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[Tal Shiar Agent]

I pretty much guessed they were dead men walking going into the film and I knew that the primary action would be taking place over a period of hours. In such a context I found all of the characters, yes all of them, quite enjoyable and well written. This film wasn't about them, it was about the Plans. That's sort of the marketing's fault if people thought it was going to be some character drama, when in reality it was a war movie with everyone being expendable. That's sort of Gareth's MO though. The trailers made Godzilla look like a dark horror film, a Godzilla of 1954 or 1984, but in reality it was more of a pre-camp Showa Era savior Godzilla.

That said I loved Rogue One. I think it hit all the right notes despite being a bit slow in the first act. If I had to rank the real Star Wars films I'd go:

1. ESB
2. RO
3. ANH
4. ROTJ
5. TFA

But the gap in quality between 1 and 5 is very very small. They are all very good films.

 

[Waldini]

That said I loved Rogue One. I think it hit all the right notes despite being a bit slow in the first act. If I had to rank the real Star Wars films I'd go:

1. ESB
2. RO
3. ANH
4. ROTJ
5. TFA

But the gap in quality between 1 and 5 is very very small. They are all very good films.

1. ESB
2. ANH/TFA (d'oh)
3. RO
4. The rest. Except AOTC. That one doesn't even deserve a place.

I'd love to see LucasFilm/Disney make some minor adjustments to the Death Star battle now though. Feels soooo small (take into consideration this was a do or die fight aswell) when comparing it to the Battle of Scarif. I mean, the battle of Scarif (for the plans) were important ... but taking out a station that was able to destroy planets or severly damage them feels more pressing to be honest.

Add some more stuff. Always felt a bit ... weird? You know ... seing 6 X-Wings, 4 Y-Wings and the Falcon go up against a station of that magnitude and succeed. I'd love to see the battle be expanded ... just, more stuff.

 

[JeffZero]

I'm loving the TFA love in the last few rankings. <3

 

[soundscream]

Just got back from seeing it. I knew there was a Donny Yen fight scene and thought it would be the best part of the movie. Was all set to walk out with that oppinion until Vader showed up at the end......FUCK. Thats all Ive ever wanted to see Vader do, just fuck everyone's shit up.

 

[CloudyTuba]

Decided to put this in here since I didn't want to gunk up the news thread with Star Wars bullshit:

For the home media releases, I think it would be nice if they put a little "In memory of" tribute in the credits of Rogue One for Carrie. Considering how the movie ends, it just seems like the right place to have one. The whole context of that lingering shot feels a little different now.

 

[efyu_lemonardo]

It's funny, TFA felt like I was watching a Jedi Knight video game, and now RO felt like a Rogue Squadron video game.

 

[Fancyarcher]

It doesn't matter whether a director writes the scripts or not. Being a "visual director" is also not an excuse, but an explanation for his shortcomings. It's one way of saying a director is only good at certain things and not very well rounded. If a director has a good handle on characterization and knowing what they want to best serve the film, they give those instructions to the script writers to help them. Films aren't made in a vacuum with each person doing their individual jobs and everyone else being stuck with that.

So yeah I think saying Edwards sucks at characters and human drama is a valid critique of his weakness as a director. Maybe this weakness can be covered if he is paired with a very strong screenwriter who has both the understanding of how to compensate for this and who can articulately explain and convince him that there are better ways to do things. But that doesn't mean the fault of having weak characters doesn't rest with the director in the end.

Keep in mind that Edwards probably didn't have final cut on RO. For all we know he may have intended to add more scenes with Jyn, and it just didn't happen.

Plus him being paired with a better screenwriter (like you said), would probably result in something better anyway.

 

[Shadybiz]

snip

I can't NOT read this in James Earl Jones' voice...and it is hilarious!

 

[Maffis]

Just saw it.

It was ok. Felt like there was way too many characters and then they all died and I was like "meh".

I also have a problem with prequel-movies. I find it hard to care when I already know the outcome. I knew they would succeed anyways. But that's just the way I am.

 

[Tugatrix]

Totally fits with the attitude of new canon Vader.

Oh man

 

[itsbenoclock]

Just saw it. CGI characters took me right out of the film. First half was dull, the rest was entertaining enough. Donnie Yen should have had more screen time. The cold opening without scrolling text exposition was great. 6/10 overall, and I felt TFA was a 5/10

 

[5taquitos]

I'd love to see LucasFilm/Disney make some minor adjustments to the Death Star battle now though. Feels soooo small (take into consideration this was a do or die fight aswell) when comparing it to the Battle of Scarif. I mean, the battle of Scarif (for the plans) were important ... but taking out a station that was able to destroy planets or severly damage them feels more pressing to be honest.

