(no subject)

[skygiants]

I CANNOT BELIEVE I JUST WATCHED A BIG-BUDGET ACTION MOVIE ABOUT THE CHALLENGES OF DATA RETRIEVAL FROM LONG-TERM STORAGE ON TAPE.

I found everything in that sequence (the file was too large to send over the network! OF COURSE IT WAS, CAD DATA IS HUGE) 100% plausible, including the giant stupid robot retrieval system -- well, except that that the process of operating the tape deck itself was definitely not frustrating enough and it should have taken Jyn Erso at least 30 minutes longer to unspool all that data for transmission off of linear tape. But I'll allow it.

Anyway, I can't wait for:
- the fic about the reactions of the Empire's IT and records management departments when they learn that some trigger-happy general just literally BLEW UP an entire unique archival repository of KEY BUREAUCRATIC DATA
- the comic about the first time some maintenance technician tries to repair something on the Death Star and the guy's like, 'where's the documentation?' and their boss is like 'um, well, funny story about that....'
- the in-depth analysis about various mistakes the Empire makes in the original trilogy and how they operate in context of an organization that has just LITERALLY BLOWN UP ALL OF THEIR OWN BACKUP DATA. Of course it's easy for any random hero to impersonate a Stormtrooper! THEY DESTROYED ALL THEIR OWN PERSONNEL FILES.

...in other news, and obvious flaws (WHERE ARE ALL THE OTHER WOMEN) aside, I also liked the rest of the movie very much! What struck me most about this film was how well this movie conveyed the sense of rebellion as a movement, an organization -- we don't get very much backstory on any of the characters, and I think intentionally so, because this isn't a story about a Few Lone Heroes, it's about the massive collaborative effort that it takes to achieve anything of importance. Which is not something you see very often from Hollywood, because it's much easier to invest audiences in a Great Man story about a couple protagonist-y individuals, and therefore which I was especially glad to see here.

Comments

[evewithanapple]

I came out of this movie much the way I came out of The Magnificent Seven: thinking that the fanfic will undoubtedly provide far more characterization and depth than the movie, and also that ficwriters will give nary a fuck as to who dies in canon.

[skygiants]

HANDWAVING IS MAGIC.

(I didn't honestly mind that the movie didn't have that much characterization though -- which sounds like a weird thing to say, but it felt like individual character backstories were almost besides the point, in a movie so much about a movement and the force of collective action.)

[raven]

Yes. This, absolutely this. Sometimes everyone dies at the end and that's how the story goes.

[skygiants]

Yeah. Hope frequently comes at a cost. But it doesn't make it any less hope!