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[Sanctuary]

Darth Vader is awesome in every way. But I was super thrown off by his voice and costume. I then remembered that that is how he looked like in IV. I think.

Nope. I immediately realized right away that there was something "off" about his outfit, and that's comparing it to the original. I'm not talking about the symmetry issues with the mask either. Also, his voice was definitely way off. I guess the voice of James Earl Jones just aged so much that it can't be helped or something, but it was actually rather jarring how different it was to me. Regardless, his scenes were indeed awesome.

 

[golem]

Though it was much better than TFA. Felt less like a lazy cash grab.

All of the pointless fan service in R1 felt like lazy cash grab to me. And there was a hell of a lot of it

 

[MMarston]

Also, his voice was definitely way off. I guess the voice of James Earl Jones just aged so much that it can't be helped or something, but it was actually rather jarring how different it was to me.

I haven't seen the film, but was wondering about this myself. When I heard JEJ do it in Rebels, I thought it was just a sound mixing thing, but yeah, it's obviously due to age at this point.

For comparison,
ESB - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aV2DLkDPwM8
Rebels - https://youtu.be/AiHXZl3pqj8?t=31s

 

[TheFatMan]

Just got back and I loved it. It has it's flaws and doesn't always capture the epic feel that the Force Awakens did, but it was still a fantastic movie all around and I thought it stood apart considering it had characters that none of us had ever heard of as it's entire cast.

It is much darker and dramatic than I am used to for a Star Wars movie. It reminded me of Empire in that regard.

Get out there and see it before this cold front rolls in, do yourself a favor.

 

[Cappa]

Hated it on dialogues. One of the characters is always so out of focus to "enhance" 3d that you only get to see a blur. So distracting.

Saw it in 3D but it added nothing. TFA had several sequences that impressed me in 3D, not a single moment stuck out in R1 that used the tech to good effect.

thanks guys, 3D is the same price here so I opted for that anyway.... the extra cost would come if you needed the glasses but we already have them from the last 3D movie we saw.

 

[JP_]

This one I don't really get. Fair enough if you mean that that's somehow the feeling that TFA left you with ultimately, but ... Surely you don't really think that anyone involved was just phoning it in?

At some point high up the chain the money decision to 'make more Star Wars' probably didn't cause too much stress. But at every point beyond that the creative endeavour must have been monstrous.

I would have liked TFA more if they tried to be creative. Just felt like fanservice. Casting/acting was top notch though.

 

[Sanctuary]

I would have liked TFA more if they tried to be creative. Just felt like fanservice. Casting/acting was top notch though.

This was my biggest issue with the film, and J.J. Abrams even admitted that it intentionally "borrowed" as much as it did to kind of reintroduce Star Wars to those that "might have forgotten" (seriously, what the fuck is that shit?). Regardless, despite the nostalgia check marks and tropes, I really enjoyed Daisy Ridley's performance in the film, and I already liked John Boyega. Even though she was just Luke in Mary Sue form, I still cared about her. I didn't care about anyone in Rogue One. So when a character died, there was no real impact. I should have felt something, not simply shrugged.

http://www.slashfilm.com/the-force-awakens-and-a-new-hope-similarities/

 

[ironmang]

This one I don't really get. Fair enough if you mean that that's somehow the feeling that TFA left you with ultimately, but ... Surely you don't really think that anyone involved was just phoning it in?

At some point high up the chain the money decision to 'make more Star Wars' probably didn't cause too much stress. But at every point beyond that the creative endeavour must have been monstrous.

I don't know the process of how mega movies like that are written and what rules or instructions they're given but it just felt like they wanted to waste a movie on the easy money instead of writing something fresh and taking any kind of a risk. Understandable for a business to do that but so is my criticism from a fan who expected something new for the first non-prequel released in my lifetime. Even the new characters I wasn't always hot on except for Finn and BB-8. Poe wisecracking immediately after his village is destroyed and being too good of a pilot. Rey being too perfect and how jedi tricks just came easily as if they were just marking off a checklist. Ren for being whiny and too easily beaten.

