-
Hey Guest. Check out your NeoGAF Wrapped 2025 results here!
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story |OT| They rebel - SPOILERS
- Thread starter Quick
- Start date
- Status
Lifejumper
Member
It failed?
Effigenius
Member
It failed to be a good, original movie. Not at the box office. It was completely derivitive of ANH. And Kylo Ren was horrid.
Lifejumper
Member
Kylo Ren is the most interesting villain in the SW universe.
incoming avatar quote
tauroxd
Member
It has probably been discussed here but... what happened with James Earl Jones? Age? 
The delivery of the first lines of his dialogue were spot perfect. like usual Darth Vader, but the rest it felt wierd and it made me sad
If we are talking about the 8 movies (seven episodes and R1), he sure damn is!
The delivery of the first lines of his dialogue were spot perfect. like usual Darth Vader, but the rest
it felt wierd and it made me sad If we are talking about the 8 movies (seven episodes and R1), he sure damn is!
He is over 80It has probably been discussed here but... what happened with James Earl Jones? Age?
The delivery of the first lines of his dialogue were spot perfect. like usual Darth Vader, but the rest
WadiumArcadium
Member
It has probably been discussed here but... what happened with James Earl Jones? Age?
The delivery of the first lines of his dialogue were spot perfect. like usual Darth Vader, but the rest
Well, yeah, he's 85. He sounded better here than in Rebels. I'd rather have JEJ over an impersonator.
tauroxd
Member
Well... I thought
but the few first things he said were so god damn good and perfect like usual Vader :'( and yes, no way in hell I would accept an impersonator.The galaxy isn't JJ Abrams big. They did find out eventually.
Prequels, need I say more.
mmmm
BlastProcessing
Member
It's interesting, I have the near opposite impression of the films. TFA feels like a movie that understands the core of what makes Star Wars. It feels like a natural part of the series.
RO is the film that feels like it has been filtered through decades of Star Wars culture. RO felt like a extended universe book or videogame. Right down to its forced cameos that felt like they where crammed in an attempt to borrow some legitimacy from the mainline films.
TFA feels like a natural part of the series. RO is that extended universe book that you tell all of you friends to read because "This one is actually pretty good!"
I want to stress that I enjoyed Rouge One and I am glad that Disney is carving out this new place for films in the Star Wars universe. A place where they can be more ambitious.
Guy Henry? Neat, I like that guy.They did use real people. Guy Henry and Ingvild Deila were the Tarkin and Leia stand-ins.
But obviously it must have been a lot more difficult than just ageing down an actor like ILM did with Douglas and Downey Jr.
They did use real people. Guy Henry and Ingvild Deila were the Tarkin and Leia stand-ins.
But obviously it must have been a lot more difficult than just ageing down an actor like ILM did with Douglas and Downey Jr.
Ah, cool. Guess it isn't enough then. You can't match the subtleties with a different person.
i do feel that's the whole point.
The anthology films are quite literally the cinematic 'extended universe'. The fact that it feels different is its biggest strength.
The film has quite a lot of flaws (most of which i can easily overlook), but i wouldn't count it feeling 'different' as one of them.
The Technomancer
card-carrying scientician
I'm not actually a very big Star Wars fan. Like, I think the movies are fine. Enjoyable. I rewatch the original trilogy once every couple of years
I think that's a large part of why I like RO over TFA honestly. RO feels like an expansion of the galaxy, of what we can see and what can happen, in a way that makes me suddenly much more interested in Star Wars than I've been in ages. Whereas TFA left me with a constant feeling of "oh this again, oh its still all about Jedi, oh its all about Skywalker, oh its literally all the old characters, Death Star 3, Millennium Falcon, yadda yadda"
TFA does understand what "the core" of Star Wars is. The problem is that over 40 years "the core" of Star Wars has suffered such overexposure that I'm just tired of it
cyberheater
PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 Xbone PS4 PS4
Just managed to see it before it got blocked. I liked the pun. It was funny.
