at least twice. Didn't notice anything, just thought they got a guy who looked remarkably like the original. Now I question if I'm an idiot for missing it. Among other reasons completely unrelated to Star Wars, of course.

[StillAWarrior]

Saw it the other day and loved it.

Avoided all news about the film in advance, so didn't know about Tarkin going in. I don't consider myself a gigantic fan, but I've seen each of the seven at least twice. Didn't notice anything, just thought they got a guy who looked remarkably like the original. Now I question if I'm an idiot for missing it.

Ditto.

I took my three daughters last night.  I'd say that, at best, we're casual star wars fans.  Definitely not die hard fans (e.g., I definitely haven't even seen Episode 3, not sure I've seen all of Episode 2).  One of the funniest things to me was that after we watched the movie, my youngest daughter asked how they made Leia and "the guy from the death star" look like they did in the original.  She said, "how is that possible?"  My response was to ask how she can watch 2+ hours of believable space ships, planets, robots, creatures, explosions, etc. and not miss a beat, but then question how its possible to make someone look like a character looked 40 years go.

[jesmu84]

Just saw it.

Really liked it. I could go into more detail, but I think everyone has covered everything. Certainly didn't add much to the SW Universe, but some good filler. Disney clearly knows it can print money with this, otherwise, it wasn't an integral movie.

[GB Warrior]

Saw it the other day and loved it.

Avoided all news about the film in advance, so didn't know about Tarkin going in. I don't consider myself a gigantic fan, but I've seen each of the seven at least twice. Didn't notice anything, just thought they got a guy who looked remarkably like the original. Now I question if I'm an idiot for missing it. Among other reasons completely unrelated to Star Wars, of course.

Midway through the movie, I leaned over to my wife re: Tarkin and asked "Is he CGI?" She was surprised and hadn't crossed her mind til that point. I thought it was tastefully done, and aided by dark lighting. Imo, much better than Leia, but was swept away given I was watching it a day after Fisher's passing. What an amazing scene in that context.

I thought the film was incredibly well done and respectful to the original trilogy. It resisted the urge to allow for survivors despite some truly loveable characters. K2SO was an amazing addition of comic relief. And Vader was finally not a complex character - just evil through and through.

The movie played so wonderfully into ANH that you're doing yourself a disservice if you don't immediately watch it following this movie.

[MU82]

Just saw it with my grown son and we both enjoyed it.

I was worried going in because the Charlotte Observer critic, whom I mostly agree with, called it boring. I didn't read the review - I never read a review until after seeing a movie because I hate even a hint of a spoiler - but he gave it a bad rating (2 stars I think) and the headline had the word "boring" in it. When the film ended and the credits started rolling, I stood up and said to my son: "Well, it certainly wasn't boring."

I had a good time. I liked the way they tied up some loose ends and I liked some of the cameos. I thought the leads did very well and chuckled several times at K-2's lines. I thought most action sequences were very good.

My only nit was that the blind guy kept sounding like he was praying to the Force. I just don't think that's what anybody who believes in the Force does. It was corny and seemed out of place.

I have seen 4-6 numerous times each and each of the others twice - but I wouldn't call myself a "Star Wars nerd" or anything. I just like the stories, especially 4 and 5. So I don't go overboard on the technical stuff and I haven't memorized all the names of minor characters, etc. I think whoever said earlier that the big SW buffs were "over-thinking things" is right on.

I mean, obviously, the character in the final scene was going to be Leia. I knew she was going to be CGI. And I didn't think the CGI was especially good. But it just didn't bother me. She had to be in the story and that was that. Same with Tarkin. I actually thought the CGI was quite good for him and I understand why some didn't even recognize it as CGI. But even if I didn't think he was perfect, it wouldn't have ruined the film one iota.

I go to the movies for the same reason I watch great TV shows or read books: because I like stories. This was a good story, well presented and fun. Has me psyched for No. 8.

[drewm88]

Just saw it with my grown son and we both enjoyed it.