 

[deleted]

I'm listening to the score atm and I don't really get how there is no song that follows up on the awesome Rogue One Theme that's in there - it's always cut off or intercut with an old Star Wars theme.

I just don't get it, it sounds amazing but there are just seconds here and there...

 

[B-B-Bomba!]

What exactly makes a story important to tell? What gives a narrative importance?

And even if it's because we already know what happens next, LucasArts/Films thought it important enough to tell that there was a game covering the story previously.

Well firstly games are games, they operate in their own sphere and often work better -actually let's say they can probably access more of their own potential - when exploring tangents and backstories of films, rather than limiting themselves to the core content that came up on the big screen. We all know that storytelling works differently in games than films, and that where games try to ape cinematic storytelling, the production values of writing, acting, directing, editing etc always always always fall short, but always. You can rate these factors highly in one game or another, but it's always qualified by putting it in context: "this is good, for a game;" whereas if you put any videogame cinematic next to even a poor film, the comparison is embarrassing 100% of the time. Rant over on that score, and please read it as an invitation to be proved wrong!

Your first question you might have meant rhetorically, but it is absolutely to the point. I don't have my answer particularly clear, but the basic fact is that in my evidently relatively uncommon case, there was something I was looking for that I didn't find.

The last thing I want is to be the one pissing in the corner, I'm glad most seem happy with it and that Star Wars is alive again. I'll repeat that I can find a lot to like about R1, most of which should probably go in spoiler tags or the spoiler thread. I can absolutely see where the praise and excitement comes from, and I loved being taken to further corners of the Star Wars universe, and the care and love that had gone into realising those locations and the characters inhabiting them. And I enjoyed the stuff I was supposed to enjoy - returning characters, nods winks and giggles, and spending some time in SPACE once more.

There is just one last layer for me that was unmoved, a chord left unplayed. It's absence classifieds this work as 'side story', and I think the issue here is that I'm just not a side story guy. Gimme the story, the real story, the one that has meaning and weight. This film does a fine job of developing a few themes; but those themes themselves are only played upon as a means to give the film any reason to exist at all. Telling those stories was never the point of the film, the cart was before the horse so to speak, and to me at least, it shows and it matters. Comradeship? Hope against the odds? I don't find anything here that leaves me feeling the film has anything to say.

Of course my duty here is to reflect on the OT, and TFA, which I loved both, and see where they operate on a level that R1 does not. And I don't know, I can't really, but struggling to define something is not the same as it not being the case. It might be something about having time with the characters, the feeling that they came from somewhere and are going somewhere. It might be the force. It might be the sense of knockabout fun that these characters seem under too much pressure to do more than just wisecrack. It might be some sense of wider destiny. But actually now I reflect, I think it may be the OT's roots in a smorgasbord of traditional mythologies, the fact that it's retelling archetypal tales that get right into our bones.

I should repeat, although all the above sounds very definitive, I'm only talking about a first impression, and I'm perfectly open to changing my mind over time. I recognise in myself a huge potential for missing things or getting them wrong. I'll see the film again on Tuesday, and I'll see it many more times over the years, so we'll see. Enjoy!

 

[Xisiqomelir]

Spoiler

Strong OP

This movie is wonderful, better than TFA, and all the "critics" who are whinging about it are either delusional

"The director of “Rogue One,” Gareth Edwards, has stepped into a mythopoetic stew so half-baked and overcooked, a morass of pre-instantly overanalyzed implications of such shuddering impact to the series’ fundamentalists, that he lumbers through, seemingly stunned or constrained or cautious to the vanishing point of passivity, and lets neither the characters nor the formidable cast of actors nor even the special effects, of which he has previously proved himself to be a master, come anywhere close to life."
Nice sentence control Bro....dy?

wrong

"With the help of four screenwriters, Edwards turns “Star Wars” into a war movie, and that is a fundamental error. War movies are about toil, half victories, moral compromise and self-doubt. “Star Wars” is all about good versus evil"

Needs to watch TESB again.

