Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, which tells the story of the mission to steal the plans for the Death Star, took nearly $300m (£323m) globally on its opening weekend.
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“The success of “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” shatters any doubts that the world of Jedi knights, shadowy totalitarian governments, and bug-eyed aliens is much bigger than the saga of the Skywalker clan”, Variety writer Brent Lang writes. It’s intimate in its character building and relationships but it is big on ambition and his action set pieces are the best I’ve seen so far in any Star Wars film. Because we disagree wholeheartedly.
The Calgary Eyeopener asked two movie buffs from both sides of the border to weigh in: Norm Wilner is a film reviewer for Canada’s NOW Magazine and Kristy Puchko is a freelance film critic based in New York City.
According to the director Gareth Edwards, Rogue One was originally structured to have a very different ending than what we have now. You mention Greatest Hits. If you’re here, and reading about Star Wars, I think it’s safe to say the franchise means something to you. You need to find another way to tell a story. Let’s use that as a launchpad for the next topic in this debate.
“During the battle, rebel spies managed to steal secret plans to the Empire’s ultimate weapon, the Death Star”, stated the opening text for A New Hope. The only movie that ranks above it: last year’s “Star Wars” movie “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”. I had a realisation through some really tough moments that we have no control in life. “For a Hong Kong actor, and a Chinese actor, to be able to play such a significant role that is consistent with the spirit of the series – with the Force – it’s a very precious opportunity”. Although the screenplay credit belongs to Chris Weitz (“About a Boy”) and Tony Gilroy (the “Bourne” films), Knoll’s placement is emblematic of the film’s true raison d’etre: to give us X-wings dogfighting with TIE fighters, stage laser-gun fights, and bust out everything from an AT-AT to a lightsaber. From what I understand, though, that’s quite normal on these kinds of movies. Which one are you looking forward to most? I don’t know if that was intentional, as the story is a tale between the light and dark, or if that is just his own unique style.
Disney had expected “Rogue One”, which CEO Bob Iger called “an experiment, of sorts”, to bring in between $135 million and $140 million domestically over weekend.
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It would have been easy for one of the most famous villains in movie history to overshadow the story of Jyn Erso and her ragtag band, and it must have been tricky figuring out much screen time was enough for Vader. More than likely, I will end up seeing it two more times before the end of the New Year and love it equally with each viewing.
