The world premiere for the highly anticipated Rogue One: A Star Wars Story was held in Los Angeles on Saturday night (or rather, the early hours of Sunday morning for the rest of us in sensible time zones). While reviews are still embargoed, the press were allowed to share their reactions on social media. Are you ready for the hype?
So far, the mini reviews have been overwhelmingly positive, with most critics stating Rogue One has far exceeded even the highest of expectations. It’s gritty, intense, and will grip you from the moment the movie starts to the very end. Here are some tweets to whet your appetite.
Star Wars fans will be very happy with #RogueOne. It’s fun, action packed, doesn’t feel neutered by reshoots. Donnie Yen and K2so standouts.
— Peter Sciretta (@slashfilm) December 11, 2016
ROGUE ONE had me from the opening to the very end. Incredible action mixed with a script fans are going to love. Going to make people happy.
— Steven Weintraub (@colliderfrosty) December 11, 2016
Also do not read any reviews. So many of the twists and turns have not been revealed in marketing. My jaw hit ground a few times.
— Steven Weintraub (@colliderfrosty) December 11, 2016
ROGUE ONE = excellent. People around me saying even better than THE FORCE AWAKENS. Congrats Disney/Lucasfilm/amazing talent involved.
— Scott Feinberg (@ScottFeinberg) December 11, 2016
Holy crap did I love Rogue One. It’s gonna take days to wipe the smile off my face. So many surprises and so much fun. Get excited.
— Germain Lussier (@GermainLussier) December 11, 2016
#RogueOne is pretty much everything I was hoping for & then some. So moving/satisfying for so many reasons. Already dying for a 2nd viewing.
— Perri Nemiroff (@PNemiroff) December 11, 2016
So… #RogueOne? It’s freaking great! So many crowd-pleasing moments! It’s emotional, exciting and incredibly satisfying. Loved it!
— Eric Goldman (@TheEricGoldman) December 11, 2016
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!#RogueOne
— Anthony Breznican (@Breznican) December 11, 2016
I had high hopes. It exceeded them.
— Anthony Breznican (@Breznican) December 11, 2016
As with The Force Awakens, a fair number of shots from the #RogueOne trailers aren’t in the movie. But the trailers did capture the tone.
— Anthony Breznican (@Breznican) December 11, 2016
The last time I loved a Star Wars movie as much as I loved #RogueOne, it was 1977.
— Wil Wheaton (@wilw) December 11, 2016
The main takeaway so far is that, not only have they made an excellent film, but one that will satisfy seriously hard-core Star Wars fans without relying on nostalgia as heavily as The Force Awakens did. It’s a completely new story with all new characters that is going to take the world by storm. If Lucasfilm had any doubts that their spin-off anthology movies weren’t going to succeed, it’s a safe bet that they don’t have to worry about that any longer!
Also, as with The Force Awakens, a lot of the footage from the trailers isn’t actually in the film, so the marketing team successfully pulled the wool over our eyes again. Apparently there are some big story twists as well, so be wary of spoilers. We’ll have our spoiler-free review up as soon as we can.
There’s only a few days left until Rogue One hits South African cinemas, and now the anticipation is palpable. I didn’t think I could get more excited about this, but I guess I was wrong!
Last Updated: December 12, 2016
