History Awesome / RogueOne

[[caption-width-right:350:[[spoiler:Maybe that's where Holdo got the idea?[[note]]Too soon?[[/note]]]].]]

* K-2SO proves that even a battle droid can have some great moments (since battle droids [[Film/ThePhantomMenace were]] [[Film/AttackOfTheClones previously]] [[Film/RevengeOfTheSith shown]] simply as more or less squishy, [[MechaMooks disposable soldiers]] ready for the MookHorrorShow). His Empire era type (KX series) is durable enough to withstand a lot of blaster shots.

-->'''K-2SO:''' Congratulations, you are being rescued! Please do not resist.
** He [[OffhandBackhand tosses a grenade over his shoulder without looking]], killing several stormtroopers.

-->'''Radio guy:''' [[LeaningOnTheFourthWall There is no]] [[RetCon 'Rogue One'!]]

*** [[spoiler: The trooper holding the data card begins the scene begging for people on the other side of the door to help them. After he sees how quickly his comrades fall, he abandons that, and opts instead to pass the drive off to someone else before he dies.]]

* The entirety of the FinalBattle counts as one, really, but special mention has to go to the page image at the top. [[spoiler:The Rebels don't have the firepower to get past the planetary shield, so they need to hit it with something really big. To that end, an X-Wing destroys a Star Destroyer's shield generator, the Y-Wing squadron disables it using ion bombs, then a ''Hammerhead'' corvette -- the ''[[MeaningfulName Lightmaker]]'' -- rams into the disabled ship, ''pushes it into the Star Destroyer next to it'' '''and shears the command deck and turrets clean off.''' Then, the debris from both ships crash down into the shield control station orbiting Scarif, knocking out the shield and allowing ''Rogue One'' to transmit the plans out to the Rebel flagship. [[SmallRoleBigImpact That one corvette saved the Rebel Alliance!]]]]

* The scene of Tarkin watching as the dish assembly is guided into the nearly-finished ''Death Star''. A fleet of star destroyers looks like guppies next to the gigantic superweapon. Even more awe-inspiring when the viewer considers that, horrific as the whole thing is, it represents a civilization grabbing the rung to pull itself up to [[JustForFun/AbusingTheKardashevScaleForFunAndProfit Type III on the Kardashev Scale]].

* Well, ''hellloooooooo'', '''Darth Vader'''. [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking Welcome back to kick all of the ass. And murder all of the people. And make everyone turn their pants brown as you kill them and their comrades...]] One of those things is not the same. We're pretty sure the other two are... kind of... whatever the case, he completely owns the few scenes he appears in.

*** What it also shows is that, yes, Anakin Skywalker ''just cannot fucking resist showing off.'' These are ordinary people - he doesn't ''need'' to show off to terrify them, yet he slices one of them in half while they're ''squashed against the roof'' and then stands on an ''open ventral take off bay.'' '''In space.''' '''''With his lightsaber out.'''''

*** [[spoiler: As the rebels escape with the Death Star plans the camera focuses on Vader. While we can’t see his face the sheer rage and frustration that comes off him is a wonder to behold. It’s probably the first major setback he’s experienced in quite some time and it wasn’t a Jedi Master who undermined him. It was a bunch or working class grunts who stuck it to him. A bit of fridge brilliance is this also explains why Vader is so uncharacteristicly angry at the start of ANH]].

[[caption-width-right:350:Some things, insurance just won't cover.]]

* '''Darth Vader'''. Period. He completely owns the few scenes he appears in.

** [[spoiler: Just to clarify, it is easy to assume it made it out, as a keen-eyed observer can spot two other ''Hammerhead'' corvettes warping in with the fleet, and one blink-and-you'll-miss-it of one warping out before Vader shows up. What makes the ''Lightmaker'' even more badass? That corvette had already been heavily damaged and had actually pulled back from the battle, after being shot up by both of those very same Star Destroyers. They volunteered to be the ship to do it just to make sure the Rebellion didn't have to sacrifice one of the other corvettes that was still in good shape. Also, to add to the above Troper, the Lightmaker actually survived the Star Destroyers colliding, that tough little ship still pushing the Destroyer it had rammed. The last thing the crew got to see was confirmation they'd just driven that Destroyer right into the Shield Gate. In their last seconds, they knew they'd given Rogue One, the Rebellion, and the galaxy a chance.]]

