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darkness wrote:They chose to make a film that tells a story relying on things we're all familiar with... It's not just throwing in things from the past, it's relying on the exact same plot elements as previous films
Mike is right. And this is a key reason as to why the film feels like such a soulless commercial venture. Everyone involved seems to know in their hearts it's an unnecessary exercise and their only enthusiasm is for cashing their paycheck.
darkness wrote: No one seems to be mentioning the lack of characterization in here.
*cough*

Btw, those crying about the reshoots are missing the point: the film is shallow, boring and badly filmed from start to finish, unless they completely reshot everything Edwards must shoulder much of the blame.

And yes, cut-scene Tarkin and Leia are the final turd on top of a very dismal cake. Imagine their faces when they watched the umpteenth render and finally realised the CG just wasn't going to cut it, it's hard not to sympathise tbh.

P.s. would anyone care to explain why Whittaker doesn't join them on the ship?

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Yeah... As I suspected it's not showing great longevity, far below The Force Awakens, and tailed off pretty heavily after a fantastic first two days. $215m domestic in the first week is still very strong of course, but only the 10th best opening week of the year and considering the thing probably cost $200-$300m what with all the reshoots they may struggle to make it into profit theatrically after marketing, exhibition and talent points. Still a hit by most standards - but not by Stars Wars standards and Disney are now facing a law of diminishing returns that could even hurt Episode 8. Smiley faces all round but I suspect the bean counters are not happy.

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re: mr. plinkett - eh, whatever. he does make good points, but i'd counter some:
-- yes, it takes place in the star wars universe. it is literally minutes before ANH. i don't see how they could be stand-alone-ish.
-- if this film explained everything as he seems to want, he'd have a 7 minute video bitching about how this movie wasted time explaining things we already know.
-- "it's a generic science fiction film" - no, it's a generic SW film, according to him. the fact that SW aligns with scifi is a testament to how ingrained they are in our culture.

now, if you want to argue that this didn't need to be made, that it is yet another movie (two in a row) that are essentially boiling down the tried & true SW formula from the now-classic first trilogy and presenting a different angle on the same material, i could see that. but i still maintain that these first two new films - one kicking off the new trilogy, and another trying something new in a "side story" - had to show audiences that it is possible to make good films that connect to the original SW universe, essentially apologizing for the prequel trilogy. now that the apologies are out of the way, i am giving them the benefit of the doubt that they will make good science fiction films that just happen to take place in the SW universe. i feel like, since they are obviously SW fans and have given us two fan-service-y films, we owe them that.

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TC wrote:-- yes, it takes place in the star wars universe. it is literally minutes before ANH. i don't see how they could be stand-alone-ish.
I believe the point is that the film is relying on us getting a nostalgic hardon for things we love from the another film instead of trying to focus on a interesting story or developing the new characters. We don't give two shits about any of these people, but hey, there's the X-wing toy I had as a kid so let me wank a bit.
-if this film explained everything as he seems to want, he'd have a 7 minute video bitching about how this movie wasted time explaining things we already know.
Doubtful. His analysis videos of the prequels are legendary and always on point.
"it's a generic science fiction film" - no, it's a generic SW film, according to him. the fact that SW aligns with scifi is a testament to how ingrained they are in our culture.
Completely missing the point. What he's saying is, without the context of Star Wars, few would enjoy this film. It would be completely forgotten and ignored due to it's lack of characterization, interesting plot, or major conflict resolution. It's Star Wars porn. People don't like it for the deep plot, they like it for the moneyshot of Darth Vader coming...into the room.
but i still maintain that these first two new films - one kicking off the new trilogy, and another trying something new in a "side story" - had to show audiences that it is possible to make good films that connect to the original SW universe, essentially apologizing for the prequel trilogy. now that the apologies are out of the way, i am giving them the benefit of the doubt that they will make good science fiction films that just happen to take place in the SW universe. i feel like, since they are obviously SW fans and have given us two fan-service-y films, we owe them that.
I'll give Force Awakens a bit of a pass since it was sort of the necessary "reboot" film. And hey, even I am not immune to memberberry nostalgia for characters there were such a big part of my childhood. But only one film like that was needed. This was a chance to tell a completely new story, show us some new characters, and let the new films stand on their own. You can only milk the same well so many times. Rogue One fails even where Force Awakens succeeded. I'm invested in Rey as a character. I couldn't even give a two sentence non-physical description of Jyn if you put a gun to my head.
Just cut them up like regular chickens

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Mike is right. TC, I have no idea how you can compare this mess to the original trilogy. The Force Awkens does what you are saying it does but this one - the four cardinal sins of the prequels, it commits them all: weak characterisation, lack of humour, over-reliance on action, over-reliance on CGI. Rogue One is a true heir to the prequel trilogy.

Edit: one thing I will say having now read that article: it sounds like they reshot at least half the film, and the new scenes from the opening that they cite as reshoots are all abysmal. Also quite fascinating is that they didn't preview either cut of the film. In short, Edwards perhaps deserves some leeway when considering this whole mess.

Oh also: admitting they have dailies of Red Leader = admitting they have access to the materials needed to release A New Hope Theatrical Cut on blu-ray.

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klimov wrote:Oh also: admitting they have dailies of Red Leader = admitting they have access to the materials needed to release A New Hope Theatrical Cut on blu-ray.
:clap: Post of the day!

Lucas' claim that the original films "no longer exist" has alway been total horseshit. It's frankly obscene that proper Blu-ray editions of the OT are unavailable here in the year 2017.
This is a snakeskin jacket. And for me it's a symbol of my individuality and my belief in personal freedom.

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Yeah, it's always been an amusing bit of BS. The first thing they would have done when making the SE's is scan the original negative into the computer, so somewhere there's a full copy. Might only be 2k, but it certainly has to exist. My prediction is once Lucas dies Disney will put out the originals.
Just cut them up like regular chickens

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darkness wrote:My prediction is once Lucas dies Disney will put out the originals.
Maybe they won't even wait that long. Disney doesn't seem too concerned with not pissing off George. The new movies are largely seen as an apology for his prequel trilogy. Then Lucas was all over the airwaves when Force Awakens came out and said pretty bitter things about what Disney did with his creations.
This is a snakeskin jacket. And for me it's a symbol of my individuality and my belief in personal freedom.

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Part of me wonders if George didn't slip in some sort of contractual thing when the sale was done preventing them from putting out the originals. Time will tell. It's the 40 anniversary of the release of A New Hope. If they were going to do it this would be the year to. Unless they are waiting for the big 50.
Just cut them up like regular chickens

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It could also be that Disney is just waiting for the rights to the five of the original six films to revert back from Fox in 2020 so they can claim all the windfall from it. They'd still have to strike a deal with them for A New Hope since that one is a Fox property outright, but if you're going to release a trilogy set it makes sense to get the most money from it you can.
Just cut them up like regular chickens