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[Hyun Sai]

Ok, just saw it. I really don't mind the nonsense we find in every blockbuster (even the old ones are full of it).

But holy crap. The dialogue was BAD. Cringey. From start to finish. Who the hell wrote this ?

Acting was equally bad, no way around it (wait, Alan Tudyk was ok). Though I did enjoy watching poor Mendelsohnn struggle in his Empire life, I almost felt sorry for him.

At least, we had some nice space battle and X-Wings action in the end, 2 nice CGI explosions in the sand / beach, and Slasher Vador wrecking shit so that at least was fine, I guess.


Verdict : Mediocre. First part is an embarrassing chore, but some good based action toward the end. That alone makes it a better flick than Episode VII.

 

[LionPride]

Ok, just saw it. I really don't mind the nonsense we find in every blockbuster (even the old ones are full of it).

But holy crap. The dialogue was BAD. Cringey. From start to finish. Who the hell wrote this ?

Acting was equally bad, no way around it (wait, Alan Tudyk was ok). Though I did enjoy watching poor Mendelsohnn struggle in his Empire life, I almost felt sorry for him.

At least, we had some nice space battle and X-Wings action in the end, 2 nice CGI explosions in the sand / beach, and Slasher Vador wrecking shit so that at least was fine, I guess.


Verdict : Mediocre. First part is an embarrassing chore, but some good based action toward the end. That alone makes it a better flick than Episode VII.

Star Wars ain't exactly known for good dialogue. The movie with the best dialogue still has stupid lines.

 

[xam3l]

So, I remember leaving the theater and saying "You know what I thought was cool? That when Vader finally went on his rampage, Giacchino didn't just do this big nasty version of the Imperial March, but instead played something way more like a horror movie."

Turns out, he did both.

https://twitter.com/bobbyrobertspdx/status/820822717284773888

This is amazing

 

[Snowman Prophet of Doom]

This movie sucked. The Lucas prequels were at least goofy and ambitious, whereas this is a maudlin bore with bad acting by both of the leads (and some of the supporting cast, ESPECIALLY by Whitaker), bad writing that doesn't flesh out any of the characters to any real degree, the bizarre tonal choice of making the prequel to the most Flash Gordon-y of the original movies a "dark, gritty" war movie, and just a lot of triteness throughout.

I'll give it that it has great effects, and a very entertaining space battle at the end, but man, talk about a series of bizarre and bad choices.

 

[JB1981]

Movie was pretty decent but not amazing.

Some proper eye rolling scenes though, for instance:

When

Spoiler

Jinn's father dies (can't remember his name) and the ship's thrusters don't move his incapacitated body at all despite sending her flying (despite being mere inches away at the time) so she could conveniently say her goodbyes,

lame.

A few other daft moments I can't remember but yeah, not bad but I wasn't blown away. So to speak.

Wow like that little oversight actually bothered you that much?

 

[NinjaBoiX]

Wow like that little oversight actually bothered you that much?

It's not like I'm losing sleep over it but it's certainly one of those things that made me go "hang on, what?" Especially as I actually liked the idea of them blowing her flying with the thrusters as they leave in the first place.

Logical inconsistencies break the immersion, it's obviously going to be something that sticks in the memory. It's not like I noticed someone's hair clip move two inches, it's a pretty glaring error. To be honest it's one of those things you'd assume would be picked up in story boarding long before they actually shot the scene.

I was kind of hoping that by mentioning it someone would come up with an explanation, as I'm genuinely surprised something so blatant got through.

 

[mcz117chief]

a very entertaining space battle at the end

I saw the movie twice and I don't remember any space battle. The rebels came, some made it through the shield some didn't, then they rammed that star destroyer into the other and that's it (there is also that few seconds scene that explains why Luke became Red 5). All these scenes were super short so all in all we got about two or three minutes of "space battles". Or do you mean it as a sarcasm? The ground combat was definitely the highlight.

 

[Tom Nook Sawyer]

I saw the movie twice and I don't remember any space battle. The rebels came, some made it through the shield some didn't, then they rammed that star destroyer into the other and that's it (there is also that few seconds scene that explains why Luke became Red 5). All these scenes were super short so all in all we got about two or three minutes of "space battles". Or do you mean it as a sarcasm? The ground combat was definitely the highlight.

