Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (Spoiler Talk)
Okay, so if you're reading this, then you have obviously seen the film and want to hear me talk about some of the bigger moments of the film. I will say that I won't go into much detail as I did with my non-spoiler review. Instead, this is more a casual look at some of the bigger moments or some of the smaller moments that you may have missed. From this point forward......SPOILER WARNING!!!!
This film is filled with so many easter eggs, even more so than the Force Awakens. Mon Mothma from Return of the Jedi and Senator Organa from Revenge of the Sith make appearances in the film. C-3PO and R2-D2 make cameo appearances in the film because, it's a tradition, they have to be in every Star Wars film in some way. For Star Wars Rebels fans, there were huge easter eggs. At one point in the film at the Yavin 4 base, you hear an announcement on the intercom saying General Syndulla, report to the main deck. Yes, they may have just confirmed that at least Hera survives the show and joins the official rebel alliance. If you also look closely at one of the exterior shots, you can see a ship that looks just like the Ghost, which is huge. Some of the rebel pilots in the climatic space battle are so of the pilots that were part of the Battle of Yavin in A New Hope. There is even a cameo of the two criminals that fight Luke in the Mos Eisely cantina in A New Hope.
However, one major secret that fans have been asking for years is also revealed. Galen Erso, who was one of the chief engineers of the Death Star, purposefully made the fatal flaw of the Death Star for the Alliance to exploit. The Empire never realized the flaw at all, they just thought it was part of his design.
Remember in my non-spoiler review where I said that Cassian was kind of a dick and the Rebels weren't that innocent. Well, it is because Cassian kills a severely injured Rebel informant before he is captured by the Empire and the Alliance gives Cassian a secret order to kill Galen when they find him. You see, Bodhi defects due to Galen giving him a message. The message is meant to be sent to Saw, who would hopefully give it to the Rebellion. It makes a lot more sense in the film. Cassian doesn't go through with the killing of Galen but is killed by a Rebel bombing run.
Yeah, you better get used to characters dying, because all of the members of Rogue One, Saw, Galen, and Krennic die in the film. Most of the deaths of from heroic sacrifices though some of them as a result of the Death Star. Yes, the Death Star is fired twice in the film, granted a lower power settings which instead of destroying the entire planet, just causes a massive land implosion, that's all. The final shot we see of Jyn and Cassian is them accepting their fate hugging each other as the blast from the Death Star is about to hit them. It is very emotional.
This is a minor nitpick but I noticed that a few lines and shots from the trailers don't make it in the film. It isn't a deal breaker by any means, I just thought it was something to point out. Like, you never see Jyn or Cassian fighting and running on the beach and the one shot of Vader looking at a red screen isn't in the film at all. Maybe this one a part of the reshoots or the editing process, but it was still weird to me.
Ok, so the mystery villain that shows up in this film is Grand Moff Tarkin. What people are hit or miss about is that while the voice is obviously different, his face is completely cg to look just like Peter Cushing did in A New Hope. I didn't mind it as much and I thought it was cool to see him in the movie given the time period. As far as how he looked, the technology is still new and it is highly noticeable but I actually thought it looked pretty impressive. Princess Leia even makes a cameo appearance at the very end of the film and they do same thing to her, make her look just like her appearance in A New Hope.
Ok, I have to talk about Vader. How could I not? He is only in two scenes for a about a few minutes of screen time (TOLD YOU ALL), but man, he makes every moment count. The first scene has Krennic going to meet Vader at his private castle on a volcanic planet. We actually see Vader being waken up by one of his servants in a bacta tank before he suits up and speaks with Krennic. Vader pretty much puts Krennic in his place and force chokes him to threaten him. However, he does so by saying a pun...yes, Darth Vader, the most famous villain in cinematic history, told a joke..."Don't choke on your aspirations." My life is complete.
However, the moment that made the movie for me was the final scene. After the rebels get the plans from Rogue One, all seems good, that is until Vader's fleet shows up with reinforcements. He boards the Rebel capital ship and proceeds to compete slaughter every rebel trooper in his way with his lightsaber and the force. It was stunning. This is really the first time we have ever seen Vader in live-action go ham like this. Of course, one of the rebels before he dies, gives the plans to a solider on the Tantive 4, who gives it to Leia, setting up episode 4. My thing is, why didn't Vader simply force pull the plans away from the trooper? Regardless, it was still a standout sequence that everyone is still talking about to this day.