Both movies have some bad part.
The problem with TFA, the bad part is the second half, ruinnig the beginning, IMO.
For Rogue One, the movie end up strong.
So on one side, we have "They ruined everything despite starting good" and on the other side, you leave the theater with a good mood "The beginning was difficult but they save it at the end".
Also, for rogue one, an extended vesion with more character development would be good, whereas for TFA they would have to remove and reshoot the second part.
The problem with TFA, the bad part is the second half, ruinnig the beginning, IMO.
For Rogue One, the movie end up strong.
So on one side, we have "They ruined everything despite starting good" and on the other side, you leave the theater with a good mood "The beginning was difficult but they save it at the end".
Also, for rogue one, an extended vesion with more character development would be good, whereas for TFA they would have to remove and reshoot the second part.
DorkLord54
Member
Seeing as I haven't put them down yet, my thoughts on the film:
- Overall pretty good. First half was iffy, but the second half was what I come to expect from Star Wars.
- Outside of Kaytoo and the Whills duo, I didn't care for any of the characters introduced in the film. Hoping to see the Whills duo in other media in this universe.
- Disney is now 1/1 for Star Wars villains. After the compelling Kylo Ren, Krennic felt like a huge downgrade; he's just your average "I'm a higher-up Imperial who enjoys doing awful things" we're all familiar with now. He's basically Hux if he were the villain of his own movie.
- Vader scenes were good, but how his helmet meets his cape seemed off, reminded me of a fan cosplay. Also, Jones definitely phoned it in with his lines.
- Tarkin and Leia CGI didn't bother me that much. They were obviously fake, but it never took me out of the experience.
- They wasted Saw Gerrera, as everyone has already said. Sure he whined all the time in TCW, but it still would've been nice to see him actually do something.
- RO's score is one of those where its more enjoyable while watching the movie, but less so when listening to it standalone; TFA has the opposite problem, in my opinion.
- Lack of a crawl was jarring, both due to keeping the "A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away...", and for keeping the end credits fanfare. Why include both of those if you aren't just going to go all the way and include the main titles and crawl?
- Atmosphere was good, and I liked that asteroid trading post at the beginning. Wish there were more locations like it, but that's what the Han film is for.
- Final battle was really good from beginning to end, though, as others has said, Leia's dialogue to Vader in ANH now makes less sense.
All in all, I liked it, even if it had negatives.
Also, did anyone else notice that the new TIEs look like the Sith fighters from KotOR?
- Overall pretty good. First half was iffy, but the second half was what I come to expect from Star Wars.
- Outside of Kaytoo and the Whills duo, I didn't care for any of the characters introduced in the film. Hoping to see the Whills duo in other media in this universe.
- Disney is now 1/1 for Star Wars villains. After the compelling Kylo Ren, Krennic felt like a huge downgrade; he's just your average "I'm a higher-up Imperial who enjoys doing awful things" we're all familiar with now. He's basically Hux if he were the villain of his own movie.
- Vader scenes were good, but how his helmet meets his cape seemed off, reminded me of a fan cosplay. Also, Jones definitely phoned it in with his lines.
- Tarkin and Leia CGI didn't bother me that much. They were obviously fake, but it never took me out of the experience.
- They wasted Saw Gerrera, as everyone has already said. Sure he whined all the time in TCW, but it still would've been nice to see him actually do something.
- RO's score is one of those where its more enjoyable while watching the movie, but less so when listening to it standalone; TFA has the opposite problem, in my opinion.
- Lack of a crawl was jarring, both due to keeping the "A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away...", and for keeping the end credits fanfare. Why include both of those if you aren't just going to go all the way and include the main titles and crawl?
- Atmosphere was good, and I liked that asteroid trading post at the beginning. Wish there were more locations like it, but that's what the Han film is for.
- Final battle was really good from beginning to end, though, as others has said, Leia's dialogue to Vader in ANH now makes less sense.