This. I can't recall a damn thing about that space battle outside of what you mentioned. Super forgettable maybe?

 

[mcz117chief]

This. I can't recall a damn thing about that space battle outside of what you mentioned. Super forgettable maybe?

Right, people hyped it up to the seventh heaven but I think it was just ok. The shot of the rebel fleet exiting hyper space was cool and of course Vader's arrival and mop-up were excellent but apart from those it wasn't really that good. Incomparable to Episode IV's final battle.

 

[JB1981]

It's not like I'm losing sleep over it but it's certainly one of those things that made me go "hang on, what?" Especially as I actually liked the idea of them blowing her flying with the thrusters as they leave in the first place.

Logical inconsistencies break the immersion, it's obviously going to be something that sticks in the memory. It's not like I noticed someone's hair clip move two inches, it's a pretty glaring error. To be honest it's one of those things you'd assume would be picked up in story boarding long before they actually shot the scene.

I was kind of hoping that by mentioning it someone would come up with an explanation, as I'm genuinely surprised something so blatant got through.

I really don't think that scene was storyboarded. She was standing and he was laying down and she was basically the only person blown over. Explained right there. Also for real bro, it's a stupid nitpick

 

[Surfinn]

Right, people hyped it up to the seventh heaven but I think it was just ok. The shot of the rebel fleet exiting hyper space was cool and of course Vader's arrival and mop-up were excellent but apart from those it wasn't really that good. Incomparable to Episode IV's final battle.

I think the annoying thing I'd t that everyone and their mother hyped the final third of this film as "omg the best SW ever". When I saw it in theaters I was more thinking.. That's it? I guess I allowed myself to get overhyped. The space battle looks cool but the biggest problem with it is that we're not invested in the struggle. I'm still actually a very firm believer (after watching the OT again) that ANH is still the best space battle. Not because of sheer visual splendor but rather a mixture of creativity and audience investment. Luke anchors the death star run perfectly and we get crucial storytelling and character development simultaneously. It's absolutely brilliant. ROTJ is a solid second because we're invested in Lando and his leadership/redemption role. I still think it's the best LOOKING space battle and far more creative than what we see in R1.

R1's is still good for what it is but we have no real reason to be directly invested because there's no character/major storytelling/development to anchor it.

 

[Lifejumper]

I think the annoying thing I'd t that everyone and their mother hyped the final third of this film as "omg the best SW ever". When I saw it in theaters I was more thinking.. That's it? I guess I allowed myself to get overhyped. The space battle looks cool but the biggest problem with it is that we're not invested in the struggle. I'm still actually a very firm believer (after watching the OT again) that ANH is still the best space battle. Not because of sheer visual splendor but rather a mixture of creativity and audience investment. Luke anchors the death star run perfectly and we get crucial storytelling and character development simultaneously. It's absolutely brilliant. ROTJ is a solid second because we're invested in Lando and his leadership/redemption role. I still think it's the best LOOKING space battle and far more creative than what we see in R1.

R1's is still good for what it is but we have no real reason to be directly invested because there's no character/major storytelling/development to anchor it.

Its R1's major flaw. We already know the outcome of the story, so it was of utmost importance that they nailed that aspect of the movie.

 

[WadiumArcadium]

So, I remember leaving the theater and saying "You know what I thought was cool? That when Vader finally went on his rampage, Giacchino didn't just do this big nasty version of the Imperial March, but instead played something way more like a horror movie."

Turns out, he did both.

https://twitter.com/bobbyrobertspdx/status/820822717284773888

Ha, didn't hear it at all. That's awesome.

 

[mcz117chief]

snip

I felt very invested in Jyn's and Galen's struggle but I do agree that ANH's space battle is the best. The final third of R1 is phenomenal, to me it really is the best Star Wars ever on par with ANH. I can't decide which one I like more. As characters go I like Jyn and Ip Man the most, as scenery goes I like the binary sunset more, as space battles go I like the Death Star attack the most and as the soldier shooting goes I like Roque 1 the most. All the Death Star scenes are also better in Rogue One. The destruction of Alderaan is fine but those one reactor shots are amazing.