or hopeless

"Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is the first spin-off flick allowed to separate from the main timeline of films that command Roman numerals. Presumably, it could transport audiences anywhere, dazzle us with planets and aliens we'd never need to see again, besides at the nearest toy store. Instead, the film rewinds back to the beginning — the literal beginning — to bore us with the backstory behind the first three sentences of Star Wars's opening crawl. It's for everyone who ever wondered, "Wait, what was the Rebels' first victory against the evil Galactic Empire, and how did Princess Leia get the plans to the Death Star?" Congratulations, curious folks: Director Gareth Edwards has scratched that itch and put everyone else to sleep with a heist thriller for which we've known the ending since 1977."

legit dunno how this character got to be a top reviewer for RT.

8.5/10 down from 9 because out of everything else they managed to shoehorn in we couldn't have had a whole Bothan squadron? Other than that great job Gary!

 

[Xisiqomelir]

Spoiler

I was kidding about the Bothans btw

 

[A Serious Man]

Spoiler

I was kidding about the Bothans btw

Too late, I'm already triggered.

 

[ClivePwned]

still 7 or so hours till my screening.
I only hope

Spoiler

that once the data is analysed they they can discover a weakness.

 

[SapphiCine]

On one hand, it's good to hear that Lucasfilm may have found a way to compensate for Edwards' weakness in depicting humans and their drama. On the other, I find it very hard to believe until I see it myself.

 

[Rogan]

I'm going to watch this in a few hours! I really loved Episode 7 so I'm hyped!

 

[SuperEpicMan]

I would have liked TFA more if they tried to be creative. Just felt like fanservice. Casting/acting was top notch though.

I think this is a reasonable criticism, but I think it was pretty deliberate. I kinda view The Force Awakens as a series palette cleanser, where they seem to have tried to identify what makes a Star Wars movie, a Star Wars movie, and then set out to make a sequel that refocuses on those elements. From there they can then grow the series and take subsequent movies in different directions, whilst maintaining what are considered the core elements.

 

[derder]

I can see that it had problems in editing. I'm imagining that much more effort was originally placed on building up the character's backstories ala 7 samurai. That got chopped up into the mess we see at the beginning and turned into the first 1/4 of the movie instead of the first 1/2.

Honestly that just felt emotionally flat to me. I was tired of

Spoiler

seeing everyone die in people's arms and the whole push this button, reach that object section that Dragged.

The movie touched on a lot of great concepts

Spoiler

like the idea of the death Star scientists, rebels who just obey orders like stormtroopers, rebel extremists, different regions of the universe, Asian actors,

 

[Bad_Boy]

After letting it marinate for about 6 hours or so. I gotta say I dont think it did anything for me. I didnt hate it, but I didnt like it. It was just like... I'm not even sure why this needed to be made.

Its gonna print money though regardless.

 

[firelogic]

The only things I liked about Rogue One were the direct ties to ANH. Things like,

Spoiler

Vader, Tarkin, Leia's reveal, retro look of the ships, and how it leads directly into the beginning of ANH.

Outside of those elements, it was largely forgetable. The movie didn't do a good job of making me like Jyn and root for her success and the same goes for Cassian. If I don't really care about the two leads, the movie hasn't done its job. For example,

Spoiler

their death scene should have hit me hard but it didn't elicit any emotional response from me. After watching them for 2hrs and seeing how much they sacrificed to get those plans, and then peacefully accepting death and waiting for it should have rocked me, but it didn't. I was thinking, "ok they're dead now, I wonder what the closing shot will be?"

Yes it did have a multicultural cast and it didn't feel like they were just token ethnicities thrown in there just because. And yes it showed that the rebels weren't beacons of virtue, and it showed the war in a more realstic fashion than any other SW movie. But I didn't care about any of them. Well, except K2. I loved that character.

So overall, I'm giving it a 6/10. Above average, but not memorable. Highlights were the ties to ANH and of the new aspects, K2 stood out head and shoulders above anything else.

