Rogue One - Star Wars Fan Service
- Thread starter Marter
- Start date
Hm, I'm a little surprised. I mean, it might not have blown me away but I still really enjoyed it, it seems far from a 1.5 star caliber movie. I can't say I'm thrilled to have one of these every year for the forseeable future, but I think some critics may be crapping on it for exactly that reason, and it's a little unfair. I know because I came in wanting to be very critical of it but couldn't help genuinely enjoying it.
All in all I think it earned its 85% on RT, its appeal isn't quite as big as the main Star Wars saga but it works on its own.
It might just be because my favorite part of the movies are the "WWII in Space" vibe. It felt more like a traditional war movie with Star Wars things thrown in, which appealed to me but maybe not to everyone. If you're into Star Wars because of lightsaber battles and Jedi space magic, well it's not totally absent but it isn't the focus. The characters are all characters, they all have a memorable aspect to them. It gives you the sense that Star Wars was an actual war, with intrigue and moral ambiguity, and with the death that comes with war, where it seemed like in the movies much of the death was happening from afar. It's not quite as heavy as a normal war movie for obvious reasons, but it does come close and the ending seems satisfying with a non-insignificant amount of suspense.
The biggest problem I have with this movie is the rather risky use of CGI to try and recreate Tarkin and young Leia, which was noticeable. Criticizing it for being totally "safe" I think is well, wrong, it did take some risks you would not expect Disney to make (judging only by TFA), including killing every major character, displaying the Rebellion and its allies more as guerilla warriors and even terrorists that occasionally kill people for complicated reasons. I think it was a pretty big risk and it largely paid off.
All in all I think it earned its 85% on RT, its appeal isn't quite as big as the main Star Wars saga but it works on its own.
I generally like these reviews, but I'm hoping this one goes in the category with "The Lego Movie" where you are just plain wrong.
The last film was terrible and completely lacking in imagination, but this one kind of piqued my interest. And I will probably go on saying that for the next 5 years...
The last film was terrible and completely lacking in imagination, but this one kind of piqued my interest. And I will probably go on saying that for the next 5 years...
I really enjoyed it. I'd go so far as to call it a good Star Wars movie, and maybe a decent movie in general.
I guess everyone can call me crazy, but I actually thought that the CGI Tarkin and Leia were fairly convincing. That's one avenue of technology that I hope only gets better as time goes on.
What really bothered me was the horrendous Vader pun. It was even cringier than his big "Noooooooo!" moment from Revenge of the Sith.
What really bothered me was the horrendous Vader pun. It was even cringier than his big "Noooooooo!" moment from Revenge of the Sith.
Meh called me a sheep if you want but I enjoyed it to the point that I prefered it to TFA (sure I still liked TFA but at least RO is not rehashing the plot)!
I liked that it set itself apart from the main franchise like there was no scroll down initial setting and I think there was no white blur cross scene change that Lucuas is well know for?
Ok sure the beginning was staggering like one scene it was flashback and then to the present, next scene is that rebel and then next scene it's on Jednai! Granted the last part of the film with the battle did make up for it.
That part really did tied in to Episode 4 (like it explain why the Rebel had only a few fighers left in Episode 4) well mostly. I recalled someone mention some alien species died while getting the data. I guess this is omitted now?
Speaking of that part, I did thought it was plothole on why on earth was Leia on the flagship during the battle and while that bladerunner ship was still docked than on battle?
While we all know of the main crew fates but still, there were the REAL suicide Squad and those two guardians were my favourite out of the crew! Sure you know the destination but didn't the people said the same thing with the prequel?
Lastly since that TV Spot saw a possible cameo of the Ghost ship from the Rebel series, did anyone else saw it in battle? I didn't see it anywhere else althought I thought it could of been seen making the jump and escape in time before Vader crash in literally. Heck, that Hammerhead from KoToR had more cameo and screentime than the Ghost!
Ok sure the beginning was staggering like one scene it was flashback and then to the present, next scene is that rebel and then next scene it's on Jednai! Granted the last part of the film with the battle did make up for it.
That part really did tied in to Episode 4 (like it explain why the Rebel had only a few fighers left in Episode 4) well mostly. I recalled someone mention some alien species died while getting the data. I guess this is omitted now?
Speaking of that part, I did thought it was plothole on why on earth was Leia on the flagship during the battle and while that bladerunner ship was still docked than on battle?
While we all know of the main crew fates but still, there were the REAL suicide Squad and those two guardians were my favourite out of the crew! Sure you know the destination but didn't the people said the same thing with the prequel?