 

[Into the Light]

yeah those last 10 min were some of if not the best of all 8 movies. I still think the emotion of TFA during the last few min were more impactful to me, but yeah.

 

[Monocle]

Of this thread's 221 pages (at 50ppg), posts centered on the terms "Fanservice" or "Fan Service" constitute six pages all by themselves.

Accurate uses of the term constitute about half a page.

Most people criticizing the usage of "fan service" tend to clarify within their posts that their complaint isn't really the presence of "fan service" at all, but that their specific aspect of fandom wasn't the one being serviced to their satisfaction.

Sounds about right.

 

[DarthWoo]

I don't know if this was brought up anywhere in this long thread, but was the location of the Rebellion's base on Yavin IV not known to anyone other than the leaders and the Red and Gold Squadron pilots? It seems improbable that not a single prisoner that would likely have been taken from Raddus' ship (being only disabled, there had to be a lot of survivors) would crack under Imperial interrogation.

 

[Bobby Roberts]

I think the idea is that nobody survived.

Alternatively: Antilles was physically being choked to death and still wouldn't crack (his neck went before he would) so it's possible that if people were captured, they either killed themselves, or let themselves be killed.

Which is kinda dark, but this movie seems to allow for that possiblity pretty strongly.

 

[Toxi]

Rewatching Rogue One, it easily has some of the best cinematography in the series outside the Empire Strikes Back, and maybe better than even that.

There are so many good shots. Love the lighting when young Jyn is lighting the lamp.

 

[GhaleonEB]

When I heard Vader was going to be in this, I thought part of his story would be hunting down the team that was stealing the plans. (I actually thought that shot with Jyn in the pilot uniform, with the lights going up, might have been her hearing him coming for her, having already torn through the rest of the team one by one.) It would have given him a purpose in the story that he otherwise didn't have. He felt very tacked on.

 

[mcz117chief]

When I heard Vader was going to be in this, I thought part of his story would be hunting down the team that was stealing the plans. (I actually thought that shot with Jyn in the pilot uniform, with the lights going up, might have been her hearing him coming for her, having already torn through the rest of the team one by one.) It would have given him a purpose in the story that he otherwise didn't have. He felt very tacked on.

The only thing I wanted to see was Ip Man meeting Vader and seeing nothing but darkness with the tinniest little spark of light hidden inside. That would have been so cool. But I like the way they did it too, keeping them separate.

 

[Mighty Chin]

I don't know if this was brought up anywhere in this long thread, but was the location of the Rebellion's base on Yavin IV not known to anyone other than the leaders and the Red and Gold Squadron pilots? It seems improbable that not a single prisoner that would likely have been taken from Raddus' ship (being only disabled, there had to be a lot of survivors) would crack under Imperial interrogation.

I can get in a plane and be told I'm flying to Hawaii and the pilot takes me to Tonga instead. I probably wouldn't know the difference.

 

[Raptor]

Would have been better Vader murdering everyone everywhere including stormtroppers and exploding ATAT with the force at the tune of the imperial march.

Both Empire and rebellion running scared shitless from him.

God damn.

 

[Surfinn]

When I heard Vader was going to be in this, I thought part of his story would be hunting down the team that was stealing the plans. (I actually thought that shot with Jyn in the pilot uniform, with the lights going up, might have been her hearing him coming for her, having already torn through the rest of the team one by one.) It would have given him a purpose in the story that he otherwise didn't have. He felt very tacked on.

Yup still think Vader having a significant impact on the main characters directly should have been the way to go. Making the last half a slow burning thriller with Vader would have been goddamn incredible. Missed opportunity.

 

[TCRS]

So Ip Man was a jedi right? And the other guy a Mandalorian.

The one thing that really irked me about Vader is him using his hand so much. Like when he choked that admiral or when fighting in the space ship. You hardly ever see that in he OT. It's way cooler when he's not making any movement.

Oh man this movie was so good I think I'm going to rewatch it.

I really hope one day we'll see a spin off about the Siths. Their origins, the myth, all of that. by far one of most fascinating aspects of Star Wars.

 

[antonz]

So Ip Man was a jedi right? And the other guy a Mandalorian.

The one thing that really irked me about Vader is him using his hand so much. Like when he choked that admiral or when fighting in the space ship. You hardly ever see that in he OT. It's way cooler when he's not making any movement.

