I think we've all come to the conclusion that the events of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story have a pretty big impact on those in A New Hope, particularly the beginning of the film. After going to the theater for a second viewing today, I decided to go on Netflix and put Episode IV on, and see how it's changed for me now that I've seen the events the opening crawl talks about. Aside from saying that I love A New Hope even more now that Rogue One has come out, here's a list of all the things I noted.The opening crawl, obviously. I've always thought it did just about as perfect a job as it could in setting up the world and the events of Star Wars, but this time around reading it was so different for me: it was an "Oh! I was there! I saw that happen!"-moment. Which makes for a far greater sense of urgency at the offset, because we've seen what the stakes are in this fight against the Death Star.The opening scenes have far more weight to them. Whereas at first they felt like we were dropping right into the middle of something, now we know exactly why Vader is following the Tantive IV, and when and where that started. Also, when the soldiers prepare for the stormtroopers to board the ship, one can't help but feel a layer of tension has been added to the scene, because these people saw their fellow rebels get cut down right in front of them mere... hours(?) before - by Darth Vader himself, nonetheless. Which makes them lying in Vader's face, as is the case with Captain Antilles, all the braver an act.Speaking of... Vader seems a lot more pissed off now than he was before. He just had the plans slip through his fingers, and now he's finally caught the ship they ended up on, they're gone again, and what's worse is that people are lying to him. I've seen people bring this up as a negative, saying that the dialogue doesn't gel with the ending of Rogue One, but to me it's pretty obvious no one's speaking full truths here. Which is something that was less obvious before (except Leia's concealment of her mission), so again, that really changes the scene.Leia sending the droids to Obi-Wan Kenobi. Now we know how that idea first came about; through Mon Mothma and Bail Organa's conversation on Yavin IV. It's a small scene in Rogue One, but it helps bridge a certain gap between Episodes III and IV.Our introduction to Luke and the subsequent events that lead him to leave Tatooine behind. This to me was always at the core of A New Hope's premise: it was a story about a teenager being swept up in a war that's larger than anything he could ever have imagined, and becoming a hero throughout. But now it felt like this had been flipped: that it was a story about the Rebel Alliance's desperate attempt to strike a fatal blow against the Empire, an effort which would come to rest in the hands of an 'ordinary' guy from a remote desert world. I'm describing the same story twice here, I know, but the difference lies in this change of perspective: for me A New Hope was not Luke's story tonight, it was the rebellion's.Small thing, but seeing Ponda Baba and Evazan in the cantina after their brief cameo in Jedha City was nice. Made me wonder if they were drinking to having successfully evaded certain death.Tarkin. A master of ambition and power in Rogue One, he took full control of the Death Star - and now, in ANH, I saw him revel in it. He's always seemed in awe of its power, but that's made all the more obvious by the fact that he just wrested the battle station away from Director Krennic, and is now using it at its fullest potential. No more single-reactor shots anymore; it makes him seem all the more ruthless.That being said, the actual viewing room from where he watches the destruction of his own doing, looks far less impressive than it did in Rogue One, primarily due to the lighting and set design. Similarly, the actual firing sequence of the Death Star has lost some of its power due to there being a modern version of that now. It's a movie from 1977, however, so what are you going to do about it, really?I think we're all well aware that the lightsaber fight between Obi-Wan and Vader comes across as rigid and dated, now even moreso due to the incredible look we got at Vader's fighting ability at the end of Rogue One, but it's precisely due to that scene that my initial suspicions about the fight in ANH have been amplified. I've always thought that the duel was more of a test between Obi-Wan and Vader - two men who have aged in remarkably different ways, and are not the same guys that fought on Mustafar anymore. Obi-Wan's certainly not that young and energetic, and Anakin... well, he's had some physical problems himself. Besides, I think both of them knew full well what the outcome of their fight would be, which explains why Vader is not cutting through Obi-Wan in a massive fit of rage as he cut through rebels in an effort to obtain the Death Star plans.Seeing Yavin IV again felt weird. Empty, I guess is a good way to describe it. While the set design (and again, lighting) felt a lot more dated and certainly not as impressive as Rogue One's (again, forgivable), it was a poignant moment to see the remnants of the army we saw in that massive battle over Scarif. I felt like I knew these people; that I wasn't just meeting them for the first time, as Luke was. In a way, the relatively small force I saw gathered there was a saddening sight.This was enhanced when the attack on the Death Star began. Just thirty fighters... Scarif really was a pyrrhic victory. But sad as it was, it raised the stakes for me too: this hopeful assault felt even more desperate now, more... suicidal. If so many had lost their lives in an attempt to just obtain the plans, what losses would they sustain against the Death Star itself? It really made me feel for each loss - especially the Red and Gold Leaders."For Galen", I found myself thinking, when the Y-Wings started their attack run. For Jyn, for Cassian, for Rogue One... for all the people that had made this possible, that had put flaws in the Death Star itself and that had obtained the blueprints needed to find the exhaust port. It was as if the whole story came together in that final battle, and when it finally blew... it was such a great moment. It's always been a great moment, but after seeing Rogue One, now it's even better.One final thing, though: at the ceremony at the end, there are so many pilots! I've never really understood this, and maybe someone can explain, but am I supposed to believe the rebellion had fighter pilots that were at Yavin IV, but not deployed during the battle? If so, why? Or were they just new recruits, or people given the outfit for the purpose of the ceremony? It's a little confusing.I'm sure I missed some things I thought about during my actual viewing of A New Hope (it's been a few hours); but what do you guys think? Any of you do the same as me? And if so, what changes did you notice? via /r/StarWars http://ift.tt/2iGMxeh
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