Add some more stuff. Always felt a bit ... weird? You know ... seing 6 X-Wings, 4 Y-Wings and the Falcon go up against a station of that magnitude and succeed. I'd love to see the battle be expanded ... just, more stuff.

The Special Edition added tons more X-Wings and Y-Wings to the assault force, but it just doesn't work that well because only a few are ever shown hitting the Trench.

It actually makes even more sense now, as you could argue that the majority of the Rebel fleet was destroyed attacking Scarif.

 

[Figboy79]

Every time I come back to this thread it's the fucking pun that's always being discussed.

Can't we talk about, like...

Hasn't everything been covered already?

I just want to see the Blu-Ray special features at this point.

I would LOVE it if they gave us all of the cut scenes or pre-reshoot scenes. The movie is what it is, and a good one, but I'd love to see bits of that older version. I got the feeling that there were quite a few scenes that would have fleshed out some character bits more, but were cut for time. Perhaps theaters and studios wouldn't worry so much about run time if they didn't show 80 minutes of fucking previews before the movie! I swear, when me and my wife watched it at the Regal Live, there were 15 minutes of previews. The movie was supposed to start at 6:40, but the actual movie didn't start until probably 6:55-7PM. It was insane. I love previews too, but I feel like there's a limit to how many they should show. I don't even remember all of the movies they showed.

Anyway, give me some deleted scenes, and maybe throw in an extended addition with the scenes that were cut for time (not cut because they weren't working).

 

[Flo_Evans]

Just got back from seeing it the first time, editing in first half was really rough.

Loved the dirty city, loved the space battle, loved Vader slaughtering rebels.

I'm not sure if it was the movie or the theater but the picture quality was crap. It seems like they didn't dim the house lights completely (security maybe) but it was very soft and low contrast. Rather disappointing because what you can see looks amazing, I think they really nailed the art direction.

Also sad nothing was done with the bad ass black suit.

The "gotta run the wire and flip the "master switch"" subplot for the ground rebels to have something to do to contribute was pretty silly. Of course you need to disable the planetary shields... you always need to. I felt like ackbar should of been "oh no shit disable the shields? Why didn't I think of that!" Also the corvette ramming into the star destroyer was somewhat questionable physics but I'm no imperial scientist.

 

[zoukka]

Just saw it, pretty forgettable cash grab all around.

Pros:

Nice effects in space battles
Some nice practical effects and suits
The droid was more likeable than any human character
Cool short vader showoff scene in the end

Cons:

HORRIBLE UTTERLY HORRIBLE CGI HUMANS WHY GOD WHY
Bad characters that suddenly grow to fill their boots like magic
Too many "we gotta press this buttons or we die" per second
Weird jumps in distances and time
Too much cheese even in SW standards
Stormtrooper accuracy gains new lows

Oh and did I mention the fucking CGI faces from the pits of uncanny valley.

 

[-griffy-]

- Darth Vader's costume was terrible. They got his helmet placed incorrectly, the bottom of it is supposed to go under the cape, not over it. Anytime he moved, his helmet came loose, and looked like Halloween costume. Can't believe they let that stay in the movie.

People keep saying this, but it's not true. It changes scene to scene in the OT.

ANH:

ESB:

ROTJ:

 

[CreepingFear]

People keep saying this, but it's not true. It changes scene to scene in the OT.

ANH:


ESB:


ROTJ:

Vader changes costumes like Padme. He learned from the best. We just don't know it because it's always black and similar helmet.

 

[EGM1966]

Overall decent enough but the chopping/changing in tone and style are s evident and given it's been confirmed the effects count went from 600 to 1,700 it's clear the more character driven gritty core that's still evident in a number f scenes was squeezed badly by the decision to ramp the spectacle way up.

Kinda cool to see Tarkin again but I felt they gave him too much screen time for what effects can manage for CGI character mixed with real life characters right now. A little leaner with the approach would have worked better I feel.

Leia CGI I just can't comment on with news of Fischer's death. It's just too weird to have seen film today, saw the recreation talk of hope then hear the news of her death on exiting the cinema to separate the two.

