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[BenjaminBirdie]

The characters had potential, but they never really talk to each other or say anything interesting.

What?

Cassian laying out true rebellion on the ship?
Everything K says everywhere lol?
Baze and Chirrut?

Come on man what is this

 

[TheDarkKnight774]

Just saw it. Amazing film. Surprised me as I wasn't super hyped leading into it

It's the best looking Star Wars film since Empire.

And finally we have a space battle that surpasses Return. Fitting it took Star Wars to do it.

Really cool characters and I'm SO happy with how they ended it. I figured they'd have it where at least the leads survived. Glad they went with the darker direction.

But where was Porkins???????

 

[MGrant]

Sorry I'm late, did anyone make a Bodhi = NYChrisG joke yet?

I thought the movie was alright. They could have cut the Forest Whitaker arc altogether and I think the movie would have been better for it. The last hour was very enjoyable, the first hour was pretty uneven and didn't feel fully baked to me.

 

[golem]

Wait y'all didn't like all these new characs??? They were fucking amazing. I want trilogies for all of them. I guess that's what EU is for I guess.

I think mostly people want more of them but in the movie itself not in a random comic or YA novel.

 

[RoyalFool]

Went in expecting a poor mans TFA, ended up getting the best Star Wars movie since Return of the Jedi.

Felt the pacing was solid and the characters had enough backstory to be interesting, so I don't agree with the main two criticisms it seems to receive. Adored the locations, seeing an epic star-ship battle over a tropical climate planet was incredibleballs.

Only part I didn't get is why she told Tarkin Jnr that it was over and started mono-logging, before she had even sent the plans and was being held at gunpoint. Felt they relied on someone off screen shooting the villain to save the person on screen a few times too many.

RIP Rogue One.

 

[wazoo]

As a personal note, 3D did not bring anything. I can not wait to see it in 2D again.

 

[Metalingus5150]

Donnie Yen's character was a surprise for me. In a good way. Also had one of the best funny moments.

 

[ExVicis]

I strongly disagree with everyone who says that character arcs are unnecessary or that they are some newfangled modern convention that is only expected by people who have been spoiled by prestige serial television. This stuff has been part and parcel of men on a mission/WW2 action movies since the beginning. When you have a bunch of guys on a squad, each one has their own little story or motivation. One guy wants to kill this specific Nazi, another guy wants to get back home to help his parents on the farm, one guy has a thing for the war correspondent embedded in their unit, but she won't give him the time of day. One of the classic cliches is Eddie from company C, who shows the squad a picture of his best gal back home. Then when Eddie dies, the audience thinks, "Oh no, now he'll never get to meet his best gal again". It's overly telegraphed and has become something of a joke, but characters are supposed to have these little things about them that connect us to their story. This is especially essential in a war movie, where many characters will die and sacrifice themselves.

Even more importantly, the characters on the squad have a network of relationships. We know how Lee Marvin feels about Steve McQueen, how Ernest Borgnine feels about Charles Bronson, how Tom Sizemore feels about Adam Goldberg, etc. One guy on the squad is racist and is constantly badgering the one Jewish soldier. All the rest of the squad backs up the Jewish soldier and it's a bonding moment. Two characters are rivals but they eventually form a begrudging respect. One guy is loyal to the captain to a fault and the other soldiers resent him.

Rogue One has almost zero character relationships. There's no network that connects these people.

How does Bodhi feel about K-2? No idea.
How does K-2 feel about Chirrut? No idea.
How does Baze feel about Cassian? Other than some vague disappointment that Cassian was going to kill Jyn's dad, no idea.
How does Cassian feel about Bodhi? No idea.
How does Jyn feel about Baze? No idea.
How does Baze feel about Chirrut? They are friends and used to be guardians together. That's all we know. Almost literally nothing else.
How does Jyn feel about Chirrut? Other than the fact that Chirrut seems to respect Jyn for an entirely unknown reason, no idea.

