Saw it on opening night--really liked it. Saw it the day after Christmas--liked it even more. The last 30 minutes are probably the best Star Wars I've seen yet.
I would say it's my second-favorite of the franchise thus far, after Return of the Jedi. I know, I know, but I have an emotional connection to that movie--first movie I can remember seeing in the theater. Just me and my dad. But it's a very, very strong second.
For those of you who haven't seen it yet, get thee to the theater! It's well worth the price of admission.
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@Dale, agreed on all counts except for the Mon Calamari ship design and the frigate crashing into the Star Destroyer. The only answer to both of those complaints that I have, however, is because Star Wars.
@Ruckdog, yeah, killing everyone on the team was I think the right move (and a bold move given that this was a Disney movie, after all). It takes care of any "where are these people in Ep 4?" questions. Plus, I have to think that the team pretty much knew they were on a one-way mission. I mean yeah, they had an escape plan, but I think they all knew it was a real longshot that they'd get off Scarif. Shows how desperate the mission was.
The tie-ins to Ep 4 were nice--I liked the in-cockpit footage of Red and Gold Leaders. Fits in the timeline as well. The easter eggs were great--did anyone else notice the pitcher of bantha milk in the Erso kitchen at the beginning of the movie? The CGI face for Peter Cushing (Tarkin) was a little disturbing at first, but ultimately I think they pulled it off. Same with Leia at the end.
Speaking of the end...holy crap. Darth ****ing Vader. I think people have forgotten how ruthless he was (especially at this point in the timeline). That 10-15 seconds of him walking down the corridor of that ship were INTENSE. Especially stabbing that guy at the end through the chest and through the door in front of him. People in our theater were cheering at that scene and the scene where he choked Krennic.
Not sure if the Ghost was in the final space battle, but it was visible on the ground at the Rebel base in an overhead shot--just for a second. Also, at one point in the Rebel base, you here a page over the announcer calling for "General Syndullah" to report to the briefing room. This could be Hera, the Ghost's pilot.
Technical question for you all: how is it that the snowspeeders in Empire Strikes Back were not able to damage the AT-ATs with their main guns, but the X-Wings were able to tear them up in this movie? I have two theories: 1) the X-Wing has more powerful laser cannons and they just hit harder; or 2) these were a more lightly armored variant of AT-AT that was more susceptible to blaster fire--they were in tropical environment, after all. (It would make sense that the Empire employed several variants of the AT-AT, much like the US Army has several variants of the Stryker combat vehicle). Interested to hear what you all think.
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