Oh man this movie was so good I think I'm going to rewatch it.

I really hope one day we'll see a spin off about the Siths. Their origins, the myth, all of that. by far one of most fascinating aspects of Star Wars.

A Palpatine movie would be a lot more fun than a Boba Fett movie really. They could go crazy with the whole dark arts stuff of the Sith and have it be as much about the Sith as his development

 

[Number45]

So Ip Man was a jedi right?

My takeaway was that he's very strong with the force, but not trained as a jedi. Which would make since given that there were supposedly no jedi in the universe at that time.

 

[DeathyBoy]

A Palpatine movie would be a lot more fun than a Boba Fett movie really. They could go crazy with the whole dark arts stuff of the Sith and have it be as much about the Sith as his development

What would they be, some kind of Sith Squad?

I'd love to see them do a Suicide Squad style film with Vader, Boba et al. Boba can be Slipknot.

 

[Comfort Jones]

When I heard Vader was going to be in this, I thought part of his story would be hunting down the team that was stealing the plans. (I actually thought that shot with Jyn in the pilot uniform, with the lights going up, might have been her hearing him coming for her, having already torn through the rest of the team one by one.) It would have given him a purpose in the story that he otherwise didn't have. He felt very tacked on.

Tacked on and really tonally inappropriate. Story goes from this sad sacrifice of these rebels to "hey check out this fanservice nerd porn" involving rebels getting brutally fucking slaughtered.

 

[Waldini]

Tacked on and really tonally inappropriate. Story goes from this sad sacrifice of these rebels to "hey check out this fanservice nerd porn" involving rebels getting brutally fucking slaughtered.

...

You'd think that ... after dozens of Stormtroopers, Deathtroopers, an Imperial Director, an Imperial Moff and dozens of Tie-Fighters and other Troopers FAILED to stop the Rebels from getting the plans ... that Vader would just sit on his ass and do nothing?

He took matters into his own hand. He knew the plans were onboard Raddus' ship.

 

[gollumsluvslave]

Just watched this last Friday, wasn't that hyped after not really feeling TFA...

but it was HUGE improvement to TFA for me - it felt like Star Wars, without being a retread in unfamiliar shoes, and the direction and performances (bar a couple of exceptions) were excellent throughtout.

Only real negatives for me were the CG Tarkin and Leia - incredibly jarring and uncanny valley - all in the mouth, just not there yet for me. Oh aye, and I didn't like that Vader's castle looked a lot like Barad Dur from LOTR...

+ Donnie Yen was quality, so was his sidekick
+ K-2SO reminded me a bit of HK-47 in some ways...
+ Pleasantly impressed with Felicity Jones, was sure the casting was going to be a mistake, but she was great
+ Escape from Jedha was outstanding
+ Vader... yup outstanding!

 

[Comfort Jones]

...

You'd think that ... after dozens of Stormtroopers, Deathtroopers, an Imperial Director, an Imperial Moff and dozens of Tie-Fighters and other Troopers FAILED to stop the Rebels from getting the plans ... that Vader would just sit on his ass and do nothing?

He took matters into his own hand. He knew the plans were onboard Raddus' ship.

Wow amazing way to dispute absolutely nothing I said. Your retort literally addresses none of my issues with that scene. At no point did I say it doesn't make some kind of in canon sense for him to be there. We're talking about a film here, like what does or doesn't work for the end artistic result, not some sequence of events that actually happened, you get that right?

I'm genuinely confused what point you think you're making here.

 

[Waldini]

Wow amazing way to dispute absolutely nothing I said. Your retort literally addresses none of my issues with that scene. At no point did I say it doesn't make some kind of in canon sense for him to be there. We're talking about a film here, like what does or doesn't work for the end artistic result, not some sequence of events that actually happened, you get that right?

I'm genuinely confused what point you think you're making here.

Keep riding that bandwagon bro... suits you.

What point about Vader's mentality do you not understand?
The "i'll do it myself" mentality after countless failed attempts to get the Death Star plans or ... you tell me?

Its your opinion ... but I'm glad you are one of the few people that didn't like the sequence. Your post sounds like you just didn't like it because you envisioned a different ending. Would the massacre of Rebels work out better if Vader was a more prominent figure in the film? Although I'm pretty damn sure you would've hated if he was featured more ... because it would rely on nostalgia too much.