The final battle while very cool was too long I felt: it should have been tighter. It's right behind Jedi as best space battle for me.

Whittaker character was a waste of screen time sadly and should have been stripped out in favour of allowing the team more time to bond. They could have easily taken a different path to the pilot and the message without him.

But overall there was a lot to enjoy and it feels fairly reverential to the OT and ties in neatly enough to a New Hope.

Couple too many Easter eggs though.

And man the Dunkirk 7 minutes in IMAX was amazing. My teenage sons were more blow away by that that Rouge One overall (much as they did enjoy R1).

 

[Audette]

I really enjoyed the movie. Some weird design choices with the CGI people and the quick story. But it's above average and wears its heart on its sleeve. A great movie in my eyes, as a long time Star Wars fan.

 

[Technosteve]

My question is how much of garry's script made it to the film with out rewrites. I don't want to bash him but significant parts of the dialog really fell flat.

 

[-griffy-]

My question is how much of garry's script made it to the film with out rewrites. I don't want to bash him but significant parts of the dialog really fell flat.

Interesting that your first thought is to blame him.

 

[Zaraki_Kenpachi]

How good/bad is this for someone who's never seen star wars?

 

[zoukka]

Also why did the deathstar shoot way past the facility in the end? Just to deliver the dramatic final landscape for the protagonists?

How good/bad is this for someone who's never seen star wars?

Probably a lot worse. But if they enjoy your typical modern blockbuster then there's some explosions and action to take home with. The story is dull and the editing sucks.

 

[Tal Shiar Agent]

How good/bad is this for someone who's never seen star wars?

You need the context of the Original Trilogy to fully appreciate the film, but it is a fantastic Star Wars film. The story is amazing and it's got some of the best editing of any Star Wars film.

 

[EGM1966]

Also why did the deathstar shoot way past the facility in the end? Just to deliver the dramatic final landscape for the protagonists?

This bothered me a bit too. Seemed odd. No other complex was shown I can remember so technically the central spire and base that had been the site of the battle should have been the target.

My guess was indeed to set up the slower, longer ending for the final two from the team vs just eradicating them in one sudden blast.

After the earlier pinpoint shot on the city though it felt forced to me. I'd rather have had Jyn get shot by Orson as she sends the signal through and have Cassian not re-appear. She dies knowing she got the data out.

Orson would realize he's too late seeing the data has been sent then look up and see the flare of light then BOOM the whole battle sight erupts.

Simpler and tighter. The forced hint of romance before heading all the way down to a nice beach to get taken out in shock wave from the Death Star pulse seemed a little too much of a tone shift after the gritty battle and series of deaths preceding it.

 

[Tal Shiar Agent]

It fits with Tarkin's personality though. He wanted the Rebels, and especially Krennic, to see death coming, unstoppable inevitable.

 

[zoukka]

It fits with Tarkin's personality though. He wanted the Rebels, and especially Krennic, to see death coming, unstoppable inevitable.

Err they were trying to stop the rebels from transmitting an incredibly important message.

 

[Into the Light]

Those who say Tarkin took me right out, took you out of what? You are watching a movie, in a science fiction universe, took you out of what?

 

[Tal Shiar Agent]

Err they were trying to stop the rebels from transmitting an incredibly important message.

Again, if you understood Tarkin at all you'd know that this doesn't matter to him. He is supremely overconfident. He didn't believe that the Rebels getting the plans would matter and he also believed that the Imperial fleet, especially Vader, would he able to handle it easily.

 

[zoukka]

Those who say Tarkin took me right out, took you out of what? You are watching a movie, in a science fiction universe, took you out of what?

The movie. Bad/inconsistent effects take you out of the experience.

Again, if you understood Tarkin at all you'd know that this doesn't matter to him. He is supremely overconfident. He didn't believe that the Rebels getting the plans would matter and he also believed that the Imperial fleet, especially Vader, would he able to handle it easily.

He seemed to be in rush to get there when he found out what was going on in the planet.

Also if he didn't care for the rebels he just destroyed a planet full of imperial infrastructure and personnel, probably costing as much as the building of the death star.

 

[Surfinn]

Just saw it a third time.. It's growing on me. Can't get over how good it is especially for not being Williams.

 

[Into the Light]

The movie. Bad/inconsistent effects take you out of the experience.

It takes them out of the movie? By that logic, the opening scene of a flying space craft should "take them out of the movie" So weird to me.

