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[Thornton Reed]

Having watched both films recently I'm happy to make the statement in the thread title.

I watched the Force Awakens at the cinema and my expectations were extremely high and I wasn't disappointed. I came away thinking JJ and his team pulled it off. Fast forward a year later and I watched it again with my wife at home and I was bored and I was find faults with it. The whole thing with the millennium falcon and Han Solos appearance rubbed me the wrong way. I disliked the entire section with Max Kanata. I felt Poe dameron was totally unutilised and Snorke felt like he didn't belong in the film. Not to mention the film is more or less exactly the same as the first Star Wars film. I think my initial hype of new Star Wars in the cinema had me so excited that the things that annoyed me were not apparent in my first viewing.

When i came round to watching Rogue One my expectations were rock bottom. I had heard things from friends that it was ok and my brother spolied the ending

Spoiler

everyone dies

. I personally loved the film. It complimented and extended the universe perfectly. The struggle of the rebellion was really brought to life. I liked the characters and I thought the acting was also really good. Biggest gripe was the cgi characters. Grand Moff Tarkin looks ridiculous. No one would of battered an eye lid if they just used good prothstetics. I found rogue one to be the more compelling film that told a more interesting story with better characters.

I haven't come across anyone else with this opinion so i wanted to start this discussion to see if I'm on my own or not.

Note. I like Star Wars but I'm not a massive fan so if rogue one dose something that breaks the universe and I've missed it apologies for that.

 

[Giolon]

I have similar feelings towards the films. Episode 7 bored me to sleep on my second watch, and even my first viewing felt like a fan film that didn't have many original ideas. Rogue One sucked me in pretty quickly, and I loved what it did to flesh out the dire situation the alliance was in and the troubles they had coming to consensus about what to do. The biggest complaint I have about a Rogue One is that the characters were paper thin.

 

[Nokterian]

Watched it yesterday for the first time and yes it was great and i do agree it is better than the force awakens. They did a phenomenal job with the aesthetic of the old movies.

 

[Lyonaz]

Personally I found Rogue One to be a bit too long and wasn't that enjoyable on my second watch. TFA however I can watch a bunch of times and have a fun time.

 

[border]

Tarkin was terrible -- just recast the damned role, don't resort to CG nonsense. Han Solo is about to be played by a totally different looking dude for the length of an entire film, so there's really no point in trying to keep continuity with established dead actors. And for the record, I would probably be fine with a Princess Leia recast in EP9.

Neither movie is perfect, but Force Awakens has more high points. They both have pretty huge lulls that I don't enjoy. The Milenium Falcon/cantina sequence in TFA sucks, as does most of the stuff surrounding Saw Gerra in Rogue One. The scene where Jen shows up just to watch her father die also seems kinda useless and devoid of tension.

I will cede that Rogue One has the better climactic space battle, though. Even if one Star Destroyer cutting through another one does kinda seem like bullshit.

 

[BuggyDClown]

Not sure how much of this I even want to respond to, so I just did a little.

Mostly, because this discussion has been had here many times and I'm not sure this really needed to be a new thread. There's nothing wrong with your opinion but the thread title is pretty objective and declarative, while your content is all subjective.

When i came round to watching Rogue One my expectations were rock bottom. I had heard things from friends that it was ok and my brother spolied the ending everyone dies. I personally loved the film. It complimented and extended the universe perfectly. The struggle of the rebellion was really brought to life. I liked the characters and I thought the acting was also really good. Biggest gripe was the cgi characters. Grand Moff Tarkin looks ridiculous. No one would of battered an eye lid if they just used good prothstetics. I found rogue one to be the more compelling film that told a more interesting story with better characters.

This is one of the most successful things that film actually accomplished in my opinion. There is so much wrong with the movie.

It's my least favorite Star Wars after Attack of The Clones.

I haven't come across anyone else with this opinion so i wanted to start this discussion to see if I'm on my own or not.

Did you do any searches or read any threads on here. There's many of you. There's so so many. All over the internet.

Note. I like Star Wars but I'm not a massive fan so if rogue one dose something that breaks the universe and I've missed it apologies for that.

