Oh, hi. As with last time, I've made you some Skittlez character-posters, in lieu of actual words. That said, I'm half-way through drafting another set of nitpicky observations, and it looks like my local may well have stopped showing Rogue One after this weekend. In which case, I'll just have to post them up under their own steam at some point. But until then, pictures!
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I've got more of these to come, too. So there'll definitely be some sort of mop-up post to wring the last out of Rogue One.
In the words of Baze Malbus, "You're welcome…".
All of The Star Wars.
Yep.
It does.
It's a strong showing.
Nope.
Yep.
Level 0: It is Star Wars.
Although if you really wanted to go the long way round with it…
Rogue One stars Alistair Petrie, who appeared in the first episode of the 2013 TV drama The Escape Artist, as did a certain David Tennant, who of course headlined Casanova, along with Rose Byrne, who rocked up in 2004's Troy alongside Julian Glover, an actor who was in the 'Arthur's Bane' episode of Merlin, which also boasted Lindsay Duncan, who had a role in An Ideal Husband, a film that featured Oliver Ford Davies, who also starred in the 1997's Mrs Dalloway, along with Alistair Petrie from Rogue One…
DISCLAIMERS:
• ^^^ That's dry, British humour, and most likely sarcasm or facetiousness.
• Yen's blog contains harsh language and even harsher notions of propriety. Reader discretion is advised.
• This is a personal blog. The views and opinions expressed here represent my own thoughts (at the time of writing) and not those of the people, institutions or organisations that I may or may not be related with unless stated explicitly.
Oh, hello there. I've been to see Rogue One again, and rather than bore you silly with nitpicking and needlessly in-depth opinions, I've made you some Skittlez character-posters instead*1.
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More soon.
You're very welcome.
All of The Star Wars.
Yep.
It does.
It's a strong showing.
Nope.
Yep.
Level 0: It is Star Wars.
Although if you really wanted to go the long way round with it…
Rogue One features the mo-cap and voice work of Guy Henry, a face perhaps more familiar to UK viewers as a long-time Holby City regular, as is Hugh Quarshie who rocked up in 1986's Highlander alongside Clancy Brown, an actor who appeared in Cowboys & Aliens, as did a certain Harrison Ford, who headlined 1992's Patriot Games, a film which featured Pip Torrens, who also had a role in 2012's Anna Karenina alongside Domhnall Gleeson, who played one of the Weasley's in Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows, a film that also starred Mr Guy Henry from off of Rogue One…
*1 You may well call that a cop-out, but I assure you that if you did you'd be very right indeed. Snarking aside, I haven't finished with Rogue One yet, there'll be more words in a future review.
DISCLAIMERS:
• ^^^ That's dry, British humour, and most likely sarcasm or facetiousness.
• Yen's blog contains harsh language and even harsher notions of propriety. Reader discretion is advised.
• This is a personal blog. The views and opinions expressed here represent my own thoughts (at the time of writing) and not those of the people, institutions or organisations that I may or may not be related with unless stated explicitly.
"I'm one with the Force, the Force is with me. I'm one with the Force, the Force is with me. I'm one with the Force, the Force is with me."
~ Chirrut Îmwe, Jedha / Eadu / Scarif.
During its time on Jedha, Rogue One introduces us to Chirrut Îmwe and Baze Malbus, two former 'Guardians of the Whills' at the moon's now depleted Kyber Temple. During times of psychological or physical stress, both are heard to utter the above mantra*1, seemingly willing guidance from, and harmony with, the Force. Neither Chirrut or Baze are Jedi. And this is a phrase that we haven't heard the Jedi use in the cinematic saga, so far. Odd.
Up until 2016 (and largely discounting any ideas that Legends material had to say on the matter), being 'one with the Force' was the label put upon a Jedi retaining their sentience and identity after death, of joining with the living energy field to form a narrative bridge between the corporeal meat-space of the GFFA and the afterlife. I should say as well that the 'disappearing-trick' and the 'coming-back-trick' are two different things; Obi-Wan disappears quickly, Yoda disappears slowly, Qui-Gon doesn't disappear at all, and Anakin is still open to speculation. But they all came back, and at varying speeds of 'completion'.