All in all, I liked it, even if it had negatives.
Also, did anyone else notice that the new TIEs look like the Sith fighters from KotOR?
How are you not talking about Rogue One with this line? Movie was almost completely fan service wankery
The Maverick
Member
The Vader scene at the end is one of the crowning moments of Star Wars in general. The payoff after years of suffering. I think the first third of the movie is uneven due to switching the setting so frequently, and I had an issue with the transition from second act to third act, but overall this movie is legit. Jyn ain't no Rey, but she's likable. Good acting from the cast. Mads still got it. Ending was worth the entire ride.
Will re-watch on Blu-ray, but definitely good stuff. Looking forward to Episode 8 even more. I also didn't notice the Tarkin CG. And Vader looked like his helmet was a bucket.
Will re-watch on Blu-ray, but definitely good stuff. Looking forward to Episode 8 even more. I also didn't notice the Tarkin CG. And Vader looked like his helmet was a bucket.
This legit got blocked in the last 5 minutes, crazy.
Sub_Level
wants to fuck an Asian grill.
I dunno. The final lightsaber battle was pretty cool. And it felt impactful yet restrained (even with the dramatic planet destruction). I'd say it ended well.
Weaker parts are sprinkled throughout. Like the goofy Rathtars lol
Heckler456
Banned
Don't know if it's been mentioned yet, but it apparently did 290 million at the WW boxoffice.
The story beats in TFA are nearly identical to A New Hope. Moments are complete mirrors to the original movie so much so that I rolled my eyes when Rey spots, from afar, Solo confronting his son.
Rogue One felt more like vintage Star Wars and I'm sure the lack of Jedi flipping around contributes to that. But to be fair, it is filled with a ridiculous amount of fan service, a lot of which breaks the flow of scenes. While the stuff in Rogue One is in your face distracting, the mirroring in TFA completely interferes with and dictates the story.
Just saying that because I can see where that poster is coming from. I still really like both movies.
Got a free shirt at mine.
I liked both movies too but I think the criticism is overused by detractors. Many movies use the same basic plot points and structure such as the mentor getting offed and as long as its well done with new takes on the material I'm good. A lot of the callbacks in Rogue One felt really pointless to me and had no bearing on the movie. R1 chose to wink and nudge the fan base over focusing on telling its own story way too much imo.
I liked this one. It actually got better as it progressed. Most popcorn movies have good opening acts with a dull 3rd act.
This movie suffers from something many summer movies suffer, which is expending all of your visual effort during grand plot and action scenes but neglecting scenes with expository dialogue.
The initial command room scene was simply dull. Angles a, b, c and repeat with no interesting blocking. Just this face, then back to this face, and then this face. It reminded me of how Captain America: Civil War managed to make an expository torture scene boring and forgettable.
I was actually afraid the rest of the movie's visual language/cinematography would be this bland, and many times it was. But it was carried by strong writing, beautiful in-world visuals and good characters.
Another nitpick I have was the contrived hurdle of accessing the Death Star data (needing to control a robot arm with a steady hand to grab the hard drive on a skyscraper tower) I understand its purpose to the plot and the movie's flow, but felt it could be accomplished without that.
This movie suffers from something many summer movies suffer, which is expending all of your visual effort during grand plot and action scenes but neglecting scenes with expository dialogue.
The initial command room scene was simply dull. Angles a, b, c and repeat with no interesting blocking. Just this face, then back to this face, and then this face. It reminded me of how Captain America: Civil War managed to make an expository torture scene boring and forgettable.
I was actually afraid the rest of the movie's visual language/cinematography would be this bland, and many times it was. But it was carried by strong writing, beautiful in-world visuals and good characters.
Another nitpick I have was the contrived hurdle of accessing the Death Star data (needing to control a robot arm with a steady hand to grab the hard drive on a skyscraper tower) I understand its purpose to the plot and the movie's flow, but felt it could be accomplished without that.