No reason to walk on egg shells, luckily this stuff is all subjective, though I don't think this needed it's own thread. There's a few like it and plenty of Star Wars threads this could have fit into.

Personally I found Rogue One to be a bit too long and wasn't that enjoyable on my second watch. TFA however I can watch a bunch of times and have a fun time.

^^This is where I stand. I saw Rogue One once in theater, have not bothered again since. I saw TFA 7 times, and bought it the first day it was available. Still love it.

 

[Major Gripex]

As a person who's lukewarm on Star Wars in general, it's probably my favorite Star Wars movie.

 

[BocoDragon]

I'm not a big fan of either. But I think quite the opposite. TFA is by far the superior film.

TFA's main heroes have a lot of passionate heart. Rogue One's heroes are a bunch of morose zombies.

If I squint, Rogue One looks more like the "serious military drama" I kind of wished Star Wars was when I played the PC games or read the novels in the 90s.... but now that I'm older, I dont think that's a great barometer for what Star Wars should be. It needs heroes with idealistic emotion that embody the whimsical adventure of Star Wars... and for that I cannot fault TFA, because it nailed that aspect.

 

[Angelus Errare]

I really liked Jyn.

 

[Van Bur3n]

After I watched it for the first time, I left the theater immediately thinking it was better than Force Awakens. Then I watched some breakdown videos of the movie that criticized it heavily and I wasn't too sure. My opinion had now been affected by others. Still, its been a while since I watched both. I should re-watch them and see how I feel now.

I'll at least say, despite the criticism I've heard it get, I liked Rogue One and thought it was a solid Star Wars film.

 

[MGrant]

The characters are where RO fell flat for me. I am interested in what happens to most of the TFA cast, whereas the RO cast felt like there were too many wasted opportunities.

 

[lightskintwin]

That was my impression after watching Rogue One.

I need to rewatch The Force Awakens to be sure.

 

[bebop242]

I understand the feelings about TFA but I found it as a necessary evil to return the series back to zero in a way. Rogue One just seemed pointless to me. Didn't feel like it added much to the overall story and just fleshed out that story for no real reason. It has personally killed my interest in these anthology films. I don't care to see Han Solo's early years honestly. I want them to build off the current timeline, post TFA. If TLJ is a rehash of ESB then I think I'm out.

 

[OceanBlue]

I liked Rogue One as I watched it in theaters. As I was walking back to my car I tried to talk about what I liked about the characters and realized there was nothing, and by then I was already over it.

 

[Liamario]

I have to disagree. While TFA did do too rethreading old ground, it felt more like a Star Wars movies. The characters are better, the script was better.
Rogue was a movie in the Star Wars universe, but TFA was a Star Wars movie.

 

[Kite]

heh I was just thinking that the new SW battlefront trailer got me more excited than The Last jedi and I felt the same thing about Rogue One vs TFA.

 

[iavi]

The Force Awakens really doesn't hold up under repeat viewings.

I agree with the OP. I also found Rogue One much more compelling

 

[Magwik]

a more interesting story with better characters

Rogue One is a narrative mess. Jyn as a character just does whatever she is told to do having made no decisions herself, co-star dude is just there as a face of the Rebellion to say "hey we make questionable choices" only to never commit to it, the rest of the ensemble don't really amount to much either. The final act and villain are severely undermined by Vader fan-service, and a lot of the film outside of the third act amounts to people sitting around doing nothing or explaining things.

 

[JimiNutz]

Both films rely heavily on nostalgia (especially the last 30 mins of R1) but I agree that R1 is the far more entertaining and the superior movie.

My thoughts on TFA still bounce around a lot. When I first saw it I was a little disappointed, then I warmed to it, then I viewed it as a missed opportunity and now I view it simply as a solid opening act to a new trilogy.

R1 was very entertaining at the cinema and has actually improved on the two occasions that I've seen it at home since. In fact just thinking about it now makes me want to watch it again.

For me R1 is equal to ANH and just behind ESB as my top 3 favourite Star Wars films of all time.

 

[Extra Sauce]

I can't name a single character from Rogue One.

 

[MMarston]

I'm not a big fan of either. But I think quite the opposite. TFA is by far the superior film.

TFA's main heroes have a lot of passionate heart. Rogue One's heroes are a bunch of morose zombies.