* Despite the {{uncanny valley}} problems, the fact that they were able to resurrect Creator/PeterCushing and [[spoiler:a young Creator/CarrieFisher]] at all is a technological feat to be proud of.
** Even better, when you consider that [[spoiler: Carrie Fisher]] looks more realistic, the UncannyValley makes it even ''better''. He might not be a force user, he might not be an unstoppable killing machine, but we are still talking about Tarkin. He's the only person in the movie, short of Palpatine himself, ever seen in the movies ''giving orders to Vader'', which he does in both the movies he's in (and without being a Force user), and those movies show him able to inspire a level of fear close to Vader's own. Making ''him'' slightly unsettling to look at works just fine.

[[folder:Meta]]
* Creator/GarethEdwards' [[Film/Godzilla2014 previous film]] had a budget of $160m. ''Rogue One'' not only earned back nearly that amount in a single weekend, it earned 75% of ''that film's entire domestic gross'' ($200m).
* The simple fact that they made a good ''Franchise/StarWars'' SpinOff movie. Things like ''Film/TheStarWarsHolidaySpecial'' made us lose faith that anything in the franchise that didn't have an episode title in its name could actually be enjoyable, but ''Rogue One'' has sparked [[JustForPun a new hope]] for the franchise.
* The production crew talked a lot about how the film would be inspired by WW2 "men on a mission" movies like ''Film/TheDirtyDozen'' where AnyoneCanDie, but almost nobody believed Disney would actually let them kill the entire cast. Indeed, the creators apparently didn't believe it themselves until Edwards got studio notes saying [[HeroicSacrifice the whole team dying was more inspiring]].
* For many fans, especially members of the fan group 501st Legion, seeing OT-era Imperial hardware and uniforms on the big screen for the first time in some 33 years was awesome enough.
[[/folder]]

** Also, blink and you'll miss it, but the pilot who took out the Star Destroyer's shields was one of the handful of Blue Squadron pilots who didn't make it through the Shield Gate before it closed. The battle may have gone very differently if he ''had'' made it through. As it was, he had several TIE Fighters hot on his tail as he pressed his attack, so even then it was a very close thing.

** [[spoiler:His LastStand[=/=]HeroicSacrifice, defending the entrance to the archives room while Jyn and Cassian are busy searching for the plans manually. He mows down several waves of stormtroopers before reinforcements step in and shoot him fatally.]]

* The entirety of the FinalBattle counts as one, really, but special mention has to go to how the Rebel Fleet [[spoiler: takes down ''two'' Star Destroyers. An X-Wing destroys a Star Destroyer's shield generator, the Y-Wing squadron disables it using ion bombs, then a ''Hammerhead'' corvette — the ''[[MeaningfulName Lightmaker]]'' — rams into the disabled ship, ''pushes it into the Star Destroyer next to it'' '''and shears the command deck and turrets clean off.''' Then, the debris from both ships crash down into the space station orbiting Scarif, break the planetary shield that had guarded it until then - and allow the ''Rogue One'' to transmit the plans out to the Rebel flagship. [[SmallRoleBigImpact That one corvette saved the Rebel Alliance!]]]]

