Yes, it's a direct prequel. It tells the story described by the first 2 paragraphs of the opening crawl of the movie you saw back in '77.
Star Wars: Rogue One
- Thread starter mike wightman
- Start date
Yes, it's a direct prequel. It tells the story described by the first 2 paragraphs of the opening crawl of the movie you saw back in '77.
Timerover51
SOC-14 5K
I will give it some thought. However, I hate going to movies by myself, and my wife did not like the first one at all.
You mean, the strategy droid that is specifically armored for being in combat, and then gets killed by dozens of rifle shots?
I saw the movie and quite enjoyed it.The troopers going with her were no doubt responding to talk if surrender - "hell no I am NOT GONNA do THAT!"
as compared to the trooper, specifically armored for being in combat, who has time to make a careful called headshot with a rifle and fails, and is then casually cut down by a single snapshot by a pistol?
(heh. see what I mean? no-one even thinks of them as being armored soldiers, they're just red shirts.)
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Disagree. Readers, and viewers, want to be a part of the story. If you kill the main characters to satisfy to short paragraphs in an opening scene, you cheapen the experience.
Wouldn't they, rather by definition, not be main characters if they are killed off in the opening scene?
I think Game of Thrones and Walking Dead have demonstrated that people are quite willing to watch media where main characters die and that there is a demonstrable possibility that "anyone could die" (please, kill Rick, he's an idiot...). This doesn't prevent people from forming a bond with the characters, nor does it cheapen the experience.
Heck, the Magnificent Seven proved this, as did the Dirty Dozen, as does Suicide Squad - even films like Alien, Aliens, and Predator play with this. Now in these films there is admittedly the "star(s)" (who the viewers are presumed to identify most with) that survive but they are still killing off many, many main characters in the process.
D.
Condottiere
SOC-14 5K
GoT was shocking, because what seemed like the protagonist was killed off in the first season, or in the first eighth of the saga. If you didn't read the series, you may be forgiven to believe it's actually a revenge tale by Rob, until the Red Wedding.
I can't speak about the Magnificent Seven, because that's not my generation, but the culture on what the story is based on has people regularly killed off left and right in it's literature.
In Gladiator, the protagonist dies, but his story arc feels fulfilled, whereas Ned's doesn't.
Ford wanted Han to die at the end of the original trilogy, but got vetoed for basically commercial reasons, the story would end on a downer, and no one would buy his action figures.
I can't speak about the Magnificent Seven, because that's not my generation, but the culture on what the story is based on has people regularly killed off left and right in it's literature.
In Gladiator, the protagonist dies, but his story arc feels fulfilled, whereas Ned's doesn't.
Ford wanted Han to die at the end of the original trilogy, but got vetoed for basically commercial reasons, the story would end on a downer, and no one would buy his action figures.
dmccoy1693
SOC-13
I'm perfectly fine with the the Rogue One crew dying. Here's why:
1) Unknown characters. Their names were all new. Literally, they could have picked out any name in the SW universe (canon or legends) and said, "this is how they made their bones." They didn't. For someone to do this and live would make them a high ranking person that they would have been mentioned somewhere before now. Literally, when I heard the character names and recognized none (but Saw), I hoped they'd all die. I would have been disappointed if any had lived.
2) It gives ANH more gravitas. With a sacrifice of lives (not just the space battle but also the ground team), those plans are worth much more. Sure we "knew" that that was the case, but we hadn't seen it before now. Seeing it makes a difference.
3) It sets up the other Star Wars Story Movies as being a different. With the numbered movies being about Clan Skywalker, you know all the main characters have plot armor unless it is really important. They're not going to be killed of GoT style unless it is a huge deal. No one says that has to be true of the SWS Movies. Here, they can do something really different, tell a complete story with characters you are invested in (more on that in a second) without feeling like we are in for a new set of endless sagas.
My only complaint really is that ... they failed to get us invested in the characters. The movie was a series of events that involved some characters. The characters themselves weren't fleshed out in any real way beyond the most obvious motivations for why they went to the final battle. There was no element of shared comradery to the cast. No one helped another learn to use their weapon better. No one cracked bad jokes while in hyperspace. The Jedi Temple couple didn't talk about the old days back at the temple (one could have explains why he lost his faith and the other explained how he kept his, nor how their take on the force is different than a jedi's, or how about why they stuck together). There was no "I call it luck." "In my experience there's no such thing as luck," scene nor a "you needn't worry about your reward. If money is all that you love then that's what you'll receive," scene. Things like this don't take that much time but they make a difference. Things like that are a lost art in today's movies. If you're going to kill a main character off, make us care about them first so their death is all the more meaningful.