If I squint, Rogue One looks more like the "serious military drama" I kind of wished Star Wars was when I played the PC games or read the novels in the 90s.... but now that I'm older, I dont think that's a great barometer for what Star Wars should be. It needs heroes with idealistic emotion that embody the whimsical adventure of Star Wars... and for that I cannot fault TFA, because it nailed that aspect.

I discussed this at some other threads already, but one thing I've noticed with most (but not all) people who prefer R1 over TFA is they seem to be focusing more on the actual SW content - especiallly if they are franchise fans who look for more lore expansion - rather than the actual composition it as a film and if it works cohesively through the medium.

EDIT: R1 was a C+ at best for me.

 

[MadeULook]

I must be the only one on GAF who thought Rouge One was a complete bore the entire way through. I found the characters to be completely uninteresting and underwritten, Jyn herself just seemed to wander around the entire first half of the movie not accomplishing much. In fact, not much really important happened till about halfway through if memory serves.

The ending battle is great, if it wasn't interrupted every two minutes to plug something in or whatever. I also found the ending to be rather rushed and a cheap last second attempt to give the movie an emotional climax.

I have some similar complaints with TFA, but that is at least saved by some great humorous moments, charismatic actors who have great onscreen chemistry, and just being a decently made film in general. It makes a fun, if unoriginal and underwritten film.

 

[Fj0823]

Agreed.

 

[aerts1js]

I agree, it's a far more interesting movie.

 

[KevinRo]

TFA sucked ass. Rogue One is average but still better than TFA.

 

[Stahsky]

Rogue One had an interesting plot, but it was riddled with the most mundane fucking characters

It was so boring

 

[matrix-cat]

I think The Force Awakens is an absolutely fantastic movie. I adore the action, the humour, the breathless pace of it all. I love the characters and the writing. It puts a smile on my face every time I watch it. I really couldn't give a shit about what it is or isn't a remake of, whether or not it's a good Star Wars movie, all this endless bickering.

Rogue One was fine. I found it perfectly watchable, it certainly had its moments, but I don't feel any desire to see it again.

 

[MHWilliams]

I can't name a single character from Rogue One.

Jyn Erso, Donnie Yen, Mads, Diego Luna, Darth Vader, Uncanny Valley Tarkin, Mon Mothma.

That's most of the cast.

 

[The Kree]

I agree with you. I enjoyed the added complexity of showing dissenting factions within the rebellion. It felt a little more grown up.

It's a shame that it was a one-off. I would have liked to have followed more adventures with that group.

 

[Night Angel]

I enjoyed TFA enough to watch it 2 times in theaters. The movie was fun and had characters that I cared about.

Three exact opposite is true of RO. I immediately wished I had saved my money and didn't give a shit when the end happened.

 

[MMarston]

Jyn Erso, Donnie Yen, Mads, Diego Luna, Darth Vader, Uncanny Valley Tarkin, Mon Mothma.

That's most of the cast.

Jiang Wen with a machine gun who spoiled the movie 6 months beforehand.

 

[Chumley]

Absolutely horrid script with cookie cutter characters.

Kylo Ren and Finn are a hundred times more interesting than anyone in that movie.

 

[Einchy]

I can't name a single character from Rogue One.

I can't name a single character from 99% of the movies I've watched.

 

[Dougald]

As someone who is a casual Star Wars fan at best, I can't really agree. I thought Rogue One was a bland action film with underdeveloped characters and a fairly procedural plot. The only thing which saved it was the fact is looked good and had 'x thing I remember from Star Wars' every few minutes

 

[MGrant]

Jyn Erso, Donnie Yen, Mads, Diego Luna, Darth Vader, Uncanny Valley Tarkin, Mon Mothma.

That's most of the cast.

You forgot dude with goggles and shitty HK-47.

 

[trinest]

Well dah? Its the best Star Wars.

 

[bebop242]

Jiang Wen with a machine gun who spoiled the movie 6 months beforehand.

That lead to some of my disappointment actually.

