Originally posted by SYSTEM-J
I'm aware of all the re-shoot blather, but from what I've read it's the film's ending that wasn't coming together very well, and that ultimately turned out to be the strongest act.
With that said, I can definitely believe there was more material from the opening scenes that was cut out, as these scenes really aren't edited very well and the pacing is a bit off. The film finds its rhythm once they set off on their mission and touch down on the planet of Jehda. I think the problem is that there's a lot of characters and plot devices that need putting in their place, in a story that takes place on numerous different planets, in order to get the ball rolling.
I suspect some slightly tidier writing in the script could have got some of this information across better. Did we really need to cut to Jedha to see Riz Ahmed's character being manhandled about, for example? While his character has his own little arc which can be considered thematically relevant, it's fairly lightweight in the overall picture and I would have pared him right down so he's introduced to the audience at the same time as he is to the protagonists. It's one of those instances where as a writer you sometimes have to sacrifice some of your message for the sake of smoother storytelling.
I think you're right but the problem with storytelling on this scale is that once you start messing with one art, it affects the story as a whole and changes the weight of other scenes.
I will say that ANH and ROTJ do jump around quite a bit as well; the are characters in ANH that get less than 2 seconds of screen time and seem to serve no other purpose than create the alien plethora and atmosphere.
I do think timing played a part - Disney were adamant about the release date but as studio they're probably one of the most anal about details so there's definitely compromises that were made that they usually wouldn't have allowed.
An example is a Friend of mine over here that had to direct a medium budget disney project.
They made him story board every single scene (by the second) just to get the gig. In one part, there's a 5 second scene in a room and one of the walls had a floral-ish looking wallpaper. One of the execs asked what wallpaper it was. He explained roughly and they said they'd need to see it. He quickly sketched it out, and they said, no, we need to see it. He had to order the wallpaper from the UK and put it on a sheet of drywall so they could actually see it. For one 5 second scene as a background wall covering He got the gig and said in all his career he's never seen a studio so involved in detail and every single decision is documented, nothing left to artistic free reign that isn't observed and approved.
Check this out - and bear in mind this is from 1943:
The fact that Rogue one isn't perfectly formed leads me to believe they just couldn't miss the Christmas release window and were willing to let some things slide.
SYSTEM-J
quote:
Originally posted by DJ RANN
I will say that ANH and ROTJ do jump around quite a bit as well; the are characters in ANH that get less than 2 seconds of screen time and seem to serve no other purpose than create the alien plethora and atmosphere.
They aren't really "characters", though. They might have a name in the script and some kind of elaborate costume, but they're extra-terrestrial extras. And if you watch how ANH opens, it unfolds at quite a leisurely pace. We don't meet Luke Skywalker until 15 minutes in. George Lucas actually filmed a lot of scenes with Luke and his friends on Tatoine, discussing the space battle above and adding some back story, but ultimately he cut it all out for the sake of pacing and cohesion and decided to just follow the droids until they meet Luke.
Of all the Star Wars films, A New Hope has by far the best story structure. The pacing and development of the plot is nigh-on faultless. The sequels are actually fairly unconventional in terms of story structure (unless you're a structuralist idiot who boils everything down to the barest archetypes). Rogue One has structural problems that should have been addressed at the writing stage. There's simply too much in the film, and even after it's been heavily cut down (to the extent that half the footage/dialogue in the trailers isn't in the finished film) it's still choppy and uneven.
As I said, it gets over these bumps, but I wouldn't be surprised to see some kind of extended/director's cut released down the line that could easily run to three hours. If Disney would allow it, that is.
well im not much of a film critic as you know, but i've moved away from movies as i think tv has been providing much better scifi/fantasy products for a while now (prometheus was the last straw for me, christ).
Did you hate prometheus?
Weirdly, it's one of the few sci-fi's that really stuck with me and I've loved sci-fi my whole life, probably why i became an engineer. Don't get me wrong, there were many faux pas and it was deeply flawed , but there's something about the themes and the atmosphere that 99% of sci-fi films don't ever get close to.
Zharen
I would have liked just a little bit more of a backstory for Jedha. I thought the concept of fighting on a former Jedi moon to be pretty interesting, and I would have liked to see a few more shots on the broken Jedi statues and maybe other artifacts that were destroyed by the Empire.
The finale of this movie was way more exciting than TFA, even if there was a lack of a lightsaber duel (With two force wielding individuals). When they blew up the Starkiller base it really just felt like the same old just with better effects. But the final battle on Scarif really brought the old thrill I felt during the space battle of ROTJ. That said, why couldn't they have just renamed Scarif Toprawa? It would have fit perfectly within the expanded Star Wars universe and all the old books and video games that have referenced it. But oh well.
justin
Solitary brother
Is there still a part of you that wants to live
Redd
quote:
Originally posted by DJ RANN
Did you hate prometheus?
Weirdly, it's one of the few sci-fi's that really stuck with me and I've loved sci-fi my whole life, probably why i became an engineer. Don't get me wrong, there were many faux pas and it was deeply flawed , but there's something about the themes and the atmosphere that 99% of sci-fi films don't ever get close to.
I agree. It got slaughtered for a lot of glaring plot holes but I enjoyed the out of it.
pkcRAISTLIN
quote:
Originally posted by DJ RANN
Did you hate prometheus?
with a passion. i went in thinking "well, at least it can't be worse than aliens vs predator", yet afterwards i wasn't so sure. thought it was a convoluted mess and the worst scifi film i'd seen since AvP, and still the worst i've seen since.
quote:
Originally posted by DJ RANN
Weirdly, it's one of the few sci-fi's that really stuck with me and I've loved sci-fi my whole life, probably why i became an engineer. Don't get me wrong, there were many faux pas and it was deeply flawed , but there's something about the themes and the atmosphere that 99% of sci-fi films don't ever get close to.
we all have our guilty pleasures!
Lews
God, I would love a 3 hour director's cut of Rogue One. Absolutely loved it, other than the aforementioned issues with the pacing of the first act. But has Disney ever released a director's cut type edition for the home market?
Salegon
I watched "Split Second" when I was 10 years old. I thought it was a badass movie. Now I think different about it, it's still entertaining though.