I was worried going in because the Charlotte Observer critic, whom I mostly agree with, called it boring. I didn't read the review - I never read a review until after seeing a movie because I hate even a hint of a spoiler - but he gave it a bad rating (2 stars I think) and the headline had the word "boring" in it. When the film ended and the credits started rolling, I stood up and said to my son: "Well, it certainly wasn't boring."

I had a good time. I liked the way they tied up some loose ends and I liked some of the cameos. I thought the leads did very well and chuckled several times at K-2's lines. I thought most action sequences were very good.

My only nit was that the blind guy kept sounding like he was praying to the Force. I just don't think that's what anybody who believes in the Force does. It was corny and seemed out of place.

I have seen 4-6 numerous times each and each of the others twice - but I wouldn't call myself a "Star Wars nerd" or anything. I just like the stories, especially 4 and 5. So I don't go overboard on the technical stuff and I haven't memorized all the names of minor characters, etc. I think whoever said earlier that the big SW buffs were "over-thinking things" is right on.

I mean, obviously, the character in the final scene was going to be Leia. I knew she was going to be CGI. And I didn't think the CGI was especially good. But it just didn't bother me. She had to be in the story and that was that. Same with Tarkin. I actually thought the CGI was quite good for him and I understand why some didn't even recognize it as CGI. But even if I didn't think he was perfect, it wouldn't have ruined the film one iota.

I go to the movies for the same reason I watch great TV shows or read books: because I like stories. This was a good story, well presented and fun. Has me psyched for No. 8.

Leave it to the atheist...

Surprised anyone could call it boring, unless they went in sour about knowing how it has to end and never let go of that.

[reinko]

Fun little read on Vader's Castle...

http://io9.gizmodo.com/the-intriguing-backstory-of-darth-vaders-castle-in-rogu-1790631631

[MU82]

Leave it to the atheist...

I actually thought that while I was writing up my little summary there, but I said to heck with it and wrote it anyway.

As I said, who prays to the Force? There were 7 movies and lots of great characters, and none of them prayed to the Force.

Yoda waxed poetic about it often, as did Obi-Wan, but they weren't reciting the silliness that character was over and over. It didn't add to the movie or his character's development, IMHO. Didn't keep him alive, either - ha!

[jesmu84]

I actually thought that while I was writing up my little summary there, but I said to heck with it and wrote it anyway.

As I said, who prays to the Force? There were 7 movies and lots of great characters, and none of them prayed to the Force.

Yoda waxed poetic about it often, as did Obi-Wan, but they weren't reciting the silliness that character was over and over. It didn't add to the movie or his character's development, IMHO. Didn't keep him alive, either - ha!

This movie added some small portions of the SW Universe that the common fan doesn't know about. The force temple (it wasn't a jedi temple, technically) where he was a guard, and the force being his religion, are 2 small examples.

Did you know there are witches in the SW universe? They use the force as well, but also use potions, curses, etc.

There's a lot out there that could pop up in the movies going forward.

[MU82]

This movie added some small portions of the SW Universe that the common fan doesn't know about. The force temple (it wasn't a jedi temple, technically) where he was a guard, and the force being his religion, are 2 small examples.

Did you know there are witches in the SW universe? They use the force as well, but also use potions, curses, etc.

There's a lot out there that could pop up in the movies going forward.

Cool. I hope one of the things that pops up isn't a character (or multiple characters) reciting prayers to the Force over and over and over and over throughout movies.

[mu03eng]

I actually thought that while I was writing up my little summary there, but I said to heck with it and wrote it anyway.

As I said, who prays to the Force? There were 7 movies and lots of great characters, and none of them prayed to the Force.

Yoda waxed poetic about it often, as did Obi-Wan, but they weren't reciting the silliness that character was over and over. It didn't add to the movie or his character's development, IMHO. Didn't keep him alive, either - ha!

I'm going full nerd here which is not fair to you but the force as a religion appears in Episode 7, but that's mostly in the novelization of the movie.

The community that Poe visits Lor Santeka  (Max Von Sydow) at the very beginning of TFA was essentially a church of the force commute. They worship the force as a sort of guiding light and as someone else mentioned there are lots of refences to religiosity around the force in the non-movie canon.

