"I am one with the Force; the Force is with me."

[eldritchhobbit]

So the the short version of the story is this: I love Rogue One. I really, really love it. I dislike trying to rank the Star Wars films, because they have different voices and purposes, but if I had to do so, this one would rank very high indeed.

I'm really looking forward to tackling this in my "The Force of Star Wars: Examining the Epic" course

Comments

[ericadawn16]

I'm also really excited about the novelization that supposedly came out Tuesday.

[eldritchhobbit]

There are some fantastic passages in it that really add a lot, IMHO.

[jan_u_wine]

loving it is high praise indeed! Supposed to see it on Sunday!

[eldritchhobbit]

YAY! I still haven't scratched the itch. I need to see it at least one more time in the theater, LOL.

[jan_u_wine]

I did see it with the family, Amy.....I must say that I liked it (not loved, but liked it a lot) but i also have to say that I found the line between the good guys and the bad guys blurring, since the methods of each were the same........

Violence disturbs me, and it may have even disturbed me more that this violence was not bloody. My grandson cheered the heroes on .....the heroes whose methods were questionable to me....and I think that was a very conscious choice of the film-makers......an honest choice, to be sure, but I have to be concerned, then, that my naive grandson is not seeing what I'm seeing......Does a righteous cause justify *any* means?

Oh, I know: it is only a movie. And yet.....it is not. It matters.

[eldritchhobbit]

Your mileage may vary, of course, but what you've pointed out is one of the reasons I loved this so much. Here there are no chosen ones or pre-destined heroes. War is messy, and it takes a great toll on those who wage it, and I really appreciated how the characters -- real characters, flawed characters, fallen characters -- found themselves pushed over moral lines they'd once drawn, because that's what real war does. There are clear historical models for the Cassian Andors of the tale. The moral of the story is all the more poignant, I think, because these characters each ultimately choose sacrifice and find personal redemption in that choice.

In short, I think there's more hope in this film than in any in the franchise to date.

I especially appreciate how there's an extended metaphor across the Lost Stars and Catalyst novels, brought home with emphasis in Rogue One, between the creation of the bomb and the Death Star. The fact that Galen Erso, the Oppenheimer figure, finds a way to strike back at those who militarized his

[byslantedlight]

I saw this the other day and really really loved it too - I want to see it again already! Totally got me excited about SF again, just like Star Wars originally did. Well, that was more a continuation/encouragement, but still! I shall have to look up the novelisations if you recommend them too.

[eldritchhobbit]

I know exactly what you mean. I've seen it several times and I want to go back yet again! It's been ages since I felt this way about a film. And it's the most SF-heavy of the Star Wars movies to date, I think, which I find to be thrilling. I'm soooo glad you loved it, too!

[sittingduck1313]

Just remember that it's not Rouge One.

[eldritchhobbit]

LOL! Indeed. :)