It's easy to establish these things. It's not the special arena of prestige TV. Disney has shown that they are capable of this. One of the strengths of the Marvel films is that we get these little character moments where people interact in little ways. That was one of the reasons that the first Avengers was so great. That could have been done here so easily. I'm not asking for complex relationship dramas, just those little moments and small connections. I want to know how Baze feels about Bodhi or K-2. I want them to be connected in some way, even if it's extremely small, even if they only share a joke. There are only six main heroes here. It's a relatively small group. Even The Dirty Dozen, where we have the 12 main soldiers + Lee Marvin, Ernest Borgnine, Robert Ryan, and George Kennedy, manages to give us these character networks without a problem. It's a foundation to any war movie, and Rogue One entirely lacks it.

Your post very accurately sums up my feelings on the characters and illustrates how shallow they are portrayed in this movie. As someone earlier said, we don't really get characters in this movie, just plot vehicles there that are driven by the story, not driving the story themselves.

They could have cut the Forest Whitaker arc altogether and I think the movie would have been better for it.

Also this. Forest Whitaker was so woefully underused and misrepresented in trailers that I'm getting annoyed thinking about it. Saw Guerra's role in the movie was basically to tell the other characters where to go next and die while saying cheesy lines for them to put in the trailer. I don't think he had any real purpose in the movie and it might have made the movie better if they cut it.

 

[darkistheway]

What?

Cassian laying out true rebellion on the ship?
Everything K says everywhere lol?
Baze and Chirrut?

Come on man what is this

Yeah, I don't get this criticism. The characters all had arcs and depth. What they didn't have (and maybe this is what people really want) is exposition.

 

[Crowza]

Anyone know what was up with the "Malibu-Beach-Vacation" stormtroopers?

I wanted to like this film so much, but by the end I was anxiously awaiting the deaths of all of the main characters, with the sole exception of the droid (and he was no HK-47). The first 1:40 was so boring and uninspired, it was terrible... It felt like bad EU stuff.

I'd watch about two minutes of the last third of the film over and over again. But, I don't even want to see it in the theater a second time.

I'm so disappointed.

 

[wazoo]

I disagree.

Some characters are definitely wasted : Whittaker and Mikkelsen. Such great actors.

 

[RS4-]

If anything, they could've showed Mads doing some work, but I don't know if that would have really added anything.

Maybe to feel sorry for him.

 

[A Serious Man]

I liked most of the characters. Baze and Chirrut, for example, have a relationship that implies a rich history but I don't need that history spelled out for me to know everything I need to about those characters.

 

[ffejeromdiks]

Yeah, I don't get this criticism. The characters all had arcs and depth. What they didn't have (and maybe this is what people really want) is exposition.

Eh....arcs and depth is a bit much, I enjoyed the characters for what they were but lets not project qualities that aren't really there. They are essentially redshirts in the grand scheme of things, defined redshirts with characteristics yes but not fleshed out in any meaningful way because their 'depth' is merely surface level, and no people aren't just pining for exposition they are just asking to learn more about the characters through interaction, which there is a pretty jarring lack of, outside of when they first meet on Jedha and when they rally and become "rogue one" they don't even share the screen often, when they are on the ship everyone is isolated doing their own thing in different parts of the ship.

I loved the movie for the record, but it has problems, the character deaths could have hit 10x harder if it was executed a bit better.

 

[Suzushiiro]

Is the rogue callsign in ANH a tribute to the Rogue One team?

IIRC they didn't start using the Rogue call sign until Empire, but yeah, the intent is pretty clearly that Rogue Squadron was named in honor of the call sign made up by the team in the movie.

 

[RoyalFool]

Forgot to say, I felt the plot device that he snuck a flaw into the death star was pretty genius, and adds to the original film somewhat. Reconning done right!

 

[Slixshot]

I liked most of the characters. Baze and Chirrut, for example, have a relationship that implies a rich history but I don't need that history spelled out for me to know everything I need to about those characters.

