5 ms·

I just saw this yesterday after being cajoled into it by my wife. I had very low expectations, and was pleasantly surprised at how misplaced they were. It was

I just saw this yesterday after being cajoled into it by my wife. I had very low expectations, and was pleasantly surprised at how misplaced they were. It was a lot more compelling than the rehashed installment from last year.

golergka 10y ago
Really? Being a Star Wars fan who was very impressed by VII, I was shocked to find out how astonishingly bad Rogue One was. Almost like abysmal Avengers (once again: long time Marvel fan), it tried to push in so many unsignificant and inconsequential plot details that the movie got cramped and boring at the same time. All different McGuffins, buttons and objectives of the final battle looked like a series of mindless quest objectives for a video game, while offering nothing in terms of actual character development. IMO, it was not only the worst Star Wars movie so far, but one of the worst blockbuster movies ever made.
- thatswrong0 10y ago
  I'm also a Star Wars fan, and I thought VII was pretty mediocre (unoriginal to a fault, cheesy, the stakes felt low, the pacing was weird, the character interactions were forced and unrealistic, Rey way too powerful, the New Order was too incompetent, too much blatant fan service, lack of scale, etc.), whereas Rogue One is probably one of my favorite Star Wars movies (along with ESB). Funny how opinions work like that? But calling it one of the worst blockbuster movies ever made.. can't tell if you're joking.
- Trundle 10y ago
  The characters were a little flat yes but it was an original story with a unique ending. VII was basically ANH2.0 when ANH was sufficiently good without being remade.
  - golergka 10y ago
    And they both, just like most of scifi, fantasy and other action movies are just variations of hero's journey with similar archetypes. So what? Originality for it's own sake doesn't make anything better.
    - csallen 10y ago
      Maybe I'm misunderstanding what you're saying, but it seems obvious to me that originality makes things better. Otherwise, why make new movies instead of merely rereleasing old ones? People want to see things they've never seen before, and they enjoy some degree of unpredictability. * spoilers * I found myself caring more for the characters in Rogue One than in most Star Wars movies. I suspect it's because they were (relatively speaking) normal people who could die at any moment, not unstoppable heroes of destiny. They were also deeply flawed and conflicted in realistic and relatable ways. This gave their risks and sacrifices far more gravity, and is why so many people found the final half hour so fresh and compelling.
- falcolas 10y ago
  It's interesting, but it seems like fans are being pretty polarized by Rogue One. It seems like the ones who love it wanted another entertaining story in the Star Wars universe, and got it. Those who hate it wanted something new out of it, and got another rehash. I fall into the first category. I wanted to see the story of the plans getting into the rebel's hands, and got what I wanted. In addition, they created some fun one-off characters, wrapped up some plot holes in "A New Hope", and threw in some nice nostalgia with the X-Wing pilots. In short, I wanted another stand-alone episode of the Star Wars space opera, and got it.
- mstade 10y ago
  I agreed with this at first. It felt rushed, and cramped. But then I saw it again (not really by choice, my family had already booked the tickets) and this time most of it actually made more sense to me. There's still gratuitous fan service, like bumping in to Dr. Evazan and Ponda Baba or putting blue milk in the middle of the shot, but in terms of the scenery and story I think it works. It can be argued that there are too many insignificant characters being introduced and killed off before you have time to start caring, but given it's essentially a war movie that kind of makes sense to me. People largely unknown to one another rally together against a common foe, knowing full well the chance of success is slim and risk of death is great. As there's plenty of peril, characters are killed off unceremoniously all over the place – because it's war and war does that to you. Add to that the Death Star designer with a conciense, some really evil dudes like Krinnic – commenting "oh, it's beautiful" without so much as an inkling of remorse upon wiping out an entire city in an instant – and a great tie-in to ANH, and I think it works really quite well. I liked getting the backstory to why the Death Star has such a crucial flaw, and I buy it. It then also makes sense to me that the Death Star in ROTJ suffers the same fate – it's an iterative design (probably getting rid of exhaust ports) rather than a fundamental fix. I'm hoping there's a directors cut that fixes some of the pacing and adds some more reason to care about Saw Gerrera, but even without I quite enjoyed it – the second time around. I can definitely see how it's very confusing though, for someone not very well versed in the Star Wars saga, or if it's their first movie in the series. I recommend, if you're a fan of the series, that you see Rogue One again. It did the trick for me anyway, maybe it will for you too. One thing that did disappoint me quite a lot is the musical score. It feels entirely different from the established themes, and not in a good way.
  - SN76477 10y ago
    Rushed, cramped, and thin characters are far too common in modern movies. I think it is a sign of the times that people going to movies want more depth and 2 hours isn't enough to tell a deep story. While it has its flaws, the modern mini series (Game of Thrones, Daredevil) tell much better stories that are more compelling and have depth. (except The Walking Dead, they have some issues) I would rather see a 6 hour series on Netflix that tells the Rogue One story than a single 2 hour flick with characters that I have no interest in.

