Top Five Rogue One Moments!
As Kylo Ren said, it's time to finish what I started. Since May, I have have been counting down my top five favorite moments from ever live-action film leading up to the Last Jedi. It's my top 40 moments for 40 years of the franchise. Last, by certainly not least, is Rogue One. I think most people will have the same number one, regardless, let's finish the countdown.
5. Deploy the Garrison
Rogue One had a lot of great lines, mainly by K-2S0 and Chirrut. However, my favorite line from the film comes from Director Krennic. It's such a simple line, but it's the matter in which he says it is what makes it great. It's right when the ground battle of Scarif starts. The rebels have caused a series of explosions and all the Imperials just looked stunned and do nothing. Then, Krennic delivers gold..."Are we blind, deploy the garrison!" Not only did that moment become somewhat of a meme in the Star Wars community, but it shows just how stupid some of the Imperials are.
4. Chirrut fighting Stormtroopers
Going into this film, we were told this film was going to be gritty, and the battle on Jedha proved that with its urban warfare fighting. That being said, sometimes the more outlandish moments stand out more. Such is the case for Chirrut (who in my headcanon is force-sensitive) fighting a squad of stormtroopers. It's a great moment that speaks to the fun and playful side of Star Wars, even in a serious film. Plus, I want Baze's gun that he uses throughout the film.
3. The opening moments (the ground battle)
The entire ground battle of the Battle of Scarif is great and one of the best battles of the series. There are a lot of great moments, including the sacrifices of Rogue One, however, I love the opening moments of the battle the most with the surprise rebel attack. I loved the music, I loved the camerawork, the intensity, and more importanly, I loved the realism of the fighting...for as how realistic you can take Star Wars.
2. The entire space battle
I know I'm cheating, but, come on, the entire space battle was fantastic. While the Battle of Endor may have had more emotion, in terms of everything else, the space battle of Scarif is the best space battle in the Star Wars saga...for now. I mean, it has the feel of the original trilogy, enchancd with all of today's techniques and effects. Plus, the scene where the rebels crash two star destroyers into one another, one of the best moments of the film...period.
Honorable Mentions
As always, here are some honorable mentions. First, the scene on Mustafar with Vader and Krennic. It's great to see James Earl Jones come back as the voice of Vader. Plus, I loved the dad joke Vader says to Krennic..."Be careful not to choke on your aspirations, director." Other moments include the the sacrifices of Chirrut, Baze, and K-2SO, anytime K-2S0 told a joke, the hologram message sent by Galen to Jyn, that Leia cameo, and Jyn and Cassian's final moments.
1. The HALLWAY SCENE
I mean, what else what it be? What else could it be? There has never been a moment that collectively made every Star Wars fan jump with excitement. We've known for years that Vader is a badass. However, this is truly the first time in film we've really seen just how powerful and dangerous of a foe he is. Plus, the way the music works is fantastic and I love how this scene is set up like a horror film. I remember vividly watching this scene for the first time in the theaters. I was floored. I literally screamed with excitement and slide in my seat afterwards. Plus, the way the scene, and the Leia scene afterwards, leads directly to A New Hope is fantastic.
Overall, I understand why people have problems with the film. The characters don't have a lot of development to them, however, I think the film did what it set out to do. To me, the film effectively told the origin of how the Death Star plans were stolen, as well as be the first, and a blueprint, of future standalone movies.