When Baze and Chirrut chant "…I am one with the Force", are they trying to attain complete, transcendental immersion? Do they even know it exists? Was Qui-Gon the first to achieve this, or just the first in a very long time? Bear in mind he figured out how to do it after he died, and this was a surprise to Yoda, implying that even the Jedi Council don't know how it works. And if it's something the highest echelons of the order is unaware of (or have systematically forgotten over the years, despite still having notes on the Sith), then would the non-Jedi guardians of the Kyber Temple know about it? Then again, do those on Jedha have access to more ancient records that the cosmopolitan elite Jedi on Coruscant regard as quaint and archaic? Was this knowledge something that was lost over time, or even hidden to prevent dark-siders from exploring and adapting their own version; the spiritual equivalent of their synthetic lightsaber crystals*2?
Other than the Skywalker lineage, it was unclear in the Original Trilogy if the Force was something anyone could master with faith and commitment, or it if was a gift reserved for 'the chosen ones'. The Prequel Trilogy revealed it to be the latter, although not entirely uncommon (enough for the movement to muster a sparse galactic police-force). And while The Force Awakens concentrated more on the light and dark side in broader strokes, rather than Jedi™ and Sith™, Rogue One muddies the waters further with the Guardians of the Whills; non-Jedi beings who can still sense and react to the Force (or, as I said upon an earlier viewing, like someone who can read and understand a language, but can't pick up a pen to write in it). Baze Malbus and Chirrut Îmwe are (presumably) the last vestiges of the Force-Fanboys, unable to channel it fully, but willing to dedicate their lives in the service of those who can.
The more we've seen of the Jedi, the less the Force has been treated as an outright religion, more a set of guidelines and practices (closer in that respect to something like Buddhism). Warrior monks, the Jedi don't have to pray for the assistance or intervention or the Force, they just have to understand how it works.
However, the two former guardians we meet in Rogue One treat the Force as a doctrine (one very much Of The Faithful™, the other very much Lapsed™) to be explored through meditation and practice, with Baze Malbus specifically referring to Chirrut's mantra-recital as "praying". But the only other time it's been named this way (cinematically at least, I know it crops up in Rebels once or twice), was by Grand Moff Tarkin in A New Hope. "You, my friend, are all that's left of their religion" *3.
But for all this, 'religion' implies faith, which in turn implies a lack of evidence. And irrespective of Midichlorians at one end of the scale and Imperial propaganda at the other, the Force in the GFFA is a demonstrably real thing. And despite much grumbling on the subject (although not at Blackout Towers; I just grumble about the grumbling), Midichlorians are just a device used to illustrate that the Jedi - a non species specific group of beings who can actively use the Force - have a common predisposition on a biological level. Midichlorians don't ruin the Force*4, they're just a tell-tale trait that indicates potential, irrespective of training or mastery. Detection of the microscopic lifeforms is how the Jedi used to identify and select infants for taking to Coruscant, and it's undoubtedly in the Empire's arsenal for the eradication of the Jedi. Because as a Jedi on the run, you can keep your head down and mute your abilities, but you can't disguise your genetic makeup. If Vader has, as previously suggested, been in charge of the Empire's programme to exterminate the Jedi and propagandise them out of the public mind, why would the Empire allow Force-sensitive guards to live at the site of the Kyber temple? It is because as non-Force-controlling beings, they have a below-the-line Midi count, so aren't considered a threat?
With the Holy City of Jedha turned to rubble (along with all those who didn't make it to a transport in sufficient time), it looks as if we're not likely to have many of these questions answered. Short of novels and comics set in a time before the events of Rogue One, the Guardians of the Whills look to be as mysterious a sect as the Jedi Temple Guards, written about but scarcely seen in action. Chirrut and Baze are higher-profile characters of course, so I'm at least expecting a Marvel comics mini-series about them, but I wouldn't be surprised if that barely touches upon their metaphysical presence in the Galaxy Far, Far Away.