golergka 10y ago

Really? Being a Star Wars fan who was very impressed by VII, I was shocked to find out how astonishingly bad Rogue One was. Almost like abysmal Avengers (once again: long time Marvel fan), it tried to push in so many unsignificant and inconsequential plot details that the movie got cramped and boring at the same time. All different McGuffins, buttons and objectives of the final battle looked like a series of mindless quest objectives for a video game, while offering nothing in terms of actual character development. IMO, it was not only the worst Star Wars movie so far, but one of the worst blockbuster movies ever made.

thatswrong0 10y ago
I'm also a Star Wars fan, and I thought VII was pretty mediocre (unoriginal to a fault, cheesy, the stakes felt low, the pacing was weird, the character interactions were forced and unrealistic, Rey way too powerful, the New Order was too incompetent, too much blatant fan service, lack of scale, etc.), whereas Rogue One is probably one of my favorite Star Wars movies (along with ESB). Funny how opinions work like that? But calling it one of the worst blockbuster movies ever made.. can't tell if you're joking.
Trundle 10y ago
The characters were a little flat yes but it was an original story with a unique ending. VII was basically ANH2.0 when ANH was sufficiently good without being remade.
- golergka 10y ago
  And they both, just like most of scifi, fantasy and other action movies are just variations of hero's journey with similar archetypes. So what? Originality for it's own sake doesn't make anything better.
  - csallen 10y ago
    Maybe I'm misunderstanding what you're saying, but it seems obvious to me that originality makes things better. Otherwise, why make new movies instead of merely rereleasing old ones? People want to see things they've never seen before, and they enjoy some degree of unpredictability. * spoilers * I found myself caring more for the characters in Rogue One than in most Star Wars movies. I suspect it's because they were (relatively speaking) normal people who could die at any moment, not unstoppable heroes of destiny. They were also deeply flawed and conflicted in realistic and relatable ways. This gave their risks and sacrifices far more gravity, and is why so many people found the final half hour so fresh and compelling.
falcolas 10y ago
It's interesting, but it seems like fans are being pretty polarized by Rogue One. It seems like the ones who love it wanted another entertaining story in the Star Wars universe, and got it. Those who hate it wanted something new out of it, and got another rehash. I fall into the first category. I wanted to see the story of the plans getting into the rebel's hands, and got what I wanted. In addition, they created some fun one-off characters, wrapped up some plot holes in "A New Hope", and threw in some nice nostalgia with the X-Wing pilots. In short, I wanted another stand-alone episode of the Star Wars space opera, and got it.
mstade 10y ago
I agreed with this at first. It felt rushed, and cramped. But then I saw it again (not really by choice, my family had already booked the tickets) and this time most of it actually made more sense to me. There's still gratuitous fan service, like bumping in to Dr. Evazan and Ponda Baba or putting blue milk in the middle of the shot, but in terms of the scenery and story I think it works. It can be argued that there are too many insignificant characters being introduced and killed off before you have time to start caring, but given it's essentially a war movie that kind of makes sense to me. People largely unknown to one another rally together against a common foe, knowing full well the chance of success is slim and risk of death is great. As there's plenty of peril, characters are killed off unceremoniously all over the place – because it's war and war does that to you. Add to that the Death Star designer with a conciense, some really evil dudes like Krinnic – commenting "oh, it's beautiful" without so much as an inkling of remorse upon wiping out an entire city in an instant – and a great tie-in to ANH, and I think it works really quite well. I liked getting the backstory to why the Death Star has such a crucial flaw, and I buy it. It then also makes sense to me that the Death Star in ROTJ suffers the same fate – it's an iterative design (probably getting rid of exhaust ports) rather than a fundamental fix. I'm hoping there's a directors cut that fixes some of the pacing and adds some more reason to care about Saw Gerrera, but even without I quite enjoyed it – the second time around. I can definitely see how it's very confusing though, for someone not very well versed in the Star Wars saga, or if it's their first movie in the series. I recommend, if you're a fan of the series, that you see Rogue One again. It did the trick for me anyway, maybe it will for you too. One thing that did disappoint me quite a lot is the musical score. It feels entirely different from the established themes, and not in a good way.
- SN76477 10y ago
  Rushed, cramped, and thin characters are far too common in modern movies. I think it is a sign of the times that people going to movies want more depth and 2 hours isn't enough to tell a deep story. While it has its flaws, the modern mini series (Game of Thrones, Daredevil) tell much better stories that are more compelling and have depth. (except The Walking Dead, they have some issues) I would rather see a 6 hour series on Netflix that tells the Rogue One story than a single 2 hour flick with characters that I have no interest in.