 

[JeTmAn81]

It takes them out of the movie? By that logic, the opening scene of a flying space craft should "take them out of the movie" So weird to me.

Even the most fantastic of stories has rules. If you break them, you lose the audience. The uncanny valley is a well documented phenomenon.

 

[zoukka]

It takes them out of the movie? By that logic, the opening scene of a flying space craft should "take them out of the movie" So weird to me.

Go look up suspension of disbelief, the uncanny valley and inconsistency from google.

 

[reggieandTFE]

Err they were trying to stop the rebels from transmitting an incredibly important message.

The initial shot was at an angle so it destroyed the satellite fishing top of the tower and then went and hit far out in the ocean.

 

[Cheebo]

My question is how much of garry's script made it to the film with out rewrites. I don't want to bash him but significant parts of the dialog really fell flat.

Very little from what we know. His draft the heroes survived, and Baze and Chirrut weren't even in it. The fact he didn't even get a screen writing credit means it is quite possible none of his dialogue is on screen.

 

[RocknRola]

Fantastic movie. Saw it today. Great insight into the established universe, smart use of past plots, great assemble of characters (not everyone was likeable, which was a nice change for once), fantastic all-out battle scenes and a nice, simple tie-in to episode 4.

Alas, I heard about Carrie Fisher just before it started, so certain scenes went from being simply cute to bittersweet like crazy.

 

[Knightmarre]

The movie wins the award for best droid in the Star Wars Franchise.

 

[CosmicQueso]

Just saw it, pretty forgettable cash grab all around.

I just cut my eyeballs on the edge of that take.

 

[zoukka]

I just cut my eyeballs on the edge of that take.

Are you saying it wasn't a cash grab?

 

[Hasphat'sAnts]

Did I miss something? I just came out of the movie and I was expecting a good Star Wars movie. I thought the second act bookended by sand planet and Mads dying was really good.

But my god I can't believe how devoid of dramatic tension the third act was. Incredibly disappointed.

 

[zoukka]

But my god I can't believe how devoid of dramatic tension the third act was. Incredibly disappointed.

That's because nobody gave a shit about these characters and whether they would live or die. Even the H0-D00r

 

[3N16MA]

Did I miss something? I just came out of the movie and I was expecting a good Star Wars movie. I thought the second act bookended by sand planet and Mads dying was really good.

But my god I can't believe how devoid of dramatic tension the third act was. Incredibly disappointed.

Did it have anything to do with the knowledge that they would succeed and most likely be dead by the time it wraps up?

 

[zoukka]

Did it have anything to do with the knowledge that they would succeed and most likely be dead by the time it wraps up?

Not really. You can make viewers care for doomed characters.

 

[Unknown Soldier]

It's funny, TFA felt like I was watching a Jedi Knight video game, and now RO felt like a Rogue Squadron video game.

I thought it was more like Battlefront to be honest. Although it had some pretty Call of Duty objectives like "Press F to realign satellite dish" too.

 

[Bobby Roberts]

Are you saying it wasn't a cash grab?

This is one of the single emptiest criticisms of any film you could make.

You almost might as well not say anything.

There are ways to criticize disappointing film, and disappointing blockbusters, without putting forth such a hollow argument that pretty much ignores the basic realities of most filmmaking in general at its center.

Say something.

 

[zoukka]

This is one of the single emptiest criticisms of any film you could make.

You almost might as well not say anything.

There are ways to criticize disappointing film, and disappointing blockbusters, without putting forth such a hollow argument that pretty much ignores the basic realities of most filmmaking in general at its center.

Say something.

I did, the dude just quoted that one line.

 

[Bobby Roberts]

I did, the dude just quoted that one line.

Because that was your opener. And it's empty as hell. It's like a black hole from which legitimate criticism can't escape.

 

[3N16MA]

Not really. You can make viewers care for doomed characters.

I agree. Just wondering if prior knowledge had anything to do with it.

 

[Hasphat'sAnts]

Did it have anything to do with the knowledge that they would succeed and most likely be dead by the time it wraps up?

It didn't help for sure. But like, I think focusing on bringing down the shield/hitting the switch/finding the plan as the key plot points that drove act 3 forward was a mistake because they deal with the how of getting the plans out and that's the boring part. There wasn't enough character stuff behind it to make me care.

Like, I literally felt nothing that Jyn and Cassian dies at the end. That's not how I felt at the end of Braveheart, even though I knew he was going to die, you know?