Agreed.

Whittakers character may not have been used a lot, but without him Baez and chirrut wouldn't have been a part of the group. The only reason gyn and cassian were on the planet was to find saw. Without saw capturing everyone, Baze and chirrut would've been dead on the planet.

 

[ExVicis]

Yeah, I don't get this criticism. The characters all had arcs and depth. What they didn't have (and maybe this is what people really want) is exposition.

Alright I've seen a lot of defense for the characters actually being developed on here with very little discussion about it.

What was Bodhi's character arc? Can you describe Bodhi's character?
What was Saw Guerra's character arc? Can you describe his character?
What was Jyn's character arc? What was the motivation for that character arc? Can you describe her character?
etc. etc. etc.

I can barely answer if at all answer any of these questions.

I don't need more exposition, but that is certainly a way to get more character development, I just need something that gives a little more about the character. For instance, the flashback with Galen and young Jyn on Coruscant showed a party in the background with a somewhat out of focus Krennic. He doesn't' say anything and it's not a big scene but I gained a lot about his character there. That Krennic and Galen at least knew each other well enough to be invite to have a drink in Galen's home and were at least willing colleagues with one another at some point in the past that they could socialize without the presence of a Stormtrooper.

It seems inconsequential but it really speaks to why Krennic wanted Galen back and why he knew about his wife and kid. It also tells us why Krennic at least pretended to be a nice guy at first and claimed Galen's wife and child would come along and be safe with him. It also explains why Krennic had the other Scientists killed right away but Galen was left alive to be monologued to.

The other characters never got that. Hell, if anyone needed a flashback it was Cassian to show these horrible things the movie keeps telling us he did. Instead the movie just tells us he did bad stuff.

 

[MaKTaiL]

Just watched it. Probably the best Star Wars movie I've seen. Loved everything about it and was surprised with the bridge with Episode 4 at the end. Perfect movie all round in my opinion. I loved the characters and their story.

 

[Surfinn]

Interesting debate going on in this thread.

I'm in the camp of "the characters were well cast but underdeveloped". I wanted the film to be more centered around the characters and not just vehicles to push the story forward.

Lots of good interactions between the two leads but I felt like there should have been more between all the squad members. And I wanted more emotion. I wanted the film to be much darker believe it or not. When Jyn's dad died I wanted her to lose it and lash out at Cassian. Scream at him. Get in his face.

You know that scene where Vader obliterated rebels in a microwave box and they're screaming and shitting themselves? I expected that level of intensity on the battlefield itself and I felt like it just wasn't there. There was more of an emotional impact for me in ROTJ when the Ewoks were getting mowed down by the empire.

Now I'm not saying I wanted gore or a saving private Ryan type experience but I wanted the war to be more brutal.

Didn't think this film was very dark at all honesty. I think that's partly why it felt a little underwhelming.

 

[ghostwritingduck]

What?

Cassian laying out true rebellion on the ship?
Everything K says everywhere lol?
Baze and Chirrut?

Come on man what is this

What did Baze and Jyn discuss?
What did K discuss with the pilot, Baze, and Chirrut?
What did the pilot discuss with anyone but Cassian?

 

[Gamecocks625]

Forgot to say, I felt the plot device that he snuck a flaw into the death star was pretty genius, and adds to the original film somewhat. Reconning done right!

Absolutely. Makes Episode IV have so much more weight to it knowing what went into getting those plans and exposing the Death Star. It wasn't just like "hey we made this thing and oops we forgot to close the backdoor". It was intentional in an awesome way.

 

[SuperSamyon]

Wonderful movie! Halfway through the film, I thought the main characters were going to turn out to be Rey's parents. That would have been awesome and a neat reveal. She kinda looks like them.

Still, loved the movie and thought it was much better than force awakens.

