Rogue One Rogue One Reviews/Reactions thread

Disney has smart people in charge, most of the people they are getting to work on star wars are fanboys and I think that makes all the difference!

 

Having seen Rogue One twice now, I can comfortably say it more than surpassed my expectations. The characterizations were complex, the performances nuanced, the effects top-notch (I'm in the Tarkin rocked camp), and the overall plot arc was emotionally powerful. Using any metric you care to choose, this film is vastly superior to Godzilla or any other of Edwards' movies. The fact that virtually the entire cast dies in heroic or vain-glorious circumstances is a hugely original conceit for the GFFY, and that factor alone makes the film unique and compelling. But for me, the overarching achievement of this film (and not taking anything away from the movie's other amazing qualities) is that it retroactively improves A New Hope, a movie I've loved my entire life. Ret-cons are usually annoying at best, and sacrilegious at worst. Not this time. By obviating a ridiculous and glaring plot hole (that's frankly bugged me since childhood--I mean, c'mon, why would the Empire build a moon-sized dunk tank?), Rogue One not only adds depth to the story we already know, but improves and tightens the plot of the entire saga. Bravo Edwards, Gilroy, et al.

 

Just finished seeing it a second time.

I went with my wife who is anything but a Star Wars fanboy, she thought the first half of the movie was slow and jumped around locations too much. She did say that she loved it from when they arrived on Scarif.

I still loved the movie, but not as much as I did on the first viewing. There are definitely some pacing issues in the early part and there are scenes in the first half of the movie that are unnecessarily long and slow the movie down.

The last half ot the movie is amazing and for me would be close to being the best battle scene in any Star Wars movie.

 

How many people did you consult?

 

What did I think? Hands down the best Star Wars prequel ever. Heh.

 

Loved it, loved it, loved it!

Okay--fanboygasm out of the way, here's my stream of consciousness thoughts:

Visuals were great--this really must be seen on the big screen. Already it made the galaxy feel bigger than in TFA--I really liked the look of that asteroid port at the start. It really recaptured that exotic, dusty, frontier feel of the OT. Hell, we even got a glimpse of Coruscant!

I dug the Juggernaut tank from ROTS returning. And speaking of that--Pablo Hidalgo confirmed that Vader's castle was indeed on Mustafar, and I was a bit confused at first as to where that was, as it didn't look quite as hellish as in Episode 3. I can imagine that Vader goes there to remind himself of his defeat, just to stew in his hatred and grow in the Dark Side. I even liked the Sith cultist retainer guys. That was a nice nod to some of the Dark Empire-related parts of the EU.

I liked that Saw Guerra's cell was more brutish and clearly more ISIS-like. Hell, even the main Alliance is more ruthless this time, happy to assassinate people just to stay safe. But they do make it clear that the Empire is infinitely worse, so it's not silly grimdark. I was slightly disappointed that they didn't really touch on Guerra's Clone wars career--would've made for a good line. "I was fighting even in the war before this one..."

Jedha was packed full of details, and all those little things drew me in like the OT did as a kid, with so many interesting and curious background characters. I dug the idea of Jedi cultists and this former Jedi sanctuary, now being stripped by the Empire for anything of value.

The stormtroopers here...actually, I'd say they were about on the same level as they were in the originals. Yeah, they get gunned down by the heroes, but at least the latter here are all best of the best veterans fighting for years, and the stormies did at least get their fair share of redshirts--and even a main character or two. The Death Troopers were cool, I liked their Combine-like buzzing talk, and unlike Phasma, they actually did ****, instead of just being pretty for the marketing!

Oh, and I really like the 'Nam-like aesthetic for the rebels, looks much better than the bowl helmet things.

Tarkin...yeah, he looked plastic. Leia was better, and it's a little obvious that they basically recycled footage and dialogue from ANH for Red and Gold Leader. I was surprised Tarkin had such a big role, I was expecting him to appear only once.

Even the Death Star gets it's moments here. Awesome to see but a low-level shot unfold the crust of Jedha. And I didn't expect Scarif to get nuked...but I'll get to that.

Krennic...was alright, he was a typical Imperial *******. I did like the little insight into Imperial politicking. Hell, it seems Tarkin blew up half a planet just to remove a rival! That sort of **** was fitting and I liked it.

And now, the final battle. This I loved, it was so much better than the Starkiller battle from TFA. I loved the AC-130 style U-wings, and we get a real proper space skirmish! The Mon Cala ship looked like an upside down version of Grievous' flagship. I was a little confused by the Star Destroyers seemingly just sitting there...but I will say, I didn't expect the Hammerhead ship to get that much screentime. Powerful little thing. But the lackluster ISDs were made up for by Vader's one coming in and just shredding the Rebel fleet. I guess he was able to recruit better crew who could actually push buttons!

