Rogue One

heya


yes, i know. lots and lots of people have already beautified the internet with comments and thoughts about this new Star Wars film, look you see, but i thought i would add my bit. there is, to be sure, the novelty factor of me having been to see a new film within the first few days of it being released, after all.


a somewhat spoiler free review for you, the person who doesn't quite know how this all ties in to the rest of the Star Wars films? sure. after a sluggish start it gets going rather well, and delivers the personification of "fan service". this film is "mature" enough for all those 40+ year old fanboys who take it all waaaay too seriously, yet remains (just about) fun enough for it to be enjoyed as the family entertainment it was always supposed to be.

yeah, that there is our movie ticket seats. we did indeed - well, my (considerably) better half did - cough up extra for them "XLR" bigger seats. be warned, patrons who don't buy these tickets and yet try to sit in them seats anyhow - they come along with a map and check that only those who have paid more are actually sat in them. so don't get cheeky.

there shall not be any images of Rogue One in this post, but there are however likely to be some spoilers in my comments, so please consider a *** BIG SPOILER WARNING *** in place if you've not yet gotten around to seeing it and yet have ambitions to do so.

plot? well in the Star Wars universe i guess this would be Episode 3.9, or if you like Episode IV.IX, although i am not sure the Romans were that fussed about decimal places, in truth. anyway, it all takes place just before the first ever released of the films started, and ostensibly shows both how the Death Star got its immense capabilities and how the rebellion was able to clock how to twat it one, right out of existence.

that is indeed the boys before a poster promoting Wonder Woman, with the picture taken not at all long after we saw Rogue One. as you can see, they were happy to give the movie their thumbs up.

on the one side it's a film that need not have ever been made. no one was really all that bothered about this story until it was announced that they were making a film of it. at this point there was something of a collective "yeah, that will be smart, that" reaction from fans and, well, here we are. dismissing this as being "pure fan service" is then somewhat disingenuous - for what reason would you wish to make a film if not to appeal to as large an audience as possible, in particular an audience that shall enjoy it?

oh that above is just a look at Colin Cheng for those interested. we went past it on the way home and i thought that some of you might like a picture to see it is still standing.

the great controversy that seems to have kicked off about Rogue One is that of the "digital" presence of certain characters in the film, in particular (and note i did put spoiler warnings up) the late Peter Cushing "returning" as General Tarkin. there's a flash, so to speak, of Leia done in this way too. i have no problem with the moral aspect of it, although i see some social media warriors are saying that it is "disrespectful" to the memory of Peter Cushing to have done it. a simple fact is that they wouldn't have been able to tell the story the way they wanted to if they hadn't done it, and "lookalike" replacement actors would have been disjointed.

no, and again i point out spoiler warnings, Boba Fett does not turn up in it. what a shame, as there were many locations in the movie where he could have made a fleeting - and valid - appearance. as they did this with Bail Organa (Jimmy Smits returning to the part from the prequels), it's baffling that they didn't for Boba Fett, since they've been marketing him substantially for the last couple of years.

yeah. that's one of them selfie pictures what i took, in the vicinity of Colin Cheng no less. that is indeed William behind me. i did want to get one that featured all four of us, but it would have been somewhat tricky whilst my (considerably) better half drove as the driving conditions were challenging if not tricky.

Darth Vader? yes of course they managed to sneak him in. inevitably so, since they insisted on taking the film right up to the point where Episode IV starts. his appearance is 100% fan service, as he adds virtually nothing to the story at all, but is smart when he shows off all his impressive - and violent dark lord knight of the sith jedi tricks.

if this is the future of Star Wars films - self contained movies that benefit from knowledge of the rest but can be enjoyed without watching other parts - then the future looks good. overall, a well made film with a splendid cast and some truly amazing effects.




be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!