 

[Comfort Jones]

Keep riding that bandwagon bro... suits you.

What point about Vader's mentality do you not understand?
The "i'll do it myself" mentality after countless failed attempts to get the Death Star plans or ... you tell me?

Once again, you're missing our complaints entirely. Literally nothing in my post or his has anything to do with his...mentality. Literally nothing you're saying has anything to do with us saying his inclusion felt tacked on.

 

[Steejee]

Saw this recently at IMAX 4k 3D, and I loved it. Would probably put it just above RotJ in how I rank the movies (Empire > ANH > R1 > RotJ > TFA > Prequels).

Leia looked a little..off, but she was there so briefly it didn't bother me much. Tarkin occasionally looked a little odd but for the most part I was able to forget he was a CGI creation. Wife noticed his mouth was funny but had no idea going in that him or Leia were CG and didn't know Tarkin had a CG face til I told her after.

The only 'fan service' that annoyed me were the C3PO/R2D2 brief cameo, which was such a quick thing that the annoyance level was pretty nil, and the two guys from the cantina showing. Cantina pair, while a bit more ridiculous (C3PO/R2D2 made plenty of sense to be where they were), didn't bother me as your casual viewer would probably not connect the dots there and it was just a silly thing for big fans. Vader's massacre could have felt fan-servicey, but wasn't to me given how the movie transitions into ANH and how the scene conveyed a sense of panic/desperation so well.

Otherwise, no complaints about casting, characters (I thought everyone had sufficient depth), pacing (I enjoyed the slow build up, especially given how white knuckle the finale is), the pretty hardcore portrayal of war (minus blood). Cinematography was amazing, and that space battle in 4k 3D IMAX was nutso.

I even liked Vader's choke joke - Vader has a droll sense of humor in the originals too, so it fit.

 

[theCalamity]

‘Rogue One’ Shows Disney Still Doesn’t Really Get ‘Star Wars’

 

[gollumsluvslave]

I've seen all the PT probably a dozen times each if not more. I didn't realize just how bad they are until I saw the last two films.

This is something I can never fathom - how could you watch the PT so many times if they were that bad?

I mean I watched TPM in the cinema but only watched II and III on DVD and have never watched them more than once. I really don't get it, seems like revisionist history in that the PT is now reviled and JJs stuff is the new cool.

TFA is a better made film than anything in the PT, but overall it's not such huge improvement; Adam driver / Kylo Ren is all too similar to Hayden / Anakin, and the whole thing is a note for note retread of ANH, but bizarrely I found it hard to separate from JJs Star Trek reboots. At the moment i'm not convinced I will watch TFA many more times than anything from the PT.

Rogue One is a different proposition though is it FEELS much more like Star Wars to me, and gels with the OT better than anything else (hell it gels better than ROTJ!!)

 

[Lifejumper]

‘Rogue One’ Shows Disney Still Doesn’t Really Get ‘Star Wars’

Article already started out wrong.

 

[Transistor]

Finally got around to seeing this and holy shit I loved it. Really liked how it actually improved ANH by making the vulnerability in the Death Star planned instead of just shitty design. Everyone in the cast acted their ass off and the CG Tarkin and Leia were extraordinarily well done.

Only gripe I really have is I think Vader should have been saved for the end. The "don't choke on your aspirations" line I felt was a little too corny for Vader.

Cool seeing Jimmy Smits again.

 

[Bobby Roberts]

Five Years and Industry Writer Phil Hornshaw Still Doesn't Know Who Makes Star Wars Movies

 

[firelogic]

Finally got around to seeing this and holy shit I loved it. Really liked how it actually improved ANH by making the vulnerability in the Death Star planned instead of just shitty design. Everyone in the cast acted their ass off and the CG Tarkin and Leia were extraordinarily well done.

Only gripe I really have is I think Vader should have been saved for the end. The "don't choke on your aspirations" line I felt was a little too corny for Vader.

Cool seeing Jimmy Smits again.