For a film with no Jedi, Rogue One raises a lot of questions about the Force…
All of The Star Wars.
Yep.
It does.
It's a strong showing.
Nope.
Yep.
Level 0: It is Star Wars.
Although if you really wanted to go the long way round with it…
Rogue One features Mr Jimmy Smits reprising his prequel-era role as Bail Organa, and he starred in 2009's Mother and Child along with a certain Ahmed Best, who performed voice-work in the 2006 Scarface videogame adaptation, as did Bai Ling, who's due to appear in the upcoming When The Devil Rides Out, as is the late Kenny Baker, who of course rocked up in 1980's Flash Gordon movie with Rusty Goffe, who featured in the 1981 film History of the World Part I in a cast-list alongside Bea Arthur, who starred in the 1988 Mickey's 60th Birthday, as did Jimmy Smits, from Rogue One…
*1 Well, kinda. Whereas Chirrut says "I'm one with the Force, the Force is with me", Baze Malbus' final return to form sees him uttering "The Force is with me, I'm one with the Force". Not a massive difference tonally, but if you were a local vicar and you swapped round two lines of the Lord's Prayer, you'd expect a raised eyebrow and a letter from the bishop, right?
*2 Although I'm fairly certain that the concept of Lignan synthetic lightsaber crystals has now been largely swept under the rug of Legends, although the narrative need for them in the secret society of Sith still applies. We also don't yet know how/why Kylo Ren's lightsaber splutters the way it does so there's hope yet, even if Lignan gets renamed to something different.
*3 And after the events of Rogue One, I want to see a new Special Edition of A New Hope where the Grand Moff refers to the 'religion' in his conversation with Vader, then we cut to a different angle and a CGI-Tarkin who looks directly into the camera, does an exaggerated wink and chimes "especially now that Jedha's a building-site, eh lads? EH??"
*4 Unless you're a giant child who covets impenetrable magic over science of course, in which case I'm delighted that you're still upset about it.
DISCLAIMERS:
• ^^^ That's dry, British humour, and most likely sarcasm or facetiousness.
• Yen's blog contains harsh language and even harsher notions of propriety. Reader discretion is advised.
• This is a personal blog. The views and opinions expressed here represent my own thoughts (at the time of writing) and not those of the people, institutions or organisations that I may or may not be related with unless stated explicitly.
This is your spoiler-break. The words which follow the image below are more notes and observations from Rogue One, similar in tone and format to my third-pass review. For obvious reasons, you should see the film before reading any further. Although it's been out long enough now that I assume most viewers will have been able to grab the chance, this section is here just in case you haven't.
My sixth watch was at Greenwich O2's D-Box screen, where specially adapted seats sway, thrum and shake along to the movie. As with last year's Force Awakens viewing, it makes an excellent accompaniment to the action. And similar to 3D, it's never going to improve a bad movie, but can certainly enhance a good one. Also similar to TFA, the last half hour or so is pretty much non-stop jiggling about. There's a control panel on the seat to turn down the ferocity of the D-Box additions, but who orders a cocktail and then asks for less alcohol? ;)
This was also the showing of the film where I left the cinema, rode the tube to my train station then as soon as my phone was back in-signal, got a call from a friend telling me of the news about Carrie Fisher. Looking at my Twitter and Facebook feeds, I know I'm not alone in feeling that we've lost a true cultural icon. I certainly feel like I should write some words about Carrie and/or the Princess, but I can't find the clarity at the moment. Apart from anything else, there are countless other outlets putting them out at the moment, many of which will be worded far better than I can manage. In the meanwhile, I shall celebrate the fuck out of everything she was and everything she gave us. I'll see you at the pub, Your Highness.
• So let me get this straight, the Rebel Alliance kidnap a petty criminal from governmental custody, apply familial guilt and emotional blackmail to coerce her into a terrorist operation and get her killed in the process, while they all swan about back in the HQ frowning? Yay, freedom!
• Out in the Jedha desert, the first shot of Saw Gerrera's street-gang features one member wearing a purloined Scout-Trooper lid and one with a Commando helmet that we see the Rebel Strike Team wearing later on Endor. Nice visual nod to Return of the Jedi.