The only downside was I thought the music was a little weak and felt like a poor man's Star Wars. I also got tired of the "The Force is with me" mantra that was repeated way too much.

Still, fantastic!

 

[Surfinn]

Forgot to say, I felt the plot device that he snuck a flaw into the death star was pretty genius, and adds to the original film somewhat. Reconning done right!

Surprised the shit out if me in the film. Very bold but it worked well.

 

[Slythe]

I've been watching a few reviews and scanning this thread and there something that keeps cropping up that I guess is a modern thing. People seem to want more reasons and motivation for characters. Why are they there, why are they friends, what's their arc? I don't get it. Accept the characters for what they are. The characters are their actions. Films never used to be reviewed like this, moaning on about lack of back story. You don't need it.

Particularly in this film, where the focus is getting the plans of the Death Star. The characters are interesting because of the part they play in that mission. This isn't a character study, it's a film built around a mission. The situation is the thing.

Also, because of this, I've no problem with the way the film jumps around at the start. It expands the universe, adds to the pulling together of different elements for the second and third act. It really gains momentum in the third act and I think it has a lot to do with how the first act sets everything up. Start all over the place but ends super focused. Brilliant.

Forest Whitaker was a bit rubbish though.

You hit the nail on the head. How much did we know about Han solo's "backstory" at the end of a new hope? Chewie? Leia, besides the fact she was a princess? Nothing. Because a character having their background detailed in an exposition drop is nowhere near as interesting as the decisions they make. Cassian killing the informant in cold blood, and not assasinating Jyn's father are what make his character. Those are interesting decisions. I loved that we got simple introductions and then the characters had to stand on their actions, not made up backstories that we are told about in forced dialogue.

 

[sonicmj1]

I liked most of the characters. Baze and Chirrut, for example, have a relationship that implies a rich history but I don't need that history spelled out for me to know everything I need to about those characters.

I liked them, and they have a great relationship with each other, but I don't feel like they have a relationship with the rest of the crew. They get thrown along for the ride, and then Chirrut offers helpful bits of Force-nudging to keep things moving when the movie doesn't know what to do in the first two acts. They follow along because they have nowhere else to go.

The defector pilot faces a lot of the same issues, but doesn't even get somebody to play off of.

Ultimately I had a good time and found it exciting, but I didn't care all that much what happened to anybody in it. I don't know if a better crew dynamic would have changed that.

 

[OricWindstar]

I think this got lost in the sauce a few pages back in that weird argument over the integrity of Leia's baldfaced lie to Darth Vader but:

The "For Your Consideration" version of the Soundtrack is now up on Disney's awards site. It's about 15-20 min longer, and features cues from the score that are not on the soundtrack, and I believe alternate versions of some cues that are.

http://www.waltdisneystudiosawards.com/#/rogue-one/music

Awesome! Wasn't expecting it this soon.

 

[darkistheway]

Eh....arcs and depth is a bit much, I enjoyed the characters for what they were but lets not project qualities that aren't really there. They are essentially redshirts in the grand scheme of things, defined redshirts with characteristics yes but not fleshed out in any meaningful way because their 'depth' is merely surface level, and no people aren't just pining for exposition they are just asking to learn more about the characters through interaction, which there is a pretty jarring lack of, outside of when they first meet on Jedha and when they rally and become "rogue one" they don't even share the screen often, when they are on the ship everyone is isolated doing their own thing in different parts of the ship.

I loved the movie for the record, but it has problems, the character deaths could have hit 10x harder if it was executed a bit better.

I felt the depth of the characters. There is implied histories and connections. I'll agree the 'team' aspect is not fleshed out but they all have common cause that unites them. Cassian and Chirrut might not connect but Cassian and Jyn and Chirrut and Jyn do. In the course of 2 hour movie, that level of narrative shorthand is enough for me.

Alright I've seen a lot of defense for the characters actually being developed on here with very little discussion about it.