And yeah, I knew the rest of the cast would die, but I did expect Jyn to come out of it. Nope! She gets vaporized with the rest of Scarif. Ballsy all things considered.

And then...Vader. I kinda wish he slaughtered the main crew, but eh, at least the Imperial grunts got to kill protagonists for once. But...his brief scene was...oh yeah...really really ****ing fanboygasmic.

The ending was abrupt. I guess that fits, as it's meant to segue right into ANH. But overall, it left me with far fewer frustrations than TFA. I think some critics and viewers may have been expecting basically more like that film or the MCU, but I say go see it, spend that ticket money, and then Disney can move into doing more of it's own thing.

 

The professional critics that reviewed the movie. So, about 350 people.

 

I'm not trying to write an essay about Rogue One right now, but I'd like to share a couple of my thoughts. There were a lot of good things, but for some reason the things I didn't like as much are jumping out at me right now.

Rogue One definitely felt different than the previous Star Wars films. I guess that was made pretty clear in the lead-up to the premiere, but it still kind of caught me off guard. There were moments that made me, and others, cheer (that's why I love opening nights) and moments that really disappointed me. Darth Vader is the best example of that dichotomy. Vader's second scene was something that I always wanted to see from one of the baddest villains of all time. His first scene was my least favorite part of the entire movie. I think it was a combination of the dialogue and the guy in the suit; the 'gravitas' of Darth Vader just wasn't there for me.

The other main thing was that I expected/was hoping to love Jyn Erso and I just didn't. That's on me and my expectations, but her character didn't captivate me. I definitely won't be grabbing strangers on the street to tell them how awesome she is like I did with Rey.

Having said all of that, the last third of the movie (especially the last 10-15 minutes) is just awesome. And the way it transitions into A New Hope is about as perfect as they could have done it. I will definitely be seeing it again as soon as possible to try and get some more perspective. It's Star Wars!

 

In the machete order, this would be the first for sure.

 

I agree. My new machete order is:

Rogue One
ANH
TESB
ROTS
ROTJ
TFA

The question is then how will this fit when the Han Solo spinoff comes out. It takes place roughly several years before ANH while this obviously is the lead up to ANH therefore I think Solo (or whatever they call it) will then be first in my machete order assuming since it's good enough to add it LOL!

 

Rogue One already has the same audience score as The Force Awakens on Rotten Tomatoes (89%).

On IMDB, it is ahead of TFA by 0.1 point (8.3 vs 8.2).

 

Incoming 'why Rogue One actually sucks' clickbait articles and youtube videos...

 

Today my 2nd screening of Rogue One. It was a little better and more enjoyable, since I knew what to expect. The visuals are very good, but still some major issues with too many planets and the killing festival in the end. I mean 1 died and a minute later the next one. This was terrible done. If they had kept the losses over the whole movie, the impact would have been less devastating/depressing. I mean 1-2 dying on Jedha, 1-2 dying on Eadu, 1 maybe dying while attacked in space etc. But it was just a killing festival to end the movie and no time to recover from any death until the next one happened.

 

Yep, it seems that everytime there is something that has such high general praise. there is also clickbait videos and sites of this kind. This happened for TFA as well.

 

Saw it last night. Needs a premium format to be appreciated but if you have the choice do not spend an extra dime to see it in 3D. We saw it in 4K RealD and 3D added NOTHING, to the point where I think they maybe deliberately underplayed the 3D effects to keep the image clarity and brightness. Had 3D glasses but it looked like a 2D film. Seeing it in Dolby Atmos 2D on Sunday and I think that's where it's at for this movie, or 4K or 70mm IMAX if you have one.

Anyway --

Read a few reviews, at least the summaries, and I think I agree with everything that's been said, pro & con. How that all works out for you in the wash is going to be different for everybody.

One thing I will say: critics who have said this movie is playing it "safe" are bat**** insane. There is NOTHING safe about any of the choices made in this movie.

And there is nothing kiddified, Disneyfied, slapstick or dopey/goofy. THANK GOD.

It's got some cohesion problems in the middle, when I think the plot gets a little muddled, and it could use some more depth in the characters (TFA is much better in that regard, IMO), but everything else is pretty terrific. It looks amazing. All of the combat sequences are incredibly well-done.

Comments from Nitty McNitsterston: I thought the score was a little too prominent in the sound mix. It's like, if you're going to boost the soundtrack like that, you better be John F*ing Williams, and unfortunately JW is not the composer here. M. Giacchino wrote the score in 4 weeks, so that's not a slam on him, but if you're a big JW fanboy like me, you will certainly miss him.

