Lifestyle

Star Wars: Rogue One Drops This Week With Positive Reviews

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Tony Maples Photography

 

Fans around the world waited with baited breath for the premiere of Rogue One. The public premier was on Thursday, December 15, 2016. While no movie will please everyone, this one is getting a lot of positive buzz. Rotten Tomatoes has given it an 84% while IGN.com gives it a 9/10. Ethan Sacks of New York Daily News says, “There’s a new hope for the Star Wars franchise.”

Readers might remember that the Star Wars franchise and Lucas Films was purchased by Disney. This news was met with mixed feelings – some hopeful and others distraught by the change. The Force Awakens was the first Disney-produced Star Wars film which was generally met with fan approval. Two more films will follow, completing that trilogy.

star-wars-1724901Photo: Pixabay

Rogue One, on the other hand, is a stand-alone (not part of a trilogy). The movie tells the story of how the Rebellion stole the plans for the Death Star. The ending of the movie offers a smooth transition into where fans will remember the very first Star Wars film begins with Princess Leia accepting the plans and the Death Star soon after being obliterated in a dramatic explosion.

Lay viewers might find the new Star Wars films a bit esoteric. The makers of these movies infuse each film with “Easter eggs”, small moments or characters that only fans will recognize. These moments dazzle any fan.  A die-hard will watch a Star Wars movie over and over again to look for these moments, while a lay viewer is likely to miss the significance. Rogue One did a nice job of meeting the die-hard fans’ need for innuendo, while also telling a story that a new viewer could appreciate.

An added bonus of attending a screening at the Alamo Draft House are the movie previews. Comical and full of whimsy, Alamo compiled many dubbed videos, “bad lip-reading” clips, and songs that add something you wouldn’t get from a traditional theater. The highlight was a bad lip-reading video of Yoda and Luke Skywalker having a nonsensical conversation.

The night of the premiere, audiences at the Slaughter Alamo Draft House were ushered in by a ukulele-playing musician playing well-loved songs from past Star Wars movies, and an in-theatre host that gave away tickets to future viewings and engineered a limbo competition with a light saber. Other Alamo Draft houses offered viewers other unique experiences to add to the viewing experience.

While we won’t ruin the film with plot details, we think this is a film that fans and casual viewers alike will enjoy. Check it out!