Rogue One Rogue One Reviews/Reactions thread

I'm really hoping this movie was just a "for the edgelord fanboys" one, and won't be a pattern. This movie is going to age really poorly, and so many people here are giving it a pass because they got some fan service at the end that they liked and a bunch of easter egg references. Fingers crossed for an Episode VIII that gets back into the mythic space fantasy adventure mode. It's so perfectly 2016 for the "highlight" of the new Star Wars movie to be the scene where Darth Vader murders a bunch of good guys.

 

It was real star wars. what issues did you have with the film, out of curiosity? not trying to attack your opinion in any way.

 

I think there's been plenty of mention of the issues of the movie. It's a bit slow in the first half. For some, the characters aren't fleshed out. For some, the fan service is a bit heavy handed.
Some people are hooked on CGI Tarkin, or the lack of a Crawl .

But alot of people really really liked it.

This movie was always going to be a War movie, with a less fantasy feel. That's what was promised, and what we got.
If that's not your cup of tea, that's perfectly fine. Episode 8 will be here in a year, and it's back to the Grand Soap Opera (and I love the Soap Opera, don't get me wrong).

The Han Solo movie is in the hands of a couple of comedy directors. It wont be a hard war movie. It will be something out of their brains. And if you don't like that, well, Episode 9...

 

I hope the same and that the magic, mystic and adventure returns to Star Wars and what made me a fan of it. Please no more of this all is grey/dark picture of the universe.

 

Oh for God sake, why is it always some kind of conspiracy or agenda?

Maybe a tonne of people (not everyone, obviously, and that's fine) really like the film? They can't cater to every specific individual. It's not possible.

The whole point is that the stand-alones will try different things. And there is every chance another will come along that you enjoy at some point - maybe even the very next film.

 

Not sure I get your point. This fills in a part of the mythic space adventure. It even has a fairly classic construction with the team of misfits. The use of the term "fan service" is getting a little out of hand, IMO. This story, in particular needed some of that "fan service" to properly connect with the story that immediately follows it. If they weren't there, it'd put me into a "where was X?" mode. There are a couple of callouts in there that weren't directly story related, but honestly, they are completely harmless, and in the coming years, if people miss them, it won't matter. What sort of stuff were you/are you looking for? Trying to understand what you think was missing from this movie?

 

This movie is such a tedious string of bad war movie and action movie cliches, with a bunch of Star Wars cliches hitched on. It's a video game, wrapped in tired movie tropes, wrapped in Star Wars branding. The lack of competent writing and characterization is striking, and it's a bit sad that people are willing to swallow Easter Eggs by the basket as a serviceable substitute for good storytelling.

There was an opportunity here to make a much better film. I don't know if that got lost in reshoots or more likely was never there to begin with, but it doesn't matter. The movie is inconsequential and doesn't really leave much of a mark on Star Wars in any case. It's easy to forget.

 

What constitutes a "Star Wars" movie, necessarily is going to broaden as more films are produced. They can't stick to formula without the concept getting tired. Part of what I loved about Rogue One was how it approached the same universe through a different lens. The anthology films give them freedom to experiment. That also means some fans are going to not go along for the ride on all of them. That's ok.

 

Exactly.

It's now used to mean anything an individual doesn't like.

 

Seen it twice now and our thoughts are exactly matched. It's in the top three for me and I'll need to rewatch and reflect to see where exactly but maybe even second after TESB. As to others upset that the film wasn't for them, now you know how a lot of us felt after TFA - most of my group have been watching Star Wars since the 70's, and the majority hated it. I personally think it an abomination of a movie, but my faith in Star Wars has been awakened by R1. So, horses for courses.

 

I love both TFA and R1, so there's that. I'm looking forward to my second viewing to see if the the disjointed first act bothers me less. But I havta say the second and third act were so good, IMO, that the sloppy first act only cost the film a 0.5/10 for me. I'm curious to see how I feel after another viewing.

 

I'm with you Strongbow - love both TFA and R1 for different reasons. R1 definitely less disjointed on second viewing. There are massive stretches of pure SW gold in it for me.

 

I don't want to start a war or trouble or whatever. It is just the point that after TFA, the new canon EU and now Rogue One, there was nothing at all for me until now and this starts bothering me. I mean I was willing and did spend quite a lot of money in buying books, comics, toys etc. while I expected something that I would like. I waited at least until the movies came out to judge them and so on, but I'm starting to get a little more frustrated now. I cannot deny it. They make just Star Wars with avoiding any usage of Jedi, lightsabers and the force, only to avoid any similarity with the prequels.

