Star Wars Rogue One talk (WARNING SPOILERS)

[Drnick]

I didn't expect much from this movie. And I didn't really get it. But at least I didn't have to try and explain it all to the wife for the next few days (Arrival).

Plot/story  6-10.  Who would have thunk a bunch of rag tag's could get thrown together to try and save the day (Nope never seen that before).
Acting 7-10 Overall the acting was pretty good, Some of the characters were a little forced  (Blind Asian Character giving all the force references for example)
Visual Effects/CGI 6-10 (Would have got an 8 , but the Fake Leia, oh man that proper ruined it. They could have just done side profile or something to better effect)
Music 6-10 It just wasn't SW, I'm sure that they could have used stuff from the other 7 movies better. It was at it's best when blatantly stealing from John Williams score.

Better than the Prequels, Fills out the universe a little more.  Overall a good enough Saturday afternoon Sci Fi Flick. 

Overall I give it a 6 out of 10.

[dkersten]

What ever happened to people just watching a movie to be entertained for a couple hours? 

It is very rare that a really good movie lives up to the hype.  Why hinge your entertainment value on such low odds?

To each their own, but if you go through life comparing each moment to some standard, it can be awfully hard to just enjoy the moment.  There is an advantage to being a cynic and a pessimist - when things are better than bad, you are pleasantly surprised. 

I get it - this is Star Wars, and there is an expectation of being wow'd like that first time you sat in the theater in 1977.  But it was never going to win an Academy Award. 

IMHO, the movie didn't suck, it was a nice segue into ep 4, and I was entertained.  I wanted to go home immediately after and watch ep 4 again.

I look forward to getting it on BluRay so I can watch it on the home theater.  Unfortunately I am selling my house, so I am not sure if I will get a chance to see it at home before then, and the new house won't be done for 9 months, and the new theater will take me months to build after that.  Ep 8 will probably be out on bluray before I have a home theater again..

[pbj]

I didn't expect much from this movie. And I didn't really get it. But at least I didn't have to try and explain it all to the wife for the next few days (Arrival).

Arrival, man.  That was the emperor's new clothes of movies last year.  After watching that, I sat in disbelief as I kept reading how great it was.  Online opinion did seem to cool once more people watched it, though.

Anyway, nerd friends are coming over this weekend to watch Rogue One, maybe if we talk over the boring parts it'll be better.

[Le Chuck]

I didn't expect much from this movie. And I didn't really get it. But at least I didn't have to try and explain it all to the wife for the next few days (Arrival).

Arrival, man.  That was the emperor's new clothes of movies last year.  After watching that, I sat in disbelief as I kept reading how great it was.  Online opinion did seem to cool once more people watched it, though.

Anyway, nerd friends are coming over this weekend to watch Rogue One, maybe if we talk over the boring parts it'll be better.

I really enjoyed Arrival.  Wife was bored to distraction, I can understand those that feel the same.  It hit a niche that I thought was very interesting but it's not like I'm going to own it or anything.  The Martian has massive rewatch value for both the wife and I.  Something about watching Matt Damon suffer just really speaks to us.

I'm thinking about getting a digital copy of Rogue One and cutting it down to like a half hour special.  I've seen some of those cuts where folks have smooshed all three prequels into one film...they still feel a bit overlong lol.     

[harveybirdman]

I liked Rogue one, despite it's flaws.  I found them much easier to look past then the many problems with Episode 7.  But at this point I think it's safe to say that the magic from Empire will never be regained.  I'm more excited about putting together a blue ray collection of the Despecialized trilogy than I am for any future movies.

Although I would totally watch at post Revenge Pre Rouge one Vader movie.

[pbj]

Well, we both enjoyed The Martian but it didn't do much for me on the rewatch.  Book was better, movie was entertaining.

[Ian]

I just don't understand why people hold Star Wars films to such high standards. I grew up with them... watched them and I love them. But hell even I know that they made 2 maybe 3 great movies out of 8. That's like 37% That is like Johnny Cash's hits versus missus low. And as I type that I have to laugh because I love Johnny too.

Moral of the story is most of the Star Wars movies are dumb if you want to rate them on story and characters and acting.   

[knave]

Star wars is great because of the Sci-fi high fantasy of it all...there is cheese all over the place. We just like to complain that the new cheese is not just like the old cheese.

Plus some of ya are just plain old lactose intolerant in your old age.

I am entertained by most things Star wars and will be forever. So I liked Rogue one. I do own the original on laserdisc for the cheese purists out there. 

