Rogue One

[lydamorehouse]

Things I can say above the spoiler cut:

• I would say that Rogue One is one of those films that I left the theater feeling generally good about. Like, when I'm tossing away the remains of my popcorn bag, I'm saying, "Yeah, good film. Good film." But, the longer I think about it, the more I consider the missing bits. I still would rank this one of the better Star Wars films. I ADORED the way it dovetailed into Star Wars (known to you heathen children as "A New Hope.")
• People were telling me that this film was a blueprint for fighting Fascism or that it was some kind of World War II film. It really isn't either of those things at all (though I wish it had been more of the latter, more about that under the cut). However, if this film saying anything political, it's that your liberal allies aren't revolutionary ENOUGH. If we're going to win at all, we need to say 'fuck 'em" TO OUR OWN PEOPLE. And that maybe, if we're already dying on the ground, they'll lend their ships. (Not sure this is a positive message. Might be accurate, but not at all positive.)
• I didn't really like the two main characters (Jyne Erso, the daughter or Cassian Andor,he scruffy dude). My favorites were all side-characters, particularly the sassy K-2SO.
• In comparison to The Force Awakens, I felt like 99.9% of the female cast was missing. Like, I just didn't see very many female faces among the rank-and-file, on the streets, or among the volunteers for the final mission. Ironically, some of the MIA women from Star Wars made cameos.

Okay, the stuff I'm going to say under the cut mostly revolve around two of my favorite side charters, affectionally known already in fandom as "the monk and the warrior." (character names: Chirrut Îmew and Baze Malbus, respectively.) .There's a lot of debate right now in the social media sphere about "Are they or Aren't They? I fall very much in the camp of YES, they ARE gay. You absolutely don't have to read them this way, however. If you've been praying for an asexual gay-romantic couple, these two can totally be yours. The fact that they were both in a quasi-religous order together, certainly can be an indication that they're celibate by calling or by choice.  But, for me, there was just too much affectionate bickering and "I go where you go"-ness to them. Besides, you know what we never get for representation? Middle aged lovers.  I loved the idea that these two were a long-term married couple, just off adventuring. I was saying on a Star Wars FB group that I totally think that if my wife and I were in a Star Wars movie, this is just who we'd be. Me: "Look at me, honey! I used the force to survive the battle" Her: You call that surviving? Look at yourself! You do realize *I'm* the reason you survived. Me: Yeah, because the Force brought us together!  Her: *smacks me affectionately on the head.* Seriously, this is exactly what passes as love in our house.  Okay, there's a bit more smooching than what happened with Chirrut and Baze, but not when we're out doing things. And really probably not at all if we were trying not to, you know, die.

So, that's the biggest thing I wanted to say.  

The other about the ending.  The ending was hard for a bunch of reasons.  For me, it was hard because as soon as we got the lingering close-up on the transmitter array, I remembered that the plans to the Death Star had been transmitted. I knew no one was getting off that planet alive. Besides, Shawn said to me, "Remember how they said in Star Wars that they got the plans at great personal cost? This movie is that personal cost." So, the tension died for me at the end. I knew everyone was doomed and that the transmission would get out.

What I think I wanted more of was that crew of volunteers.  I wish, in a way, that the move had been a WWII film and we would have gotten to know the people who were about to die for the cause. I loved the idea that the people who could not give up on the rebellion were the people who had done the dirtiest work for it.  But outside of scruffy assassin hero-dude, we didn't really know any of them. We didn't really know him either, for that matter, except that he was kind of an asshole and would kill his own wounded informant to escape detection/capture I wish we'd seen Fascism at work. I wanted to know why the Empire was evil, just a little bit, so that we could give a crap when people were being destroyed by the bucketful.

Shawn liked this movie better than The Force Awakens, but what happened for me in Force Awakens early on, with the introduction of Finn, is that the soldiers on the ground, every one of them, became real people.  Just by virtue that Finn was once FN, all those stormtroopers became human. That never entirely happened for me in the ending sequence of Rogue One.  I cared for all out named characters, but those nameless ones... I kind of wanted to know if, in the end, it was worth it for them. And because we didn't know their stories and the Empire's evilness was just kind of a given, I was never entirely sure.

Honestly? I cried more for the Google commercial at the start of the movie than I did for anyone at the end.

Maybe that seems like a lot of complaining, but I'm still processing, is all. I'd love to hear squee about this film. Like I said, when I left the theatre I was very much in love with Rogue One.  Probably when I go see it again, I'll love it more.