What was Bodhi's character arc? Can you describe Bodhi's character?
What was Saw Guerra's character arc? Can you describe his character?
What was Jyn's character arc? What was the motivation for that character arc? Can you describe her character?
etc. etc. etc.

I can barely answer if at all answer any of these questions.

I don't need more exposition, but that is certainly a way to get more character development, I just need something that gives a little more about the character. For instance, the flashback with Galen and young Jyn on Coruscant showed a party in the background with a somewhat out of focus Krennic. He doesn't' say anything and it's not a big scene but I gained a lot about his character there. That Krennic and Galen at least knew each other well enough to be invite to have a drink in Galen's home and were at least willing colleagues with one another at some point in the past that they could socialize without the presence of a Stormtrooper.

It seems inconsequential but it really speaks to why Krennic wanted Galen back and why he knew about his wife and kid. It also tells us why Krennic at least pretended to be a nice guy at first and claimed Galen's wife and child would come along and be safe with him. It also explains why Krennic had the other Scientists killed right away but Galen was left alive to be monologued to.

The other characters never got that. Hell, if anyone needed a flashback it was Cassian to show these horrible things the movie keeps telling us he did. Instead the movie just tells us he did bad stuff.

Bodhi feels guilt over his involvement with the Empire. He is trying to redeem himself. Is that not an arc?

Saw, I'll give you. He's flat but flat character are not a bad thing in and of themselves. Saw is not the focus of the plot merely a driver. He doesn't really need to be more fleshed out.

Honestly, I can't really respond to your questioning of Jyn. If you really don't see her arc...

The Galen and Krennic flashback is great, absolutely but expecting those for every character is just unrealistic. It's a two hour movie - some audience buy-in is not unreasonable. If you didn't buy in then the movie won't work for you. It's not the end of the world.

I did buy in and I thought the filmmakers did a great job of giving me enough little hooks in each scene that I could create internal narratives for each character.

 

[Slythe]

I liked them, and they have a great relationship with each other, but I don't feel like they have a relationship with the rest of the crew. They get thrown along for the ride, and then Chirrut offers helpful bits of Force-nudging to keep things moving when the movie doesn't know what to do in the first two acts. They follow along because they have nowhere else to go.

The defector pilot faces a lot of the same issues, but doesn't even get somebody to play off of.

Ultimately I had a good time and found it exciting, but I didn't care all that much what happened to anybody in it. I don't know if a better crew dynamic would have changed that.

It's made quite clear from their introduction that Chirrut and Jyn have a connection rooted in the fact that they both have force crystals. That's why he called out to her in the first place, and defended her when she was being arrested. Then they were all taken to Saw together and taken captive. Chirruit and his companion had no choice but to escape with Jyn and Cassian. After they escape they go straight to the next mission destination. They didn't give Chirruit and his friend the chance to leave, they're stuck in each other's company till they can at least get back to Yavin. In the meantime Chirrut begins analyzing Cassian and his motives, and it's clear he gains an appreciation for Jyn. With his homeworkd destroyed at the hands of the empire, and no home to go back to Chirrut decides to join Jyn and Cassian on the final mission.

I didn't see anything far fetched about this character sticking around with the crew. His best friend stuck around because it's pretty clear from early on he doesn't care about the force much, but he defends Jedah with Chirrut because of their friendship. Given he seems like a guy who likes a good fight and his loyalty to Chirrut, is it really that far fetched that he stuck around too?

 

[Bobby Roberts]

Awesome! Wasn't expecting it this soon.

Yeah, turns out there's an extra 20-or-so minutes of music on this. There's an error on one of the tracks, though "Today of All Days" that cuts off its ending prematurely.

But you combine this release w/ the official soundtrack, you end up with over 90 minutes of score. Still missing the film version of the End Credits, though.

 

[Ekid]

It was pretty good, just disappointed by the fact that there were only showing it in 3d near me, would have been better in 2d.
Who is that black stormtrooper killing rebels pilots left and right at the end ?