• Architecturally, the Holy City on Jedha looks like a cross between Mos Espa on Tatooine and Theed on Naboo. A nice visual nod to the prequels?
• It almost gets to the point of over-acting, but there's so much going on in Forest Whitaker's performance as Saw Gerrera that it underlines how wasted the character becomes. Each time I watch him I notice a new grunt or facial-tic.
• DK's Visual Guide book lists Cassian Andor as being born on Fest, a planet first visited back in 1995's Dark Forces game (in a level which takes place after the Death Star plans have been stolen). While that nugget of information isn't mentioned on-screen, it's a nice - if incredibly subtle - nod from LFL that Kyle Katarn's adventures haven't been completely forgotten in the purge ;)
• In his meeting with Krennic, how come Vader says "Die-rector" (with a long-i) first, then later says "Director" as normal? This is like the 'how do you pronounce Twi'lek?' thing all over again.
• I love that the Death Star took over twenty years to build (we see the framework at the end of Revenge of the Sith, remember), and it was fully operational for about a day and a half. If Krennic hadn't already died on Scarif, the frustration of that would probably have finished him.
• When the Rebel council chickens-out of launching a full-scale assault on Scarif to steal the Death Star plans and Jyn walks out into the hangar, there's a tannoy call-out for 'General Syndulla' in the background. Given that we see the Rebels TV series ship, The Ghost, parked outside earlier in the film and later above Scarif, it's a fairly sure indicator that Hera Syndulla survives this far into the timeline, especially as Chopper is seen rolling out of the hangar five minutes later.
• I always got the impression that the X-Wing pilots' flight suits would be made of a heavy cotton-drill material (or whatever the in-universe equivalent is). But one of the pilots climbing into the cockpit on Yavin IV is wearing one that appears to be Polyester As Fuck™. That thing's so shiny it's practically causing lens-flare.
• Why would you keep your critical archive-data in a massive spindly, fragile tower anyway, rather than a more secure underground vault?
• Hang on, if you have to retrieve those backup drives manually and visually (as Cassian does, even before the grabber-system packs up), what happens when you need record from the other side of the tower? Who designed that?
• You'd think if resetting the antenna-alignment was as simple as just pushing a lever from position A to position B, the software would be able to perform that automatically, wouldn't you?
• What's with the orange 'feature pieces' on Imperial standard-grey equipment all of a sudden? Don't get me wrong, it looks fantastic, but it's not like the trend continues into the Original Trilogy.
• I like that the Death Star plans are on a wanging great portable hard-drive when Jyn steals them, but after transmission they're able to fit on what looks like a giant SIM-card. The Rebels should consider themselves lucky that the antenna had enough bandwidth to process the information in a matter of seconds, considering that the Empire's method of storage might as well be on Zip-Drives compared to the Alliance's USB. Which is the wrong way round, when you think about it...
• And after all that, they're not even the right plans, are they?
All of The Star Wars.
Yep.
It does.
It's a strong showing.
Nope.
Yep.
Level 0: It is Star Wars.
Although if you really wanted to go the long way round with it…
Rogue One stars Mr Mads Mikkelsen who was in 2012's A Royal Affair, as was Harriet Walter who also turned up in The Young Victoria along with Genevieve O'Reilly, who had a small role in The Matrix Revolutions as did Bruce Spence, who appeared in The Return of Captain Invincible next to Christopher Lee, who was in 2007's adaptation of The Golden Compass, which of course featured Daniel Craig, who headlined the Bond-reboot with Casino Royale which also featured Mads Mikkelsen, of Rogue One fame…
DISCLAIMERS:
• ^^^ That's dry, British humour, and most likely sarcasm or facetiousness.
• Yen's blog contains harsh language and even harsher notions of propriety. Reader discretion is advised.
• This is a personal blog. The views and opinions expressed here represent my own thoughts (at the time of writing) and not those of the people, institutions or organisations that I may or may not be related with unless stated explicitly.