MrPing1000
Member
The more I think about it the more it annoys me that they gave Leia a stupid grin to end the film. Shes still in a fuckload of trouble, being chased. But time to give a big smile to the audience "wink wink" It seemed very "unLeia" like
The weird part of the internet thinks they're gay for each other.
Pretty cool characters though.
I agree with this.
TFA made me feel nostalgic.
Rogue One made me feel excited.
I like you.
killertofu
Member
What a weirdly bland movie this was for me. It wasn't bad. It was great. I was just bored. I almost left after the intro of Vader because I was hungry.
Lifejumper
Member
Leia scene: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIs5GD8b2NA
I fucking loved Wen's portrayal. Asians don't get a lot of roles as the strong brutish type. I love how they conveyed it naturally. He would fit right into Starcraft as a marauder.
If there's one thing that detracts from TFA after watching RO, it's that they played the Starkiller Base card way too early -- should've saved that for IX given how much of a big fucking deal planet-killers are, especially one that blows up 3 simultaneously.
Apart from that, I much prefer TFA over this.
Apart from that, I much prefer TFA over this.
The eyes look so flat.
Why would the rebel say "we're on a diplomatic mission" in ANH when darth vader literally saw them escape like 5 minutes ago?
This is why the whole thing just feels like fan fiction to me. It was written way later and slotted into a story that didn't anticipate any of this back when it was originally written. I wish they'd just make new shit instead
It would have been less distracting if they just used some makeup and left it at that because the CG cartoon people don't even slightly look real. Not even slightly. My mind has an easier time suspending disbelief for the character now being a different actor than it does the character looking a roger rabbit insert
This is why the whole thing just feels like fan fiction to me. It was written way later and slotted into a story that didn't anticipate any of this back when it was originally written. I wish they'd just make new shit instead
It would have been less distracting if they just used some makeup and left it at that because the CG cartoon people don't even slightly look real. Not even slightly. My mind has an easier time suspending disbelief for the character now being a different actor than it does the character looking a roger rabbit insert
brandonh83
Banned
I'm glad they got Starkiller out of the way personally. I didn't have a problem with it and think people are being a bit too wacky about it, but now they they did it in VII they can do new things going forward.
Dorsal Axe
Member
I feel like the issue with TFA isn't just rehashing the same plot points, it's that it borders on a pastiche of it during the second half.
Han's line about finding the weak point of Starkiller Base is a particularly absurd (and oddly self-aware) moment of the film. Also the base being so much bigger and badder than the Death Star, yet is destroyed just as dumbly. It's like the people making the film realised how stupid the whole thing was.
Rogue One at least has conviction in its own story telling, even if it is rather uneven.
Lifejumper
Member
Well it was 30 years after the last one.
WadiumArcadium
Member
Antilles was bullshitting Vader. That hasn't changed.
Yeah, now they can go the full Yuuzhan Vong route as primary conflict for IX
(I'm kidding, Lucasfilm. Please do not do this.)
And no engineer intentionally put a weak point into 2nd death star or starkiller so why was it so easy?
it's such an obvious lie though. they just escaped 5 minutes ago. why bother? it makes no sense
brandonh83
Banned
Yeah, but there's so much more going on which is why I guess I don't really care or think about it much. In ANH the central focus was on destroying the Death Star, in TFA destroying Starkiller was basically the backdrop to a more personal drama. That's how I see the climax rather than a ANH repeat. You get about 40 seconds of the squadron flying through a trench and shooting up a core. The rest is totally different from ANH. The setup is similar. The execution and how the events play out are wildly different.
Yeah I can agree with that (although his line was hilarious to me). Starkiller Base felt dumb to me too but hopefully its appearing early in the new trilogy means they can avoid this uber superweapon must be destroyed plotting for the rest of them. I'm really hoping this is the case
Saw Brandon just said the exact same thing lol
- Status