 

[Troblin]

Does anyone have a listing of the Empire "Secret Projects" that they list when the rebels are searching the database for the Death Star plans?

I figure that they may be a hidden easter egg into a future movie.

 

[Surfinn]

Yeah, turns out there's an extra 20-or-so minutes of music on this. There's an error on one of the tracks, though "Today of All Days" that cuts off its ending prematurely.

But you combine this release w/ the official soundtrack, you end up with over 90 minutes of score. Still missing the film version of the End Credits, though.

Thanks I will check this out. The score was fantastic.

 

[TrumanBurbank]

I can't believe they killed all of them.

Super depressing.

 

[BenjaminBirdie]

I disagree.

Some characters are definitely wasted : Whittaker and Mikkelsen. Such great actors.

His hologram was phenomenally moving. Whittaker I'll grant you but no way on Mads. He saved the fucking galaxy. Choked up just thinking about it.

 

[TDLink]

I feel like the scattershot beginning could have been easily fixed by just making it all on Jedha instead of jumping between three other planets.

The market with the informant that Cassian kills? Make it Jedha.

The prison where Jyn is? Make it Jedha.

When she's broken out by Cassian and K2? Well they're already on Jedha so it makes sense for them to free her...and then it can flow straight into the insurgent stuff in the marketplace.

It would have even made sense that Saw was there since he abandoned Jyn earlier in life. No need for her to leave the planet, she could have just been stuck somewhere else. Planets are big (even though they sometimes aren't treated as such in Star Wars).

Then have her meet the Alliance for the first time after that prior to Eadu.

It would have given it a greater sense of place and slowed the film down a bit without changing the core beats of the story. Also would have made a greater impact for having it destroyed if we spent more solid time there. The whole team would have come together there.

I don't know why they didn't do this. Some simple changes that would have made the film even better imo.



All that said I loved the movie. The last 2/3s are as close to perfect as I could hope. That first third just could have been so much stronger.

 

[ExVicis]

You hit the nail on the head. How much did we know about Han solo's "backstory" at the end of a new hope? Chewie? Leia, besides the fact she was a princess? Nothing. Because a character having their background detailed in an exposition drop is nowhere near as interesting as the decisions they make. Cassian killing the informant in cold blood, and not assasinating Jyn's father are what make his character. Those are interesting decisions. I loved that we got simple introductions and then the characters had to stand on their actions, not made up backstories that we are told about in forced dialogue.

Even this STILL falls apart with the characters in this movie. What does Bodhi do in this movie? His in captivity and jail, he gets tentacled by a monster, he flies a ship and he plugs in some cables. That's not the kind of things that define a character.

What does Chirrut do in the movie? He fights some guys while blind and wins and then later slowly walks to a switch he flips then dies in an explosion.

You guys are equating character development with "exposition" for some reason. You don't need that to get a backstory. You just need character defining moments or hints at something that explains their actions.

We don't even know why Cassian is so cold-blooded until he straight up tells the audience "I've done bad things since I was 6 because I had no choice!" which is exactly what you just said you don't want when you said "forced dialogue". The characterization is just lazy I'm sorry.

If I had to put it a better way, going off the Plinkett Review system, can you describe Bodhi's character without using what his occupation is or his appearance?

 

[jack_package_200]

I loved it.

Third act reminded me of Apocalypse Now and Saving Private Ryan in the best way.

 

[Killer Queen]

I feel like the scattershot beginning could have been easily fixed by just making it all on Jedha instead of jumping between three other planets.

The market with the informant that Cassian kills? Make it Jedha.

The prison where Jyn is? Make it Jedha.

When she's broken out by Cassian and K2? Well they're already on Jedha so it makes sense for them to free her...and then it can flow straight into the insurgent stuff in the marketplace.

It would have even made sense that Saw was there since he abandoned Jyn earlier in life. No need for her to leave the planet, she could have just been stuck somewhere else. Planets are big (even though they sometimes aren't treated as such in Star Wars).