[Ian]

Star wars is great because of the Sci-fi high fantasy of it all...there is cheese all over the place. We just like to complain that the new cheese is not just like the old cheese.

Plus some of ya are just plain old lactose intolerant in your old age.

I am entertained by most things Star wars and will be forever. So I liked Rogue one. I do own the original on laserdisc for the cheese purists out there. 

Yep... I agree with this 100% That was my point! Well said! I also own the laser disc version of the ot as well.

[harveybirdman]

I see ya'lls point and I tend to agree when it comes to ROTJ.  Many fanboys hate Jedi for the Ewoks, Death Star Retread, etc.  However for many years it was easily my favorite.  I loved the Tolkienesque crescendo to the climax where we get the duel, the space conflict, and the ground battle all intertwined.

Not to mention the imagery from the pre special edition Tatooine will always be iconic to me.  And like you I still scoff to this day when people call it out for being bad.

But if I may return my panties to a wad, I don't think it's too much to ask to make a really great Star Wars movie this decade.   I just don't see it happening.

[dkersten]

I don't think it's too much to ask to make a really great Star Wars movie this decade.   I just don't see it happening.

I suppose it depends on your definition of a really great Star Wars movie.  One of the biggest elements that made 1977 Star Wars great was the special effects.  It defined a whole generation of films and started the most impactful special effects company of the century.  Judging on special effects and cinematics, we might already have a great Star Wars movie this decade.  Or perhaps you want to look at gross revenues.  There isn't a studio in the world who would turn down the success of the last two movies.

It's all relative, really.  Will a Star Wars movie ever win a major critical award?  No, it hasn't defined a generation of movies since the original trilogy.  Star Wars was never targeting the adult audience either, from the original to the latest to the special shows aired on TV over the years.  It targets a younger audience and always has, whether we like it or not.  In today's world, if you want high fantasy to tread new ground, it has to be gritty, shameless, hold nothing back, and be as adult as possible.  Neither Lucasfilm nor Disney has ever been known for pushing the boundaries of morality in film.

That being said, who here wouldn't want to see a pre-quel with the hero being a roguish smuggler type who isn't terribly bright but makes up for it with balls the size of the Millennium Falcon, enjoys carousing with the ladies at any hive of villainy and corruption, will do just about anything for money, and always shoots first, yet ends up going up against Vader, who is taking personal glee in systematically massacring any and all scumbag aliens, criminals, and force sensitive children leaving nothing but carnage and sorrow in his wake?  Of course for it to be "great", it would have to be bordering on unrated because of language, violence, and sex, and in the end, Vader would win, violently beheading the would be hero at precisely the point where you thought he was about to save the day.  I would buy tickets to see it, particularly if they added in some snarky humor and enough bad-assery to satisfy any man's desire for virtual testosterone.

[Ian]

I see ya'lls point and I tend to agree when it comes to ROTJ.  Many fanboys hate Jedi for the Ewoks, Death Star Retread, etc.  However for many years it was easily my favorite.  I loved the Tolkienesque crescendo to the climax where we get the duel, the space conflict, and the ground battle all intertwined.

Not to mention the imagery from the pre special edition Tatooine will always be iconic to me.  And like you I still scoff to this day when people call it out for being bad.

But if I may return my panties to a wad, I don't think it's too much to ask to make a really great Star Wars movie this decade.   I just don't see it happening.

I like moments of ROTJ.... the last 30 minutes is amazing! The score alone is one of my favorites.


I think the problem with all of the new Star Wars movies is this.... Star Wars although tells us the story of a very large Galaxy... it is shown in an incredibly small way. And what I mean by that is the original Trilogy really only truly centered on a small group of people where half of them turned out to be related. If you stray to far from those movies today it doesn't seem like Star Wars (kind of like the prequels), but if you stay too close it's a duplicate (the Force Awakens). They have to walk a very fine line for audiences and I think Rogue One was one of the only Star Wars movies that dared to be something different. And i appreciate that. The next spin off is young Han solo and I think that is again playing it too close to the OT and no.... I don't care how Solo met Lando, and no I don't want to see how he got the Falcon. grrrrr 

[Ian]

I don't think it's too much to ask to make a really great Star Wars movie this decade.   I just don't see it happening.