I think it was in-line with his character. He's always been a little corny/jokey/one-liner-y. He learned it from being around Obi-Wan and his snarky comments hahah.
http://screenrant.com/darth-vaders-rogue-one-choke-pun/

 

[gollumsluvslave]

Two great quotes from a few pages back (bold emphasis mine) that I think NAIL why the Vader scene is far from superfluous or tacked on like many folks have said - it sums up the whole of Rogue One in a microcosm - the horror of the Empire and trying to keep hope alive...

That Vader scene is actually important, because it demonstrates that this whole thing is bigger than the main characters, that they were one small, crucial part of a larger cause and after they completed their task the job wasn't done, but just beginning. Beyond that, it further reinforces just how close the whole thing came to falling apart at every step of the way. The whole rebellion is just barely scraping by a victory. It adds weight to the sacrifice of the main characters by showing that it brought about a small piece of hope that is literally passed from individual to individual.

Eh, I think emphasizing just how narrow the path to success was absolutely serves a purpose. Even when I was watching it in the theater, my first thought was the parallel between that and one of my favorite scenes in, honestly, pretty much any movie ever: the docking scene in Interstellar.

That scene is an incredible scene out of context and on its own immediate merit. The cinematography, the swell of the music, the acting, the effects, everything is pretty much flawlessly executed. But beyond that, its greater contextual meaning really adds a "whoa" factor. It isn't just about those people or that ship or that mission or even the whole planet -- literally the entire future of humanity, forever, is compressed down into whether or not those little docking teeth latch together. So many movies do the whole "save the world" thing, but it's incredibly rare to get an effective and powerful visual metaphor that really drives home what it means to save the world by the skin of your teeth.

That's what the Vader scene in Rogue One was to me. Things were close on Scarif, sure, but in that typical action movie sense, regardless of how beautiful it was shot or how much I doubted they'd go in for the finality of their conclusion. It didn't feel much different from stopping some timer at 00:01 or... I dunno, the conclusion of any Marvel movie, really. But that Vader scene and those four inches of space the plans get through -- that's the whole Star Wars universe there, right in those four inches.

No, it's not functionally useful to the narrative, but it certainly has value. It's a movie, not a technical handbook, after all.

 

[Transistor]

I think it was in-line with his character. He's always been a little corny/jokey/one-liner-y. He learned it from being around Obi-Wan and his snarky comments hahah.
http://screenrant.com/darth-vaders-rogue-one-choke-pun/

I guess, but it just felt off to me.

Two great quotes from a few pages back (bold emphasis mine) that I think NAIL why the Vader scene is far from superfluous or tacked on like many folks have said - it sums up the whole of Rogue One in a microcosm - the horror of the Empire and trying to keep hope alive...

The end Vader scene I fucking LOVED.

 

[televator]

The time and place to lean on something like that is when you beat the game with Vader in Soul Calibur IV.

I'm not saying a slaughter scene shouldn't be in the movie. But if that's the mere reason we're excited he was in the film, well....

I was excited to see him from the first second he appeared. Him just speaking and terrifying imperial officers was well enogh. The light saber scene just went above and beyond my expectations. Definitely didn't feel like leaning to me.

 

[firelogic]

Fun fact. That last Vader scene wasn't in the original cut. It was added during the reshoots by Tony Gilroy.

 

[theCalamity]

Fun fact. That last Vader scene wasn't in the original cut. It was added during the reshoots by Tony Gilroy.

So it was tacked on.

 

[-griffy-]

‘Rogue One’ Shows Disney Still Doesn’t Really Get ‘Star Wars’

Nah. The character work in Rogue One wasn't its strongest suit (it was still adequate enough to make the ending hit), but to mention TFA in the same breath is baffling. That's arguably got the strongest character work of any film in the series, and is pretty obviously the most Star Warsy Star Wars film since Return of the Jedi. That movie seems to understand what makes Star Wars more than many of the fans, to be frank.

 

[CosmicQueso]

‘Rogue One’ Shows Disney Still Doesn’t Really Get ‘Star Wars’

Reads like someone that saw the original trilogy when they were 9.

 

[Steejee]

So it was tacked on.

A good chunk of many movies is 'tacked on' if you consider reshoots that. It's the movie equivalent of reading a rough draft of a book and deciding you need another chapter. Neither good nor bad, just part of the process.

 

[zeemumu]

Reads like someone that saw the original trilogy when they were 9.

Mhm