Then have her meet the Alliance for the first time after that prior to Eadu.

It would have given it a greater sense of place and slowed the film down a bit without changing the core beats of the story. Also would have made a greater impact for having it destroyed if we spent more solid time there. The whole team would have come together there.

I don't know why they didn't do this. Some simple changes that would have made the film even better imo.



All that said I loved the movie. The last 2/3s are as close to perfect as I could hope. That first third just could have been so much stronger.

Then you have people complaining how it's all a coincidence they're all in the same area and its just not realistic.

 

[BigWeather]

I don't find the lack of interaction between the various groups of people lacking. The entire time frame of the movie is likely a couple of days, tops. I'd expect to see relationships between the pre-existing groups (K2 and Cassian, Baze and Chirrut) and I thought we saw that. Everyone was just caught in the current and the opportunity to find out how K2 thought about Baze, for example, wouldn't necessarily happen.

Loved the movie, a bit bleak -- and bold -- to kill everyone off. Vader at the end was impressive and seeing this movie chain directly to ANH with the relay of death and the Princess on Tantive IV was awesome.

More than anything, however, I appreciate this movie for greatly expanding the film canon of the Star Wars universe (kyber crystals on film, finally!) and demonstrating that stand-alone films in the universe can succeed.

And, man, I'm going to spend a lot on 3.75" action figures, aren't I? I neeeeed some of the more obscure but cool ones like the Jedha pilgrims with the red robes and cool masks. Or the Plo-Kown-like dude that looked to be Saw's lieutenant. I warmed up to the U-Wings but the TIE Strikers did nothing for me. Still, as a fan of the Empire's troops and ships there were some awesome new things!

Also, how do Wuhrer and Pandobaba get off Jedha so quickly? =)

 

[Surfinn]

In watching ANH right now and I'm telling you right now.. This film retroactively makes the beginning even better.

Vader is hyped up on hate after turning a dozen rebels into Swiss cheese and being thoroughly embarrassed by letting the rebel ship slip away with the plans, even if briefly.

Makes much more sense why Vader is so goddamn pissed at the start.

 

[TDLink]

Then you have people complaining how it's all a coincidence they're all in the same area and its just not realistic.

It's unrealistic for a group of people from the same place to band together? (Putting aside the fact that Bodhi was sent there from another place, which caused Cassian & K2 to be sent there from another place).

I don't think that's something that would be a legitimate complaint. And the people who would make that complaint could be ignored since it would make it so much stronger.

Luke, Han, Chewie, C3P0, and Obi-Wan all meet on Tatooine in the original. How is that any different?

It makes the film feel better paced when it is not jumping between 4 different places in 15 minutes.

 

[Gabriel_Logan]

Gotta admit I was bored out of my mind unless the Empire was onscreen. For some reason I thought Thrawn would show up in this movie.

 

[darkistheway]

Even this STILL falls apart with the characters in this movie. What does Bodhi do in this movie? His in captivity and jail, he gets tentacled by a monster, he flies a ship and he plugs in some cables. That's not the kind of things that define a character.

What does Chirrut do in the movie? He fights some guys while blind and wins and then later slowly walks to a switch he flips then dies in an explosion.

You guys are equating character development with "exposition" for some reason. You don't need that to get a backstory. You just need character defining moments or hints at something that explains their actions.

We don't even know why Cassian is so cold-blooded until he straight up tells the audience "I've done bad things since I was 6 because I had no choice!" which is exactly what you just said you don't want when you said "forced dialogue". The characterization is just lazy I'm sorry.

If I had to put it a better way, going off the Plinkett Review system, can you describe Bodhi's character without using what his occupation is or his appearance?

I could respond in depth but I think you have your mind made up.

Watch the movie again. All the answers to your questions are there. I promise

 

[Skellig Gra]

I loved it. Much better than TFA. I think a lot of people just can't stomach Star Wars without Jedi.