I need to overthink anything I buy from this franchise from now on sadly. I'm just at the edge of leaving again like I did some years ago when I was disappointed in the legends EU.

 

I notice many of the negative reviewers in this thread almost always stack it up to The Force Awakens and say it falls short.

Which is fine. I loved TFA. I loved Rogue One. It's just funny how now the tables have turned and we already have The Force Awakens purists. I actually like that to break the monotony of all the freaking rehashists.

 

totally feel you on the first act. the prologue is amazing. then up until the Yavin sequence it does feel disjointed and i remember getting the same feeling i got during TFA. a sinking feeling like oh no, the reviews were hyperbole again and it's gonna feel this way the rest of the film. but once they go to Jedha, i think it all really comes together beautifully and the character arcs all end up working and concluding in satisfying ways. the themes come out the other end accomplished, IMO. the prologue, 2nd act, and 3rd act are pretty brilliant and i felt the opposite about TFA. the first 30 minutes of TFA are great if not derivative. then once they get the Falcon and on from there, it all just falls flat IMO. i definitely think RO is the more complete and wholesome picture. but you arent wrong about the first act.

 

Well, look, I get the frustration if you're not enjoying the new films. But what I was really suggesting is that while that is a shame, it's not on everyone else to see the flaws you have with them, and it's also worth considering that for a great many people, TPTB really are delivering SW films (and two tonally very different films) that are absolutely delivering. So what do TPTB do?

dick rodgers - while we disagree strongly on TFA - I agree with your take on R1.

 

I like 'em both. Hard to say how much (RO is newer, so I'm more excited to see it again than TFA). But as far as movies go, they are very different things and actually hard to compare in my mind (beyond the easy broad sweeping critiques).

 

To me Vader looked fat necked! Voice sounded fine in our cinema.

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The good thing is there are going to be many many new films and spins offs so will be something for everyone.

For example, I was disappointed that the ST was about the Skywalkers again. That whole arc was done and finished in ROTJ and now they seem just like a terminally dysfunctional family to me. In fact I've started referring to them as the Kylewalkers.

So I loved R1 as it was SW without the family dynamics. I can understand why some would feel the complete opposite however.

Chin up!

 

On the contrary. I've already said in this thread I liked the Vader scene. But it is undeniably fan service for all those years of people wishing they had gotten to see Vader in his prime kicking butt. My problem is the first two-thirds of Rogue One are terrible, and putting in a flashy Vader murder scene at the end doesn't cover up for the rote character work and poor storytelling preceding it.

 

so im guessing you disliked TFA too then? as the characters in TFA are characterized even worse than in Rogue One. Rogue One actually had pay offs in term of characterization.

It felt so much like Star Wars, that i truly hope Garreth Edwards gets to work again in the universe. IMO, Lucasfilm should kick Treverrow out of the chair and give Episode 9 to Edwards. Hire a good writer and let Edwards direct.

i think this is a bit over the top. they were quite open about the use of lightsabers/jedi in pre production to hopefully get the minds of the audience in sync before viewing the film. but the Force is so utterly present in this film through Chirrut that it really doesnt matter. having jedi for the sake of jedi is fan service IMO. They made the right choice here, and it was a risky move to do so as it can alienate fans such as yourself. but it all works so well. This wasnt a film about jedi.

 

Vader looked a bit off to me as well. I'm not sure what it was exactly. A little disappointed (but no big deal) on that front.

 

that's exactly how I feel. That said, I also wonder why, now that Vader's incompetence at acquiring data tapes has been extended backward in time into Rogue One, why they didn't make him and Tarkin the movie's primary villains? The stakes would have been higher I feel if Vader had been chasing the rebel spies around from the very start. No reason really to hold Vader back to the end and give him an arbitrary moment at the periphery of the film. And Krennic is so dull. Really one of the least interesting Star Wars villains since Jango Fett.

Adventures in Mid Level Imperial Bureaucracy!

 

Actually I think most people enjoyed TFA, but its not the best movie ever no..

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That seems a little melodramatic given that nearly everyone is posting the same criticisms of the film. (weak first act being the main one).