1) Unknown characters. Their names were all new. Literally, they could have picked out any name in the SW universe (canon or legends) and said, "this is how they made their bones." They didn't. For someone to do this and live would make them a high ranking person that they would have been mentioned somewhere before now. Literally, when I heard the character names and recognized none (but Saw), I hoped they'd all die. I would have been disappointed if any had lived.
2) It gives ANH more gravitas. With a sacrifice of lives (not just the space battle but also the ground team), those plans are worth much more. Sure we "knew" that that was the case, but we hadn't seen it before now. Seeing it makes a difference.
3) It sets up the other Star Wars Story Movies as being a different. With the numbered movies being about Clan Skywalker, you know all the main characters have plot armor unless it is really important. They're not going to be killed of GoT style unless it is a huge deal. No one says that has to be true of the SWS Movies. Here, they can do something really different, tell a complete story with characters you are invested in (more on that in a second) without feeling like we are in for a new set of endless sagas.
My only complaint really is that ... they failed to get us invested in the characters. The movie was a series of events that involved some characters. The characters themselves weren't fleshed out in any real way beyond the most obvious motivations for why they went to the final battle. There was no element of shared comradery to the cast. No one helped another learn to use their weapon better. No one cracked bad jokes while in hyperspace. The Jedi Temple couple didn't talk about the old days back at the temple (one could have explains why he lost his faith and the other explained how he kept his, nor how their take on the force is different than a jedi's, or how about why they stuck together). There was no "I call it luck." "In my experience there's no such thing as luck," scene nor a "you needn't worry about your reward. If money is all that you love then that's what you'll receive," scene. Things like this don't take that much time but they make a difference. Things like that are a lost art in today's movies. If you're going to kill a main character off, make us care about them first so their death is all the more meaningful.
Which was well handled in the opening wording of Episode 4. It's not the drama of the death that bugs me as much as the emptiness of it. To make a full movie to cover a little back-story seems like a waste of life. It cheapens the experience. If they want to sell cheap, that's fine; I just don't care to watch it. I find life dark enough without added to the shadows.
Condottiere
SOC-14 5K
Apparently, there were a number of directions the creative team could go, which I suspect were left open since likely the principal cast had a sequel clause in their contracts.
The final cut depended as much as much on commercial concerns as finding a satisfying ending, probably made easier by the fact that ultimately, these characters were all disposable; you don't need them for the primary arc, and there are any number of sidestories to film biannually.
Like Suicide Squad, these are second bananas that the creative team could bump off if the pay out was great enough, with the obvious exception of Harlequin, who's far too popular; boobs may actually project plot armour.
The final cut depended as much as much on commercial concerns as finding a satisfying ending, probably made easier by the fact that ultimately, these characters were all disposable; you don't need them for the primary arc, and there are any number of sidestories to film biannually.
Like Suicide Squad, these are second bananas that the creative team could bump off if the pay out was great enough, with the obvious exception of Harlequin, who's far too popular; boobs may actually project plot armour.
pendragonman
Absent Friends Margrave
They don't?
Condottiere
SOC-14 5K
Not in horror flicks.
mike wightman
SOC-14 10K
Went to see it again last night - paid for it this time.
I enjoyed it more this time because I wasn't swamped by the newness.
I enjoyed it more this time because I wasn't swamped by the newness.
Spoiler:
Got to see this today. We saw it in 3D. The opening was a bit tough for me as I often "micro-sleep" in movies. Like a long blink, and it feels like I missed 5 minutes, even if it was just a couple of frames. But I managed to make it through conscious through most of the movie.
Really enjoyed it.
I've been avoiding all references to it, and even most trailers, so it was all quite new and surprising to me. Love the inclusions of the New Hope characters. It feels like ANH starts literally minutes after this ends.
I've stopped kibitzing about equity of fire power against Bad Guys long ago. Still a bit of a Cowboys vs Indians in it, but the Indians certainly got their licks in this time.
it amazes me that the industry can put out a production of this quality in 2 years.
I will have to see it again, I don't know if it will be in the theater
Really enjoyed it.
I've been avoiding all references to it, and even most trailers, so it was all quite new and surprising to me. Love the inclusions of the New Hope characters. It feels like ANH starts literally minutes after this ends.
I've stopped kibitzing about equity of fire power against Bad Guys long ago. Still a bit of a Cowboys vs Indians in it, but the Indians certainly got their licks in this time.
it amazes me that the industry can put out a production of this quality in 2 years.
I will have to see it again, I don't know if it will be in the theater