* The entirety of the FinalBattle counts as one, really, but special mention has to go to how the Rebel Fleet [[spoiler: takes down ''two'' Star Destroyers. An X-Wing destroys a Star Destroyer's shield generator, the Y-Wing squadron disables it using ion bombs, then a ''Hammerhead''-class corvette flies head first into the disabled ship, ''then pushes the damn thing into the nearby functional Star Destroyer'', '''shearing the command deck and turrets clean off'''. Not only that, the debris of both ships are sent crashing into the space station that orbits Scarif, destroying it and punching a hole through the planetary shield that the Rebels up until then couldn't even scratch. This allows Rogue One to finally transmit the plans out, which the shield had been blocking. That one ship '''saved the Rebellion'''. It was one of the most daring tactics the Rebellion has ever pulled. That ship's crew deserves a mountain of medals.]]
** [[spoiler: Sadly, the novelization of the movie makes it clear that the ''Hammerhead'' corvette, along with all its crew, was destroyed in the collision of the Star Destroyers. Not only did those men and women pull of one of the most daring feats in the battle and saved the Galaxy, but they knew that it would cost them their lives. We raise our glasses to you, ''Hammerhead''...]]
** [[spoiler: That ''Hammerhead'' was quite fittingly named the ''Lightmaker.'' Also, just to clarify, it is easy to assume it made it out, as a keen-eyed observer can spot two other ''Hammerhead'' corvettes warping in with the fleet, and one blink-and-you'll-miss-it of one warping out before Vader shows up. What makes the ''Lightmaker'' even more badass? That corvette had already been heavily damaged and had actually pulled back from the battle, after being shot up by both of those very same Star Destroyers. They volunteered to be the ship to do it just to make sure the Rebellion didn't have to sacrifice one of the other corvettes that was still in good shape. Also, to add to the above Troper, the Lightmaker actually survived the Star Destroyers colliding, that tough little ship still pushing the Destroyer it had rammed. The last thing the crew got to see was confirmation they'd just driven that Destroyer right into the Shield Gate. In their last seconds, they knew they'd given Rogue One, the Rebellion, and the galaxy a chance.]]

[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mv5bzji2m2vhntityza1yi00mgrjltkwmwmtzmrlngq4mdk0zgi4xkeyxkfqcgdeqxvynjyyotmxmdm_v1_sx1777_cr001777999_al.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:''"Make ten men feel like a hundred."'']]

* The scene of Tarkin watching as the dish assembly is guided into the nearly-finished ''Death Star''. A fleet of star destroyers looks like guppies next to the gigantic superweapon. Even more awe-inspiring when the viewer considers that, horrific as the whole thing is, it represents a civilization grabbing the rung to pull itself up to [[AbusingTheKardashevScaleForFunAndProfit Type III on the Kardashev Scale]].

** Watching a door gunner in a U-Wing blast the joint of another AT-AT. Almost wished he'd shouted "GIT SOME!" (Anyone who runs is an Imperial. Anyone who stands still is a well-disciplined Imperial.)

*** [[spoiler: The trooper holding the data card begins the scene begging for people on the other side of the door to help them. After he sees how quickly his comrades fall, he abandons that, and ops instead to pass the drive off to someone else before he dies.]]

** The novelization makes it better. Knowing he's about to die, Krennic tells himself at least he'll know his creation lives on. He imagines it, going through every detail of it all in his mind...including that exhaust port Galen kept insisting on putting in. In the final second, Krennic realizes what's happened and spends his last breath cursing Galen.

* The Rebel {{Red Shirt}}s basically using themselves as {{Human Shield}}s to [[spoiler:slow Vader down just long enough for Leia's ship to escape. They know they can't stop him and are completely terrified, but they sacrifice themselves just the same.]]
** Of special note is [[spoiler: the Rebel at the jammed door]] - at first, he's justifiably scared out of his mind, pounding on the door and screaming "''Help us!!''" Then, as it becomes clear that there's no way out, he [[spoiler: manages to shove his arm through the narrow gap between the door and the wall, holding out the data card with the Death Star plans and demanding that the man on the other side take it and run before Vader can get through. He gets run through, but the Rebels get away with the plans thanks to his bravery in his last moments.]]

*** [[spoiler: The trooper holding the data drive begins the scene begging for people on the other side of the door to help them. After he sees how quickly his comrades fall, he abandons that, and ops instead to pass the drive off to someone else before he dies.]]

** Of special note is [[spoiler: the Rebel at the jammed door]] - at first, he's justifiably scared out of his mind, pounding on the door and screaming "''Help us!!''" Then, as it becomes clear that there's no way out, he [[spoiler: manages to shove his arm through the narrow gap between the door and the wall, holding out the flash drive with the Death Star plans and demanding that the man on the other side take it and run before Vader can get through. He gets run through, but the Rebels get away with the plans thanks to his bravery in his last moments.]]