Star Wars: Rogue One

[wease]

They were talking on NPR this morning about how it had no opening crawl and that all the die-hard fans (us) were pissed off about it. I kept thinking, "um no, we're not pissed off about it at all."

[LoathedVermin72]

That's probably fair. But his (Bodhi's) story worked for me. I would have loved more, sure. And his performance is heartbreaking. But I didn't find it lacking. For me, that character was Chirrut. I really liked him but wanted more.

Yeah, Ahmed was great in the role. But I feel like his arc was a missed opportunity after Whitaker's line about "losing one's mind." I wanted to see him change and become a quirkier character in some way. But he was still a good character as is.

[wease]

Saw it for the 3rd time last night. Still a great film.

Dime, did you ever find out what the significance of SW-0608 is?

[MissYouAllDay]

They were talking on NPR this morning about how it had no opening crawl and that all the die-hard fans (us) were pissed off about it. I kept thinking, "um no, we're not pissed off about it at all."

NPR love speaking for people without really knowing what they're talking about. It's their bread and butter.

[epilogue]

That's probably fair. But his (Bodhi's) story worked for me. I would have loved more, sure. And his performance is heartbreaking. But I didn't find it lacking. For me, that character was Chirrut. I really liked him but wanted more.

Yeah, Ahmed was great in the role. But I feel like his arc was a missed opportunity after Whitaker's line about "losing one's mind." I wanted to see him change and become a quirkier character in some way. But he was still a good character as is.

I do agree about that plot point. That was a little wasted a weird. They "made it work." But it was definitely a missed opportunity.

[stip]

So in any war movie I've ever liked, I would usually identify with a main character and generally care more about them than everyone else. Yes, it was always a bummer when the other characters die, but always hits harder when the main character dies. This was a war movie through and through, and a good one at that. It starts out with why our main character is going to war, which gives us a reason to root for her. In this case we knew the outcome of the mission but I don't think that detracted too much from it. I still found myself on edge during the battle on Scarif.

I think the story moved along fine. Achieve some intermediate goals to forward the progress of the end goal.

The cinematography aspect was brilliant as I expected from Edwards. Beautiful, really.

I thought all of the SW tie ins were fine. I think the whole "force is with me" thing was a little overkill, especially with no Jedi featured in the movie. (Which it didn't need)

I did really enjoy hearing "General Syndulla" over the intercom.

I can't say this is better or worse than any other Star Wars film because they all are tied together in such a different way. As far as enjoyment, I enjoyed this more than TFA.

First paragraph stip

that makes sense. You don't need to care about anyone, and you can be invested in what happened (I was) without necessarily caring about any of them.

[epilogue]

They were talking on NPR this morning about how it had no opening crawl and that all the die-hard fans (us) were pissed off about it. I kept thinking, "um no, we're not pissed off about it at all."

NPR love speaking for people without really knowing what they're talking about. It's their bread and butter.

Maybe. But I've listened to several podcasts and read many, many posts on other boards (and the likes of reddit) that are calling the decision to leave out the crawl a "big mistake." Most people don't think it's a deal breaker> People are saying things like, "it's a good movie regardless but..." There are a ton of people who actually are pissed that there was no crawl.

[stip]

I've said before and I'll reiterate now, Bodhi was a great character and his death was profound. I actually felt it in my chest and teared up. K2SO's death was the other meaningful and difficult death for me.

Baze wasn't as well developed but his death was powerful as well.

In terms of character arc, did anyone other than Finn and Rey have arcs in TFA? There are a lot of comparisons to be drawn, I think. Krennic was a great villain. Galen was a great mentor character. I just don't think the lack of character arc complaint holds up. Especially in the context of "A Star Wars Story."

Han and Ren both had arcs as well (important ones). Every major character went on a significant journey during that film.


I really enjoyed Krennic as a villain. Galen was pretty strong, too. It was the main team that I thought was thin, though the actors did a lot with a little. I agree that there was a great story to tell with Bodhi, but they didn't tell it - they just hinted at its margins.

[stip]

I'm not convinced an arc with progression is the only way to make a character memorable and interesting. It's one way, and the most common way, but not the only way. Especially in a movie that is largely about martyrs; people putting their deeply held beliefs and convictions to the ultimate test.