Oh, if you're a quasi-hardcore fan and didn't read Catalyst, READ CATALYST. It ties in with that book very well and that book provides a lot of backstory for Galen & Krennic and

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another guy

that the film doesn't have time to go into . There are some nice touches that reward having read the book, too -- flashback-type things that are very well-done.

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My personal "lose my ****" moments were the appearance of Red Leader and Gold Leader. About lost my mind... CG Tarkin didn't bother. Leia looked a little off, to me, but my wife bought both characters completely.

 

Actually, I'd still show Sith first. So much of it flows into Rogue.

 

Agreed. K2 died, then Bodhi and Chirrut almost immediately after, and then Baze. The grenades landing next to both Bodhi and Baze were hard to stomach. I think all of the death in such a very short sequence was too much. But it was a solid movie, and I can't complain with that.

 

It doesn't help that they weren't particularly fleshed-out. If you're going to cull ALL of your new characters by the end, then you should make extra sure that they're fleshed-out enough, and that their deaths are meaningful enough, that it has maximum impact. And here, they didn't quite pull that off for me. Even Jyn, who has the most development, kind of suffered because I found the dynamic with her father to be undercooked.

 

and a critics score of 84% both very respectable!!!!

 

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I liked this movie. I did not think it was amazing. I did not think it was better than Empire. I did not think it was the best since Empire. Both ROTJ and TFA were better movies, IMO.

There were good performances, but no real stand out characters save for the two mains and the villain. And just as it was an issue with Godzilla, Edwards failed to really develope characters the way he should have to really have you connect with them on an emotional level. Add to that several scenes and relationships didn't feel earned.

The first half of the film is all over the place, plodding, and at the most serviceable. Perhaps an argument could say the first half is actually kinda boring. The second half is pretty great though. Loved the stock footage used for Red and Gold Leader.

I actually thought the Tarkin looked pretty great. Some bits where it didn't look good, but I found when they had him from a distance it felt like the dead come back to life. Leia on the other hand didn't look as good.

Vader was Awesome in his two scenes. Really loved how they introduced him, and that was a brilliant idea. I just wish they would have had that scene go on a bit longer, which I felt was a flaw in the film and one that I see a lot in movies today. Failure to let a scene breath.

Hated the C3P0 scene which was straight up fan service for fan service sake. Small or not, it was there just to be there.


So an okay movie, a meh movie, but one I can't say I hated. In saying that it's good enough to where you'll want to rush home and watch STAR WARS:A NEW HOPE right away. Which is obviously a good thing since the film does enhance ANH quite a bit. The film doesn't take away or embarrass ANH in anyway.

 

I liked it! Nice ties to ANH like when Jyn bumped into the two guys in the street that were the same two Luke dealt with in the canteen when they met Han. I was secretly hoping I would see some of the people from Rebels like Ezra or Kannan but their partcular role wasn't needed in this film. I still would have liked to see Vader fight Ashoka though, like maybe she was in the ship with Leigha and her and Vader duked it out as he was on the hunt for those plans. Speaking of Vader, I know his voice was still JEJ's, but for me it sounded off for some reason, actually Vader's whole appearance to me seemed off, I don't know why, he seemed taller and slimmer or something, not a big deal. Loved Jimmy Smits being in it and his hunt for Obi-Wan. Brings such a more dire need for what happens in ANH in regards to Obi-Wan, and his secret weapon Luke. Almost like, Bail knew...he knew he had one more card up his sleeve, an old jedi and a potential bad ass jedi in the making Luke. Remember at the end of ROTS Bail took Leigha and he knew Obi-Wan took the boy with him, in Bail's mind who knows what kind of bad ass Obi-Wan has on his hands that no one but Bail knows. I think the trust seeker thing was even those creatures Kanaan and Ezra always fought in Rebels, loved the tie-ins. I LOVED the lore, the kyber crystals, the blind "Guaridian of the Whills", the Jedi temple and its unknown large amounts of kyber crystals. THere is so much lore and Disney is starting to bring it to light with these two films and with Rebels. As someone stated somewhere, there is so much more to the Force then just the Jedi and Sith. I really hope they bring this out more in 8 & 9 and I think they will with Luke being at a Jedi temple. The planet labeling was different, that particular thing didn't feel Star Wars'ish but with so much jumping around between planets at first I see why they did that. I liked the darker tone and action of the movie and hated to see everyone die.

 

I've just returned home after my first viewing, and feel like expressing some thoughts. I thought by going in not expecting too much I'd end up pleasantly surprised, but unfortunately that didn't happen, and I feel quite stunned by how many extremely positive reviews there are.