Lastly since that TV Spot saw a possible cameo of the Ghost ship from the Rebel series, did anyone else saw it in battle? I didn't see it anywhere else althought I thought it could of been seen making the jump and escape in time before Vader crash in literally. Heck, that Hammerhead from KoToR had more cameo and screentime than the Ghost!
Of course most of the big publications are swinging from Rogue One's proverbial nuts, but the local newspaper review actually rated it pretty poorly, bringing up many of the things that you listed off as well: particularly that despite it's runtime, it fails heavily in drawing out its characters. It even goes so far as to say that this was a movie that didn't need to be made since we already know the story: some rebels stole the Death Star plans.
As you mentioned: if you're going to make a movie where people already know the ending, then you have to make the journey worth while, and both the local paper and now this review have said that it falls very short of accomplishing that...so I'm inclined to actually head this "warning".
As you mentioned: if you're going to make a movie where people already know the ending, then you have to make the journey worth while, and both the local paper and now this review have said that it falls very short of accomplishing that...so I'm inclined to actually head this "warning".
Yeah I honestly enjoyed it more than TFA. I had lots of fun watching it and the action scenes were awesome. Also, that scene towards the end...you know...the coolest scene.Scarim Coral said:
I'm confused by this part for a couple of reasons.Catnip1024 said:
1) I really liked The LEGO Movie, which is the opinion most people had of it (ie. not "just plain wrong").
2) I didn't review The LEGO Movie officially for this site (I did post my review of it on the forums [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.841702-Marter-to-the-Movies-The-Lego-Movie], though), which makes me wonder if you're thinking of someone else, misremembering what I wrote, or if you really hate The LEGO Movie that much. XD
Oops, my bad. I may have been getting it mixed up with Minions. I'm not quite so keen on dying in a ditch over Minions, but the point stands that sometimes critics have moments of irrationality (or not agreeing with me).Marter said:
And I guess I may also have been getting confused with someone else having a go at the Lego Movie. I could've sworn it was you, but apparently not. Oh, well - douse the torches and put the pitchforks back in the shed, people.
I really liked it, and immediately went home and watched episode 4 again after seeing it. Then rewatched some parts of episode 7. My conclusion from doing so is that Lucas is by far the worst Star Wars director.
Did we even watch the same movie? I thought it was frickin' awesome! Had a lot of the feel of A New Hope and a down-n-dirty war movie!
Vader has a well-documented history of dropping sick burns. Behold! http://io9.gizmodo.com/darth-vaders-best-burns-not-counting-the-ones-covering-1770848358Mahorfeus said:
Pretty much agree with all of this review. Maybe not the score so much, but, yeah. I mentioned on another thread that Rogue One might be my #6 live-action Star Wars film, but I'm seriously considering booting it down to #7 (which means that the only movie I'd place under it in that bunch is Attack of the Clones). The first two thirds are lacklustre, and the third is only good because it's a long, quite well done action scene. The characters are underdeveloped, and there's just too many of them to get invested in. The villain is weak, the "grittiness" is taken to the extreme at times, and while there are sprinkles of creativity here and there (e.g. how the Empire operates, the droid character, Vader's second scene), there's also too many moments of stupid evil (the landing pad scene) and stupid stupid (where Jyn's guardian lets himself die because...reasons?)
Since it's a point of comparison, I will say that TFA is easily the better movie of the two. Rogue One is more original, I'll give it that, but if TFA is hindered by being a rehash of A New Hope, Rogue One is hindered by tying into A New Hope to the point where it can't stand on its own, especially the very last scene, and the film just stops dead. TFA is simply executed better, has more likable characters, and feels like a Star Wars movie. Course that's not necessarily a pro - Rogue One is easily the least Star Warsy movie that's been released, but, yeah. And ironically, Rogue One shares the same problem the other prequels did - nice ideas marred by poor execution. Only its ideas aren't nearly as interesting. It's worse than Revenge of the Sith, and the more I think about it, I think it might be weaker than The Phantom Menace.
Since it's a point of comparison, I will say that TFA is easily the better movie of the two. Rogue One is more original, I'll give it that, but if TFA is hindered by being a rehash of A New Hope, Rogue One is hindered by tying into A New Hope to the point where it can't stand on its own, especially the very last scene, and the film just stops dead. TFA is simply executed better, has more likable characters, and feels like a Star Wars movie. Course that's not necessarily a pro - Rogue One is easily the least Star Warsy movie that's been released, but, yeah. And ironically, Rogue One shares the same problem the other prequels did - nice ideas marred by poor execution. Only its ideas aren't nearly as interesting. It's worse than Revenge of the Sith, and the more I think about it, I think it might be weaker than The Phantom Menace.