The screening I went to was 3D *I try to avoid 3D if given a choice* and it was terrible. Absolutely no reason for it to be 3D other than higher ticket prices. It didn't even have a cool effect on the ROGUE ONE title screen AND it didn't have any ships flying into my face. Not that it would have made it worth it, but still.

 

[Stiflers Mom]

watched it yesterday:

• amazing movie, but
• the heroes didn't get enough introduction. Wish I could have cared more for them.
• I hated everything about Vader
• Spoiler

  why is he living in Barad-Dur?
• Spoiler

  wish they toned down his "mad Force skillz" a bit. He never felt to me like Vader in the OT behaved.
• loved the robot
• best CGI in a Star Wars movie yet
• Love this and TFA for different reasons. This is the more important and better made movie. TFA pulled more heart strings and nostalgia for me.

 

[DopeToast]

Definitely not as exciting or meaningful as TFA. I'm still a little irked by the fact that there is going to be a new Star Wars movie every year until at least like 2020. There's no way that won't get a little old, even if the movies are good.

And this movie is definitely good. Some issues though. I don't remember any of the characters being especially meaningful. The leading lady was good, but I can't think of anything that made her stand out from Luke or Rey, which were both better characters. The ending felt a bit rushed in the way they tied everything up real quick.

Still really good action and by no means is it a bad movie or anywhere near on the level of the prequels, just not as good as TFA, or any of the originals I guess.

Go see it! That's my recommendation.

 

[BumRush]

Deadline estimating $30M Thursday and $140M weekend. Sorry if it's been said already.

 

[Ohwiseone]

Listened to some of the score today on my way into work.

Holy crap is it good.

Jyn's theme is really really good, There is also one cue at the end that make me smile ear to ear. ( i am looking at you "Hope")

Can't wait to see it tonight.

 

[ClivePwned]

Listened to some of the score today on my way into work.

Holy crap is it good.

Jyn's theme is really really good, There is also one cue at the end that make me smile ear to ear. ( i am looking at you "Hope")

Can't wait to see it tonight.

same. I found that when I was listening to it on my iphone, it kept playing when I played Super Mario Run at lunch time.

Giacchino might be Non Williams, but he's one of the few composers I'm happy to see get a crack at Star Wars.

 

[duckroll]

Fuck that was good. The soundtrack omfg.

 

[professor_t]

I own A New Hope at my house. If I want to watch A New Hope, I will watch A New Hope.

Right. But there's a difference between recognizing obvious similarities between the movies and describing The Force Awakens as one of the most embarrassing things you've ever experienced. The hyperbole is absolutely ridiculous.

 

[Surfinn]

Fuck that was good. The soundtrack omfg.

Amazing how opinions work. People are currently shitting on it in the other thread. I thought it was good aside from a few moments. Some classic pieces sprinkled throughout the film.

 

[Angel_DvA]

Fuck that was good. The soundtrack omfg.

I agree with you, they're better than TFA one beside Rey theme.

 

[Spine_Ripper]

Finished my last final exam and and scheduled to see it in an hour and 20 minutes!... Unfortunately it's raining hard as FUCK, it's 3D, have tickets reserved for next week with my family and kinda feel like an ass for watching it first lol

Probably still gonna go cause these impressions got me hyped.

 

[RPGamer92]

So can we all agree that Rey's parents are midichlorians and

Spoiler

the radiation that came as a result of the Death Star explosion?

 

[Cmerrill]

Probably the best movie i've seen this year and by far the best Star Wars since "Empire".

Definitely going to go see it in Imax.

 

[Lifejumper]

So can we all agree that Rey's parents are midichlorians and

Spoiler

the radiation that came as a result of the Death Star explosion?

Shes gonna be a orphan and they wont make a big deal about her parents like the Ben Solo reveal.

I think shes gonna help redeem Kylo and then die at the end.

/fanfiction

 

[Angel_DvA]

Shes gonna be a orphan and they wont make a big deal about her parents like the Ben Solo reveal.

I think shes gonna help redeem Kylo and then die at the end.

/fanfiction

Mary Sue can't die, that's why she's a Mary Sue.

