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Oh why not ... let's do a little Rogue One thread! Oh wow I loved this movie. The last 40 minutes in particular are a masterpiece in escalating tension, driven by the dawning realization that the heroes we've come to care about ... are all going to die. 1/a few https://twitter.com/nerdist/status/1339229732882292739
We care because of a superb ensemble cast given characters they can dig into. Krennic, marvelous throughout. Cassian and Bodhi's battles to live up to what they can be. The wry/wonderful Baze/Chirrut pairing. K-2SO giving us moments to breathe. And Jyn at the center of it all. 2/
RO has such a hard narrative road to walk. We know the approximate ending, making it a "checklist movie." We sense all these characters are doomed, damping our engagement. Our minds are constantly assessing lore, cameos and otherwise being distracted. IT. STILL. WORKS. 3/
And I'm not gonna take up the whole thread with this, here's a hill I will die on: CGI Tarkin works. I've seen RO with lots of folks, some who knew that couldn't be Peter Cushing and others who didn't. Never had anyone who wasn't "in the know" complain about uncanny valleys. 4/
If it doesn't work for you, that's cool. Because so much else does. One little thing that always strikes me: The stunts in RO feel *visceral.* Impacts feel like they have weight, you can almost feel pressure and heat. Too many action movies feel weightless and detached. 5/
Also: The set dressing, costume design, etc. is pitch-perfect OG Star Wars, from the clunky analog Death Star tapes to the details of Vader's costume. For the most part, the movie really feels like it was shot in 1976. That reflects a lot of homework ... and even more love. 6/
And maybe the biggest thing? RO taught me to ignore movie-industry drama. I read about the rewrites and the reshoots and the "troubled production" and braced for impact. But it doesn't show in the final product. That was a really valuable lesson. Relax and see the movie! 7/
Funny story: I got to tag along for the LFL employee screening. (I was visiting that day and OK, maybe I'd figured out the timing.) Was I by any chance free? Hmm, lemme see ... YEAH I AM. So everyone stayed seated during the credits, applauding their colleagues. I loved that. 8/
Another funny story: I saw it in Brooklyn as part of a big gang that included a tween girl who'd never seen Star Wars. She said she'd loved it, but added that it was SO SAD. I urged her to go see ANH, not one day but THAT NIGHT, so she got the happy ending she'd earned. 9/
There are things I'd change: Vader on Mustafar topples into fan service; I'd have kept him offscreen until he ignites his lightsaber. But that's a quibble, and every movie has a few. Happy birthday, RO! Thank you for making a story I already loved even deeper and richer. 10/end