Oh sure, but likewise I never felt that any of these guys were particularly tested either. These were people kind of waiting around to die, and then an opportunity was furnished for them to do so. They were granted their good death, but there was no moment where they had to look back, question what they were doing, wonder if they wanted to be somewhere else. No moment where they felt forsaken and rose above it based on the strength or purity of their conviction.

[tragabigzanda]

Star Wars sucks now

[epilogue]

I've said before and I'll reiterate now, Bodhi was a great character and his death was profound. I actually felt it in my chest and teared up. K2SO's death was the other meaningful and difficult death for me.

Baze wasn't as well developed but his death was powerful as well.

In terms of character arc, did anyone other than Finn and Rey have arcs in TFA? There are a lot of comparisons to be drawn, I think. Krennic was a great villain. Galen was a great mentor character. I just don't think the lack of character arc complaint holds up. Especially in the context of "A Star Wars Story."

Han and Ren both had arcs as well (important ones). Every major character went on a significant journey during that film.


I really enjoyed Krennic as a villain. Galen was pretty strong, too. It was the main team that I thought was thin, though the actors did a lot with a little. I agree that there was a great story to tell with Bodhi, but they didn't tell it - they just hinted at its margins.

I guess you're just gonna have to get really specific with me on this, bud. To me Han's arc is... nonexistent. Unless we're talking about stuff we don't see on screen; stuff that's told to us, not shown. If you're including Han from the other films, maybe you have a point, but that's not fair. Han's had several films. But even at that, I'm not sure I'd agree with your notion that he had much of an arc in TFA.

Ren didn't have any more of an arc than Cassian. And Cassian was also stronger than Poe (in terms of actual arc). Rey goes on a massive journey and has a more obvious "change" than Jyn but Jyn's arc is pretty substantial, too.

Yeah, man, as a guy who has studied acting and writing for 25 years, I'm just not sure I can see where you're coming from here. Bodhi's story was fantastic. The only missed opportunity was the bit with the mind reading alien thing. But that was unnecessary. That could have been totally cut and nothing changed. That's a plot flaw, not a character flaw.

[epilogue]

I'm not convinced an arc with progression is the only way to make a character memorable and interesting. It's one way, and the most common way, but not the only way. Especially in a movie that is largely about martyrs; people putting their deeply held beliefs and convictions to the ultimate test.

Oh sure, but likewise I never felt that any of these guys were particularly tested either. These were people kind of waiting around to die, and then an opportunity was furnished for them to do so. They were granted their good death, but there was no moment where they had to look back, question what they were doing, wonder if they wanted to be somewhere else. No moment where they felt forsaken and rose above it based on the strength or purity of their conviction.

Really?! No moment? For any of them? Where they had to question themselves or rise above their convictions? I feel like you really need to see this thing again.

[tragabigzanda]

Star Wars sucks now

[LoathedVermin72]

Thanks for reminding me how much I despise Han's treatment in TFA

[tragabigzanda]

Star Wars sucks now

[epilogue]

Han's arc is thin at best. And they had to retcon him to force that arc, so... yeah. Fine. Okay. He "has an arc." But it's not impressive or all together interesting. And I think it's akin to Baze's arc in Rogue One. If we're going to knock Baze for not being developed, then we have to knock Han as well. And again, Han benefits from three previous films. We fill in a lot of blanks with him and excuse a lot because we can and we care.

[LoathedVermin72]

Yea, the execution and screen time for his character blows. But the arc is pretty undeniable I think.

Oh it's there. It's just a garbage arc coming after the OT.

[tragabigzanda]

Star Wars sucks now

[epilogue]

The other thing is that not every character has to have an arc. Really it's only the central character, the protagonist that we really concern ourselves with when it comes to an arc. Who's is the main character? The protagonist? What changes does he/she experience? If we're looking at The Force Awakens, clearly, Rey is the protagonist. And in R1 it's Jyn. Both have great and obvious and clear arcs. On that score, both films are equally successful. It just comes down to which character and which arc to you think is more interesting and successful and effective.

[stip]

more later