 

[Bear Force One]

Unfuckingbelievably.good. Music on point and didn't just feel like a ripoff. Shows the darkness of war from a SW POV.

 

[TheXbox]

I spent a good chunk of my five hour car ride home listening to the entire OST.

It's not half bad, especially considering that it was so last-minute for Giacchino. I'd say it's one of his better efforts. His imperial motif (that's three imperial themes, if anyone's counting) is strong, and I love the little nods to ANH. It's much more percussive than a Williams score, a little more contemporary. I'd rank it well below the seven saga films, but it's still good enough that I'm sure Michael has secured himself as the heir apparent for Episode IX.

Whoever compared Jyn's theme to Yorktown in Star Trek Beyond hit the nail on the head, though. The similarity is striking.

 

[Mr Cola]

I think people need to give the OST time, people were openly shitting on Williams for TFA directly after the film, not all but a very vocal crowd, myself included, and that grows on you tremendously.

I wont make that mistake this time.

 

[kurahador]

Love it. I think your response towards this movie will depends on how you feel about Star Wars stories in other medium. As someone who love KOTOR universe more than the original trilogy, I feel like this fresh new take in movie form is awesome to see.

And unlike TFA, the finale and ending of the movie make everything that comes before it retroactively better.

 

[brandonh83]

I'll reiterate that I don't think the soundtrack is bad, but I thought just personally speaking that the film as a whole was just very poorly structured and I thought the soundtrack was haphazardly sprinkled in. Like characters don't really get time to flourish, and other aspects were lacking in thematics. Watching the film, if I were a grand composer like Giacchino is, I'd probably feel like "what the hell am I supposed to do with this"

Instead you end up with something that is good from moment to moment, but nothing that sticks, at least for me. I recognized some really great musical moments especially toward the end, but it wasn't as immediately thematic as I'd hoped. I'm getting it today, so I think it will grow on me, but my first impression was that it just felt as passing as the movie did itself.

Huge Giacchino fan though, and I would still love to hear what he'd do with a better film made under better circumstances.

 

[friskykillface]

Shes gonna be a orphan and they wont make a big deal about her parents like the Ben Solo reveal.

I think shes gonna help redeem Kylo and then die at the end.

/fanfiction

- Luke X Rey X Kylo X Snook X Leia die at the end of 9
No more Jedis or Sith Lords
The galaxy is at peace

Until the bounty hunters take over
Episode 10 - the rise of Boba

Spoiler

he escapes

 

[Cuburt]

Movie was awesome. Really was everything I'd hoped from a post-Lucas Star Wars, more than TFA ever was. This got the balance of new and old right that I felt TFA really fumbled. I also think TFA won't age well as the nostalgia lenses dim a little for people.

The biggest flaw for me was the soundtrack. Wow it was like a terrible souless John Williams rip off. From the awful theme at the title on, it mostly only works when it brings in the old themes or fades into the background. Anytime there is something triumphant or sinister happening, it just hurts the scene with this weak score. Besides some little fourishes and background music that can at times enhance the action on screen, anytime it's used to be a voice or proclaim a theme, it reminds me how poor it stacks up to Williams. Barf. Never had the same gripe with TFA's score

 

[HK-47]

- Luke X Rey X Kylo X Snook X Leia die at the end of 9
No more Jedis or Sith Lords
The galaxy is at peace

Until the bounty hunters take over
Episode 10 - the rise of Boba

Spoiler

he escapes

Worst timeline because Boba.

 

[Pilgrimzero]

Now that was a Star Wars movie. Felt nice and old school.

Though the obvious CGI for certain aged/dead actors was obvious.

 

[DAVIDHUXLEY]

Spoiler

Why didn't just put the damn plans on the god damn USB stick thingy anyhow?

 

[Flying0Dutchman]

movie sounds like its gonna be great, can't wait to see it!

but....