I saw the movie last night. I didn't hate it- it got where it was going and gave some decent spectacle along the way- but I was kind of quietly disappointed.
Jyn doesn't really get to make a proper journey from being a reluctant participant in the Rebel Alliance to being such a charismatic leader that a number of people she's barely met are willing to lay down their lives for her. There are moments where her information or interpretation are questioned, for little more reason than that the relevant people are jerks and someone thought the scene needed tension, and they never do a particularly good job in having her overcome those moments; they just move past them. Her "stirring speech" moment is barely better than the one in "Snow White and the Huntsman"; it's a "just accept that everyone is on her side, now, all right?" kind of scene. By and large, she's just a moody teenager (except that she's supposedly twenty-one.)
Cassian does get some character development, but unfortunately, what he gets casts him as a thug who doesn't value anyone else's life. It's as if someone decided to create a character entirely out of "Han shoots first" moments, but neglected to give him a good reason for shooting. We're supposed to believe we see a turnaround in one scene where he struggles with whether to follow a morally dubious order, but the would-be victim of the order has to visibly behave like a saintly martyr before he even starts to struggle, and he has plenty of reasons to question that order long before that moment.
I didn't mind our two Jedi-temple refugees, but I wish they had done more with them. The soldier's sense of loyalty and protectiveness towards his blind friend is palpable, and I appreciated it. But there was so much more that could have been done there- not least in why this apparent non-Jedi feels such a strong affinity towards the Force, and what the loss of the Jedi temple might have meant to the survivors.
K2 is good (Alan Tudyk makes almost everything better), but it's not a good sign when the character you like most is a droid. Still, he comes as close as anyone to giving life to Cassian and Jyn; his willingness to put up with them is almost enough to carry off the illusion that they must have more going for them than is readily apparent.
Arguably, the movie's biggest mistake was making the final conflict into a big "Alliance fleet versus Empire's Star Destroyers" kind of thing. I guess, being Star Wars, this is what the audience expects to see, but I think this could have been a much better movie if it had been a truly covert operation- something more along the lines of Leia's rescue in the original "Star Wars". It also would have given us a much better chance to appreciate the characters' cleverness against the odds and the teamwork and sacrifice they had to pull off to accomplish such an important mission.
Oh, and if any Bothans died, I missed it.
Jyn doesn't really get to make a proper journey from being a reluctant participant in the Rebel Alliance to being such a charismatic leader that a number of people she's barely met are willing to lay down their lives for her. There are moments where her information or interpretation are questioned, for little more reason than that the relevant people are jerks and someone thought the scene needed tension, and they never do a particularly good job in having her overcome those moments; they just move past them. Her "stirring speech" moment is barely better than the one in "Snow White and the Huntsman"; it's a "just accept that everyone is on her side, now, all right?" kind of scene. By and large, she's just a moody teenager (except that she's supposedly twenty-one.)
Cassian does get some character development, but unfortunately, what he gets casts him as a thug who doesn't value anyone else's life. It's as if someone decided to create a character entirely out of "Han shoots first" moments, but neglected to give him a good reason for shooting. We're supposed to believe we see a turnaround in one scene where he struggles with whether to follow a morally dubious order, but the would-be victim of the order has to visibly behave like a saintly martyr before he even starts to struggle, and he has plenty of reasons to question that order long before that moment.
I didn't mind our two Jedi-temple refugees, but I wish they had done more with them. The soldier's sense of loyalty and protectiveness towards his blind friend is palpable, and I appreciated it. But there was so much more that could have been done there- not least in why this apparent non-Jedi feels such a strong affinity towards the Force, and what the loss of the Jedi temple might have meant to the survivors.
K2 is good (Alan Tudyk makes almost everything better), but it's not a good sign when the character you like most is a droid. Still, he comes as close as anyone to giving life to Cassian and Jyn; his willingness to put up with them is almost enough to carry off the illusion that they must have more going for them than is readily apparent.
Arguably, the movie's biggest mistake was making the final conflict into a big "Alliance fleet versus Empire's Star Destroyers" kind of thing. I guess, being Star Wars, this is what the audience expects to see, but I think this could have been a much better movie if it had been a truly covert operation- something more along the lines of Leia's rescue in the original "Star Wars". It also would have given us a much better chance to appreciate the characters' cleverness against the odds and the teamwork and sacrifice they had to pull off to accomplish such an important mission.
Oh, and if any Bothans died, I missed it.