If you think about it, it's one of the beauties of GL's vision, this unifying "force" that there are all sorts of perspectives on (Jedi, Sith, Nightsisters, Han Solo like atheists, light users, worshippers, etc). Very much a commentary on our religions and how they are variations on some unknown universal truth that imperfect beings distort with their own interpretation of this truth.

Phew, let me retreat into my mom's basement now.

[🏀]

I'm going full nerd here which is not fair to you but the force as a religion appears in Episode 7, but that's mostly in the novelization of the movie.

The community that Poe visits Lor Santeka  (Max Von Sydow) at the very beginning of TFA was essentially a church of the force commute. They worship the force as a sort of guiding light and as someone else mentioned there are lots of refences to religiosity around the force in the non-movie canon.

If you think about it, it's one of the beauties of GL's vision, this unifying "force" that there are all sorts of perspectives on (Jedi, Sith, Nightsisters, Han Solo like atheists, light users, worshippers, etc). Very much a commentary on our religions and how they are variations on some unknown universal truth that imperfect beings distort with their own interpretation of this truth.

Phew, let me retreat into my mom's basement now.

Someone needed to say it.

[MU82]

I'm going full nerd here which is not fair to you but the force as a religion appears in Episode 7, but that's mostly in the novelization of the movie.

The community that Poe visits Lor Santeka  (Max Von Sydow) at the very beginning of TFA was essentially a church of the force commute. They worship the force as a sort of guiding light and as someone else mentioned there are lots of refences to religiosity around the force in the non-movie canon.

If you think about it, it's one of the beauties of GL's vision, this unifying "force" that there are all sorts of perspectives on (Jedi, Sith, Nightsisters, Han Solo like atheists, light users, worshippers, etc). Very much a commentary on our religions and how they are variations on some unknown universal truth that imperfect beings distort with their own interpretation of this truth.

Phew, let me retreat into my mom's basement now.

Thanks mu03.

I see the light!

[Skatastrophy]

I'm at best an agnostic, but you guys should watch the cartoon series, "Star Wars: The Clone Wars." It was excellent, and you'll learn a lot about force users, force beings, and how people revere/understand the force. Really a great series.

[mu03eng]

I'm at best an agnostic, but you guys should watch the cartoon series, "Star Wars: The Clone Wars." It was excellent, and you'll learn a lot about force users, force beings, and how people revere/understand the force. Really a great series.

+1 and last true GL based involvement in Star Wars narrative

[MUBurrow]

Finally just saw Rogue One yesterday. Thought it was really in the middle of the SW movies. FWIW, I'm also probably in the middle in terms of nerdness - I know a grab bag of non-movie canon from a lot of time around uber-nerds, and have a strong interest/curiosity in it, but I haven't actually read or viewed any of the non-movie source material. I've watched eps I-VI enough to keep up with the nerdiest of commentary on those.

 - I thought more Tarkin scenes could have been holograms, which would have eliminated a lot of the concerns about the CGI quality. I thought the relationship and material was fine, but he didn't need to actually be there talking in person with Krennic for most of it. Didn't love the Krennic-Vader scene.

(Sidenote - the force choke misinterprets how to give the fans what they want. SW die hards are so insane with this stuff that they don't turn to each other after a force choke and say "Awesome! He did it!" They want ridiculous nerd depth - cameos and references to characters never shown in the movies, etc. On the flip side, it also doesn't move the dial enough for casual fans to get particularly pumped up - they kind of just expect the force choke stuff, but they don't mourn it if its not included. Its inclusion is essentially the realization of fans' fears when Disney took over.)

 - Not using Bail Organa as a window to more interesting dynamics of the rebel-senate relationship seemed like a lost opportunity.  Given the willingness to use Leia CGI, having her adoptive dad just sort of hanging around for half the movie without doing any interesting work is a bit of a waste.

 - I don't think the relationships between Jyn Irso and either Cassian or Saw Gerrera were dynamic enough. The movie seemed to try to focus a lot on how Jyn feels about stuff, which makes sense for the non-nerd audience. But with the SW-patented quick cut scenes and introduction of a lot of allegedly deep relationships for her (Cassian, Gerrera, Galen) none of those relationships really landed.