I was glancing at the reviews on RT, one review nailed my fears for star wars movies going forward (or backwards..)

http://www.mtv.com/news/2964153/a-star-wars-story-youve-seen-before/

We’ve all lost the point of the franchise. Audiences once packed theaters to gawk at the future; now, it’s to soak in the past. The emphasis is on packing in as much nostalgia as possible

and the review goes on to say (spoilery)

Spoiler

The audience whooped. Who wouldn't be thrilled to see our old frenemy back in action? Meanwhile, the CGI-recreated Grand Moff Tarkin (original actor Peter Cushing died in 1994) looks adorable with his new rosy dusting of blush. Yet, as Darth Vader’s death march continues and the good guys' corpses pile up, I felt as though the entire franchise had shut off its gravity. In 40 years, we've come full circle to the beginning, but everything is upside-down. Now we're cheering for the fascists? What planet are we on?

what do you guys think? are we on a looping circle of callbacks, or do you think well eventually see star wars movies tell new stories again, and finally break free of having to replicate the OT?

 

[sphagnum]

movie sounds like its gonna be great, can't wait to see it!

but....

I was glancing at the reviews on RT, one review nailed my fears for star wars movies going forward (or backwards..)

http://www.mtv.com/news/2964153/a-star-wars-story-youve-seen-before/

Spoiler

The audience whooped. Who wouldn't be thrilled to see our old frenemy back in action? Meanwhile, the CGI-recreated Grand Moff Tarkin (original actor Peter Cushing died in 1994) looks adorable with his new rosy dusting of blush. Yet, as Darth Vader’s death march continues and the good guys' corpses pile up, I felt as though the entire franchise had shut off its gravity. In 40 years, we've come full circle to the beginning, but everything is upside-down. Now we're cheering for the fascists? What planet are we on?

what do you guys think? are we on a looping circle of callbacks, or do you think well eventually see star wars movies tell new stories again, and finally break free of having to replicate the OT?

We'll see in one year.

 

[Bobby Roberts]

what do you guys think? are we on a looping circle of callbacks, or do you think well eventually see star wars movies tell new stories again, and finally break free of having to replicate the OT?

I think this is why you have Rian Johnson doing Episode 8.

This film does feel like they've used the last of the classic's leftovers. There's almost nothing left to mine. They made the most of unused concept art and discarded storylines up to this point, and employed those ideas very well, if TFA and Rogue One are any indication.

But they've pretty much spent the back catalog at this point. We'll see what the Han & Lando movie does, but I'm betting both Episode 8 and that movie are going to be looking towards doing their own thing in a way decidedly different from how Edwards and Abrams did it.

 

[Slixshot]

movie sounds like its gonna be great, can't wait to see it!

but....

I was glancing at the reviews on RT, one review nailed my fears for star wars movies going forward (or backwards..)

http://www.mtv.com/news/2964153/a-star-wars-story-youve-seen-before/



and the review goes on to say (spoilery)

Spoiler

The audience whooped. Who wouldn't be thrilled to see our old frenemy back in action? Meanwhile, the CGI-recreated Grand Moff Tarkin (original actor Peter Cushing died in 1994) looks adorable with his new rosy dusting of blush. Yet, as Darth Vader’s death march continues and the good guys' corpses pile up, I felt as though the entire franchise had shut off its gravity. In 40 years, we've come full circle to the beginning, but everything is upside-down. Now we're cheering for the fascists? What planet are we on?

what do you guys think? are we on a looping circle of callbacks, or do you think well eventually see star wars movies tell new stories again, and finally break free of having to replicate the OT?

I mean, this movie has its references but the entirety of it is supposed to lead into iv. What's going to be the judgement call is how episode 8 and 9 harp on the past.

 

[Sub_Level]

I feel like it could've been more lean. Cut a 10 minute chunk out. And one

Spoiler

holding character dying in arms

scene too many.

But no major complaints. It's a competent, well done, entertaining flick.

 

[Phreakuency]

I think the fact that the robot is the unanimous standout 'character' says a lot about the rest of them...

Forest Whitaker and Donnie Yen's character's were not only not needed, but almost comical.

Spoiler

Especially Forest's mind reading squid and his death scene...

And I can't say it enough how bad a decision it was to use CG human faces. Ugh, so bad.