I suppose it depends on your definition of a really great Star Wars movie.  One of the biggest elements that made 1977 Star Wars great was the special effects.  It defined a whole generation of films and started the most impactful special effects company of the century.  Judging on special effects and cinematics, we might already have a great Star Wars movie this decade.  Or perhaps you want to look at gross revenues.  There isn't a studio in the world who would turn down the success of the last two movies.

It's all relative, really.  Will a Star Wars movie ever win a major critical award?  No, it hasn't defined a generation of movies since the original trilogy.  Star Wars was never targeting the adult audience either, from the original to the latest to the special shows aired on TV over the years.  It targets a younger audience and always has, whether we like it or not.  In today's world, if you want high fantasy to tread new ground, it has to be gritty, shameless, hold nothing back, and be as adult as possible.  Neither Lucasfilm nor Disney has ever been known for pushing the boundaries of morality in film.

That being said, who here wouldn't want to see a pre-quel with the hero being a roguish smuggler type who isn't terribly bright but makes up for it with balls the size of the Millennium Falcon, enjoys carousing with the ladies at any hive of villainy and corruption, will do just about anything for money, and always shoots first, yet ends up going up against Vader, who is taking personal glee in systematically massacring any and all scumbag aliens, criminals, and force sensitive children leaving nothing but carnage and sorrow in his wake?  Of course for it to be "great", it would have to be bordering on unrated because of language, violence, and sex, and in the end, Vader would win, violently beheading the would be hero at precisely the point where you thought he was about to save the day.  I would buy tickets to see it, particularly if they added in some snarky humor and enough bad-assery to satisfy any man's desire for virtual testosterone.

yeah... you will never see that kind of movie made. Disney has to sell this to all ages. That's why these movies (and the Marvel movies) are cookie cutter/designed by a committee/paint by numbers type of movies. They could release the worst star wars movie every but it will still make a Billion dollars. It's just not going to happen I agree.

[pbj]

This was pretty neat... ending of Rogue One spliced to the beginning of A New Hope..

[yotsuya]

I've said it before, but I didn't know I was supposed to hate the Ewoks until I read on the internet that I was supposed to. I was ten years old when I first saw them, I was their target audience.

And I'm sorry, I've watched that scene of Darth Vader wreaking havok at the end of Rogue One at least three times in the last 12 hours. I love it. It's badass. Forget a Han Solo origin movie, I want to see a movie where Vader proves himself to the Emperor while snuffing out remaining Jedi.

[wp34]

I want to see a movie where Vader proves himself to the Emperor while snuffing out remaining Jedi.

This.

[dkersten]

I think the problem with all of the new Star Wars movies is this.... Star Wars although tells us the story of a very large Galaxy... it is shown in an incredibly small way. And what I mean by that is the original Trilogy really only truly centered on a small group of people where half of them turned out to be related. If you stray to far from those movies today it doesn't seem like Star Wars (kind of like the prequels), but if you stay too close it's a duplicate (the Force Awakens).

But stories are about people.  The galaxy (far far away) is just the setting.  Nobody wants to see a movie (or read a fiction book) about a setting. Besides, the first movie incorporates 3 planets and a space station the size of a small moon.  That's pretty broad.  When you think Star Wars, you think about Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Princess Leia, and Darth Vader.  But because the setting was so unique back then, it stuck in our minds.  That allowed the story to extend beyond those characters and still be "Star Wars", just like Star Trek was able to create so many spinoffs from the original.  But for some, without the original elements it just isn't the same.  Remove the Enterprise and Kirk and Spock from Star Trek and you lose a big chunk of the fan base.  Remove any of the popular characters from the first 3 SW films and you will likewise lose a lot of the audience. 

That being said, my favorite part of Rogue One was all the props that made it distinctly "Star Wars".  I didn't need the familiar characters.  I also enjoyed the extended universe and even the games that had nothing to do with the characters in the movies.  My biggest disappointment in Rogue One was probably the score.  I get why they didn't use the usual music, but seeing a movie for the first time and hearing that opening score takes me back to the late 70's and early 80's, and it is what sets the scene for a Star Wars film in my mind.

[DrakeTungsten]

Neither Lucasfilm nor Disney has ever been known for pushing the boundaries of morality in film

"Get the fiancee out of the way and the whole thing will be fixed"

The trolls plotting to disappear their foster son's romantic rival in Frozen was a welcome anamoly in the spirit of which you speak. Perhaps a little too dark, actually.

[DrakeTungsten]

But hell even I know that they made 2 maybe 3 great movies out of 8. That's like 37%

Given that 90% of everything is garbage, producing 37% non-garbage is beating the odds.