Spoiler

everyone one dies and knowing Darth Vader is in it, was thinking I'd see Vader wreaking some main characters...nope

 

[sdijoseph]

Honestly had the exact polar opposite of the OP's opinion. Loved Force Awakens, thought Rogue One was just "ok". The CGI on the characters was one of the few things that didn't bother me about Rogue One; it was more the extremely dull characters, annoying bits of fan service, and out of character moments (

Spoiler

Leia saying "Hope" in that tone while she is under attack

) that soured me on the film.

 

[Principate]

Absolutely horrid script with cookie cutter characters.

Kylo Ren and Finn are a hundred times more interesting than anyone in that movie.

How is Finn as a character not cookie cutter? I mean his character id incredibly well after but his arc is one id the most generic out there.

 

[Pizza]

Rogue One is one of my favorite Star Wars for sure. It has a different tone than most the other movies, and that's actually great. That's what I want most out of the anthology films instead of kid solo and jango jr

TFA felt like a solid followup to 6. The core cast was witty and having the time of their lives.

1-3 were a political drama, 4-6 are a fun space romp with stakes, and 7 is a retread because there was another trilogy's worth of political drama we skipped over. Star Wars has "rhymed" for all six movies for better or worse so TFA was fine

I like that Rogue One tells a one-off sad story. You sort of get to know the characters, about as much as you really get to know the cast of 4, but they die before they all become quippy bffs who get a whole trilogy

What about all the bothans that died in 6? Catman espionage is a way more interesting idea than "let's make solo meeting chewbacca, getting the falcon, and completing the kessel run in 12 parsecs within a week the movie"

I totally get the hate for Rogue One, but I disagree. I think the Star Wars universe is big enough to tell all sorts of stories with different tones, especially if the numbered films are going to be lighthearted and fun for the most part. And doubly so if half the anthology films are Han Solo-getting-recasted tier

 

[BobLoblaw]

TFA was the second worst Star Wars movie, so it's no surprise.

 

[Magwik]

How is Finn as a character not cookie cutter? I mean his character id incredibly well after but his arc is one id the most generic out there.

Just because something is familiar doesn't make it bad. Also it's still a lot more than no character arc.

 

[Einchy]

Jiang Wen with a machine gun who spoiled the movie 6 months beforehand.

Oh, I forgot about this.

So, like, how much did he spoil it?

Spoiler

Did he say EVERYONE died or just his character? I zoned out when he said it so I didn't hear it, but from the reaction in the thread, it was clear he talked about someone dying. I assumed it was his own character.

 

[Korigama]

I found it quite boring compared to The Force Awakens, which was the only Star Wars I liked after the original trilogy (disappointing, as I had been looking forward to seeing it).

 

[nubbe]

Rogue One is trash

I didn't care about anyone or what happened in the movie
The Droid is the only character that has some personality

 

[wetwired]

Disagree.

BB8 had more character than anyone in Rogue One, and K-2SO had more character than anyone else in R1, which is pretty telling.

 

[Ikuu]

They're both bad movies.

 

[MMarston]

How is Finn as a character not cookie cutter? I mean his character id incredibly well after but his arc is one id the most generic out there.

I don't think "one is cookie cutter, one isn't" is the right analogy.


More like Finn had more decorative frosting and flavor whereas all the main people in R1 weren't baked well enough in the oven before they came out.

Oh, I forgot about this.

So, like, how much did he spoil it?

Spoiler

Did he say EVERYONE died or just his character? I zoned out when he said it so I didn't hear it, but from the reaction in the thread, it was clear he talked about someone dying. I assumed it was his own character.

Spoiler

He says everyone dies. Well more like "they all sacrifice their lives" but same gist.

 

[Chumley]

How is Finn as a character not cookie cutter? I mean his character id incredibly well after but his arc is one id the most generic out there.

I mean, a stormtrooper abandoning his station after being traumatized by war is pretty interesting to me and more unique on its face than the tired cliches in Rogue One.

 

[efyu_lemonardo]

I thought this was a matter of consensus.
Rogue One stands up to second viewings much better than TFO in my opinion.

K2SO is a great character, and the relationships between the rest of the team - Cassian, Erso, Gerrera, the blind and brute guardians who's names I forget on one side, and Erso Sr., Krennec and Tarkin on the other are interesting - especially on second viewings.