Don't get me wrong though - it is a good film. I've no real problems with the story, or the cast, but overall I feel like it was a little too pedestrian. There were ups and downs, but in the end they all basically cancelled each other out. I was really hoping that Krennic would be a fantastic baddy, but he ended up being overshadowed by Tarkin and Vader. On the positive side I really loved Donnie Yen's character, and I'd love to have seen more of him. In fact all of the scenes on Jedha were great, although I thought the Evazan bit was a slightly clumsy call back that wasn't needed. I was more interested in the fascinating background characters that looked like Imperial Guards. Who the heck were they? I guess we're due to get more story on the history of The Force as a religion in the new trilogy, but getting a few hints of this in Rogue One was one of the most satisfying elements.

I can't go on much longer without mentioning the Leia and Tarkin thing. I'm not against the concept, in theory, but in reality I found it rather distracting - particularly with Tarkin. If it was just for one brief scene, as with Leia, then I might not have given it much thought, but it just felt a little clunky for me. Of course as a character he should be there, but I think it would have helped to have him more in the background. I feel the same about Vader too - the end scene particularly felt a little forced.

Anyway, I'm not going to rush out for a second screening. Perhaps when I do see it again though, and of course I will, I'll view it a bit more positively. Pretty much all of the action sequences were very well done, and as it is essentially a war film this is a very important plus point, but despite some good performances all round I didn't quite feel invested enough in the characters. Ultimately I do feel like it should have either been a bit lighter, or a bit darker. It's one thing to have a good balance in tone, but another to stick too carefully to a middle ground. I'd recommend it as a solid fantasy action film, but for me it's currently hovering a lot closer to the PT than The Force Awakens or the OT.

 

I'm really a little bit irritated that Rogue One is so well received everywhere with noone seeing and mentioning the issues this movie has. I even wonder if this new Star Wars approach (big battles + normal soldiers) and what most actual Star Wars fans expect and what I expect of a great Star Wars movie have anything in common anymore. Will there be anything for me in the future at all that I really like???

 

I didn't think he was a typical Imperial *****. The impression I get, based only on the movie and no secondary materials, is that he comes from the lower crust (his accent isn't refined), resents those with more status, and seeks self-aggrandizement as a defense mechanism to hide his inferiority complex. I thought he was fascinating. The Imperial politicking reflected that to some extent, e.g., "I still have my job, right?" He wants an audience with the Emperor for no higher reason than he'd probably want an audience with the CEO if he were in the same not-quite-middle-manager/not-quite-top-of-the-heap position for Spacebucks Incorporated. He doesn't serve the Empire (beyond doing so facially), he serves his own fear of being a nobody. Maybe I'm reading too much into it, but that's how I read it.

 

I came out of Rogue One knowing without a doubt that it was a much, MUCH better film than the Force Awakens. I didnt know if i liked it better than ROTJ so i went home and re-watched that film and i came out the other end realizing that Rogue One as a whole is the better picture. Han and Leia just get so shafted in ROTJ post Tattooine and the Endor stuff really halts the film for me. Garreth Edwards understands Star Wars on a level that JJ Abrams just never could. JJ's take on Star Wars is superficial. The themes within TFA simply do not resonate the way they do in Rogue One. the dialogue, the actions, themes, the heart, it was all very present in Rogue One. IT WAS STAR WARS. it bled Star Wars. pure magic. I loved how they progressed Jyn and why she ultimately leaves her apathy behind to fight for a just cause. the moment with her father, heartbreaking. And the prologue, it tops the village attack in TFA because the RO prologue is so intimate, so well done, that it sets the tone for everything that is to follow. I love Galen Erso. He is a hero. without him genocide woulda run rampant, more rampant than it is even within the OT. I also surprisingly loved Bhodi. Yes he may not get the most characterization, but damn does he get to the place he had hoped he would when defecting. He doesnt have faith that he can achieve redemption at first, he doesnt know if he has the faith and strength. but by films end, he absolutely redeems himself. and its touching to watch. the only character i felt coulda really used more was Baze. Tarkin was a cgi wonder to behold. never have i seen better work. should win an award!!! i loved the inverted take on the final battle in comparison to ROTJ. the battle was next level, best in the whole series. I loved how the xwing, y wing, etc. pilots were handled. IT WAS PITCH PERFECT AND BROUGHT ME RIGHT BACK TO THE OT starfights i love. and my god the sledgehammer vehicle. YESSSSSS. the Vader castle, the bacta tank, THAT SCENE, YES THAT ONE. jesus, goosebumps. This is the 3rd greatest Star Wars of all time. It manages to top the Third in George's original trilogy and sits right underneath ESB, and ANH for me. cant wait to see it again tonight!!!!