 

[TDLink]

I want to re-post this at the top of the page here just to get some more responses:

I feel like the scattershot beginning could have been easily fixed by just making it all on Jedha instead of jumping between three other planets.

The market with the informant that Cassian kills? Make it Jedha.

The prison where Jyn is? Make it Jedha.

When she's broken out by Cassian and K2? Well they're already on Jedha so it makes sense for them to free her...and then it can flow straight into the insurgent stuff in the marketplace.

It would have even made sense that Saw was there since he abandoned Jyn earlier in life. No need for her to leave the planet, she could have just been stuck somewhere else. Planets are big (even though they sometimes aren't treated as such in Star Wars).

Then have her meet the Alliance for the first time after that prior to Eadu.

It would have given it a greater sense of place and slowed the film down a bit without changing the core beats of the story. Also would have made a greater impact for having it destroyed if we spent more solid time there. The whole team would have come together there.

I don't know why they didn't do this. Some simple changes that would have made the film even better imo.



All that said I loved the movie. The last 2/3s are as close to perfect as I could hope. That first third just could have been so much stronger.

 

[Surfinn]

I loved it. Much better than TFA. I think a lot of people just can't stomach Star Wars without Jedi.

I admit it was difficult to get used to the first time I saw it because of the way we're trained to expect Jedi/the force as the main component of SW films. It's better on a second viewing.

 

[v1lla21]

I disagree.

Some characters are definitely wasted : Whittaker and Mikkelsen. Such great actors.

Yeah :/ the short moments that Whittaker was on screen were great but he could've definitely been cut out and the movie would be fine as for mikkelsen a short look of what he had gone through while working for the Empire post being taken would've been great.

 

[Back-In-Black]

I want to re-post this at the top of the page here just to get some more responses:

I feel like the scattershot beginning could have been easily fixed by just making it all on Jedha instead of jumping between three other planets.

The market with the informant that Cassian kills? Make it Jedha.

The prison where Jyn is? Make it Jedha.

When she's broken out by Cassian and K2? Well they're already on Jedha so it makes sense for them to free her...and then it can flow straight into the insurgent stuff in the marketplace.

It would have even made sense that Saw was there since he abandoned Jyn earlier in life. No need for her to leave the planet, she could have just been stuck somewhere else. Planets are big (even though they sometimes aren't treated as such in Star Wars).

Then have her meet the Alliance for the first time after that prior to Eadu.

It would have given it a greater sense of place and slowed the film down a bit without changing the core beats of the story. Also would have made a greater impact for having it destroyed if we spent more solid time there. The whole team would have come together there.

I don't know why they didn't do this. Some simple changes that would have made the film even better imo.

All that said I loved the movie. The last 2/3s are as close to perfect as I could hope. That first third just could have been so much stronger.

I said this all before but yes, all of this.

Yeah :/ the short moments that Whittaker was on screen were great but he could've definitely been cut out and the movie would be fine as for mikkelsen a short look of what he had gone through while working for the Empire post being taken would've been great.

Whittaker was a complete waste of a character who could've add further depth to the story though his use of extreme tactics and his connection to Jyn. I loved that brief moment when he believes that Jyn was possibly sent their to kill him, it really showed just how paranoid this old coot and become after decades of fighting the Empire. He suspects everyone and everything now.

 

[BigWeather]

I loved it. Much better than TFA. I think a lot of people just can't stomach Star Wars without Jedi.

Agreed. While I love the first half to 2/3rds of TFA it really fell apart for me in the third act. This movie, on the other hand, built up to an amazing ending. I enjoyed the entire thing, particularly the world building that went on. I also appreciated Saw's presence as it showed that the rebellion was a complex thing, not just The Rebellion but also extremist groups like Saw's. This movie made Star Wars a lot grayer, in a way that I - VII haven't thus far.